Leviton MRI82-T Receptacles

[DaveC]

I just got 2 of these from Amazon to replace my cheap $.59 power receptacles in my living room. One is about 3 feet away from my electric panel, that's what my SurgeX conditioner/supressor is plugged into, and my system is plugged into the SurgeX.

The Leviton receptacles I used are MRI grade, after researching power receptacles I found you want 1. Hospital grade for increase pressure on the contacts. 2. No steel or nickle plating. The MRI receptacles provide all this in a relatively cheap ($18) product, MRI rooms must not have any magnetic items in them, so the receptacle's conductors are all brass with no steel or nickle plating anywhere, and it requires a lot more effort to insert or remove a male plug.

The result is a noticeable improvement, dynamics are slightly improved as is the clarity. Years ago I built PCs using 12g mil spec wire, I used hospital grade male plugs but the neutrals are nickle plated, so the next step is to order 4 male plugs, probably the Wattgate 5266i.

[Triode Pete]

I found that the specification grade Hubbell (Made in CT, USA) HBL5262 (15 amp) or HBL5362 (20 amp) really sound fantastic, especially after they have been cryogenically treated. Made from pure brass (with a 75% copper content), they grip NEMA 5-15 plugs like "no tomorrow"...

Starting @ $14, they can't be beat... http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dtools&field-keywords=HBL5262

If you shop around, you can find them cheaper, especially at surplus places...

My $0.02,
Pete

[sleepyguy24]

I'm glad you have found Leviton receptacles good for you and your system. I've had bad luck with Leviton outlets either regular or Decora style. Most of it was with the grip of larger power cords. My preference are the Hubbell based ones that are mentioned above. When I compared the Hubbells I got vs. the Leviton ones I had installed previously the build quality of the receptacles was light and day. The Hubbells were very heavy duty.

[DaveC]

I've seen the Hubbell 5262 receptacles and I think construction quality is about equal.

I got the MRI receptacles because they were (duh) designed for MRI rooms and are guaranteed to be made of all non-magnetic parts. It's harder to get info on exactly what platings and materials are in all the various Hubbell receptacles, there are many different models of 5262 and 8300....

I fully understand that a lot of people use and like the Hubbell receptacles, this thread was just to let people know there is a hospital grade receptacle that has NO magnetic materials in it, not to get into which brand is better. All brands make receptacles from $0.59 to $59.00, I do not believe what we are looking for depends on brand, but rather materials and contact grip, which vary wildly between different models of the same manufacturer. So sleepyguy, you may really be comparing apples to oranges unless you are sure both outlets were of the same type.

I had not heard of "MRI" receptacles before stumbling on it while while researching other receptacles on Amazon. Also, Leviton makes all the Wattgate stuff AFAIK... 

[rollo]

  An interesting find Dave. Non magnetic construction makes sense.
   Cryoing though may even make more of a difference then the outlet [ Hospital grade  or better a given].
    It is not code and I am not saying do it but but using no plug or recetacable is the best method so far. If you got the balls to try a PC with bare wire at wall end use scew nuts to attach house wire to PC. Use electrical tape to cover nuts and be happy. Basically a junction box in lieu of standard receptacle installation.
    Recently I tried this on an UberBuss feeding the front end. To my surprise more clarity and information. The sound just opened up. Bass was better defined as well with more weight.
    



charles
    

[DaveC]

 An interesting find Dave. Non magnetic construction makes sense.
   Cryoing though may even make more of a difference then the outlet [ Hospital grade  or better a given].
    It is not code and I am not saying do it but but using no plug or recetacable is the best method so far. If you got the balls to try a PC with bare wire at wall end use scew nuts to attach house wire to PC. Use electrical tape to cover nuts and be happy. Basically a junction box in lieu of standard receptacle installation.
    Recently I tried this on an UberBuss feeding the front end. To my surprise more clarity and information. The sound just opened up. Bass was better defined as well with more weight.
    



charles
    

Interesting, thanks.

Hardwiring should be ok according to code if you use the proper conduit to the device being wired, I'm not sure what requirements there might be for residential... worth looking into because if you do something not up to code your insurance might deny a claim if it started a fire or something. Also, I agree a wire nut will give better contact than any plug could, that's a good idea.

[mdconnelly]

 An interesting find Dave. Non magnetic construction makes sense.
   Cryoing though may even make more of a difference then the outlet [ Hospital grade  or better a given].
    It is not code and I am not saying do it but but using no plug or recetacable is the best method so far. If you got the balls to try a PC with bare wire at wall end use scew nuts to attach house wire to PC. Use electrical tape to cover nuts and be happy. Basically a junction box in lieu of standard receptacle installation.
    Recently I tried this on an UberBuss feeding the front end. To my surprise more clarity and information. The sound just opened up. Bass was better defined as well with more weight.
    
charles

While I totally understand the benefit, isn't that taking a big risk with insurance?  To be honest, I don't know so I'm curious...

[rollo]

  A good question about the liability of such an installation. If one uses a junction box and cover I cannot fathom an issue with safety.
  The wiring will be grounded per code with approved wire nuts and tape. Just makes sense to me.


charles
   

[BobM]

I think the recepticle of choice some years back, at least over at AudioAsylum, was recommended by Bob Crump. It was a Pass and Seymore 4562 (or some similar number). I got some of these and they were a very nice improvement, after break-in. But oh my God, the break in took forever. Yes, outlets do break in too - I now beleive it.

[richidoo]

Where conductor meets dielectric is where break-in must occur as molecules in the dielectric are reoriented by the charges in the conductor over time. Caps, wires, pots, etc.

I once looked into the possibility of eliminating the temporary connections for a single, unbroken 10ga conductor from the service panel to the power transformer. I learned that it is  legal only when the appliance is permanently attached to the structure and the conductor is fully protected, like in a wall-mounted electric heater. The romex can't be exposed, it must either be inside the wall fastened to the frame, or in protective conduit. No guarantee that your local fire marshall will agree that it meets code.

It would be interesting to compare unbroken 10ga romex soldered to transformer to a typical setup with high end power cable and two temporary connections at wall and IEC. The question is whether the fancy PC makes some change to the power quality significant enough to overcome the impedance advantage of unbroken length of 10ga romex.   As much as I would like to believe that the unbroken strand of 10/3 would win, I know better than to assume that.

There's always JPS in-wall romex made with alumiloy.  

Sorry a little off topic, but thanks for the info on recepticals. Another outlet that I have heard is very good is the Jena Labs outlet:
http://www.jenalabs.com/ac-products/ac-parts09.html