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Steel parts.

Hospital-grade outlets have thick steel back straps for added strength. The power wires pass on either side of the back strap on any but the cheapest of outlets (that have no back strap). When the back strap is made of steel, it becomes the core of a one-turn inductor. Thicker steel increases the amount of core material and increases the inductance.

Since this inductor is a parasitic device and there is no attention to the magnetic properties of the steel used to make the back strap, it is not surprising this property of the outlet is detrimental to audio equipment performance. The easy but somewhat dangerous way to evaluate this for yourself is to place a strong ceramic magnet on the strap (Warning: AC is dangerous and the magnet may conduct electricity and cause a fire if you cause a short-circuit.) This will not eliminate the problem, but it will make the magnetic behavior of the steel more linear and reduce the effect on the audio performance.

The audiophile outlets have back straps made of brass or bronze, so they eliminate the extra inductance caused by the steel back strap. They also avoid use of steel screws or other parts.

Any outlet with a metal back strap that is mounted in a steel wiring box will still have some unwanted coupling of the AC current to a metal loop comprised of the back strap and the metal box. This loop can be broken by replacing one of the fixing screws with a Nylon screw and Nylon washer. This tweak works especially well with the audiophile outlets. For new installations, I recommend plastic wiring boxes and nonmagnetic stainless steel screws.

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  Michael Percy Audio  

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