for a friend: $148 for a power socket, worth it or not?

What kind of noise?

No.

It's just a power socket with nothing to get even line noise out of the system (which is unlikely to be your problem).

One of the reviews on that page talks about a flux capacitor...

This was posted on fark last week and by the end of the day it had over 100 joke reviews. Looks like PE has been yanking most of them.

iM part of it

But wait, I still have $500 magic sonic purifier outlet plates for sale......

PE will stock and sell parts that someone wants to buy. As long as someone buys them, they sill stock and advertise them. They are in business ( thank you) and will do whatever is reasonable and legal to protect their income. They are not a hobbyist non-profit.
We here in the DIY hobby take the responsibility of educating our community of interest which is snake oil and which is not. What really scares me is the complete willingness for some to read the advertisement and believe totally what it says. No thought of physics, no thought of the source of the information. Really scary. I guess technology is so akin to magic, people will believe anything. I wonder what they are teaching in schools? My generation was brought up questioning everything.

The product in question appears to be a very high grade electrical socket (outlet), nothing more.
It (correctly) makes no claims regarding shunting RF energy to ground or "filtering" if you prefer.
The advisability of spending that much for an electrical outlet for any reason is doubtful.
In the case of your friend's RF interference problem, this outlet would have no effect, nor does it claim that it would.

To solve the problem, your friend would need to determine the entry point of the RF energy.
It may be entering through the power supply of one of his pieces of equipment, or another avenue of entry may be used, such as an improperly shielded cable, acting as an antenna.

It would be helpful to know if the problem presents itself only under certain circumstances. That would be a useful clue.

It would be very handy if your friend can get his hands on an oscilloscope.

that's where I'm putting my money

Isn't that somewhat backwards? Shouldn't the manufacturer be showing the science? I mean isnt that what modern "advertising" is, spinning the science so the device looks appealing?

I'd love to see the manufacturers graduated test data showing the marked improvement over specific model of standard wall plugs. Reproducable data.

Or a piece of speaker cable. When I lived within sight of 100KW FM towers I had a vertical run of speaker wire that happened to match a quarter wave length. That demodulated in one of my tweeter amplifiers into audible FM!

A small adjustment to wire dress fixed the problem.

This receptacle isn't going to keep RFI out of your system any better than any other receptacle. There is no filtering circuitry built into it.

The one thing this receptacle has going for it over what is in most peoples' houses is the triple wipe contacts. It gives a better grip on the blades of the plug. You can get this in a hospital grade receptacle for a lot less money. Note that you may get complaints that it is hard to plug into the receptacle.

The gold plating and cryo treatment won't do a thing for you.

Ha, its a leviton M5362. Cost from china is about $0.35. Personally been to the factory that makes these parts.

I should tell my company we should do the same thing. People are stupid enough to fall for it. A GP of 600% is fantastic

Look on Digikey for Schurter Medical Grade filtered power entry module. This type of device has a mechanism (filter with R,C,L), to actually address power line noise (if the problem has anything to do with power line noise). They also sell separate power filters, I believe they are analogous to what are included in high end surge protectors.

Now, the expensive outlet probably has a great feel to it, but it will only improve the noise situation if the old one is faulty.

Solidly based on the principals of Madison Av. It is absolutely guaranteed not to interfere with the purity of sonic reproduction. I support this claim because it is clearly not related to the sonic path whatsoever! It's advanced manufacturing process ( how else could they be made for 3 cents each) and modern high tech (plastic) compound allow me to offer a 100% purchase price guarantee! (you only forfeit the $29.95 shipping and handling charge and are responsible for return postage) But wait! This week only, if you don't like it you don't even need to return it!

(For the international readers out there, Madison Av. is the center of the advertising business in New York. "Madison Av. Engineering" is the term used for purely invented technical claims.)

At least when we bought pet rocks, the care and feeding guide was well worth the cost. Who would have thought up how to train your pet rock to defend you! (throw it). Basic commands like "stay". Really, it was very well done. Either that, or we were all smoking the same thing. Hard to remember.

Next week, I will market my remote aura upgrade. Send me the $29.95 handling fee up front per outlet (every one in the house is required for full guarantee) and my telepathic powers will ensure your existing outlet plates do not interfere with the purity of sound of any esoteric only equipment plugged into a outlet covered with them.

This is right after I finish my roll-out breakthrough new product of dry nitrogen to replace the air in your speakers. "Consistent sound due to predictable thermal expansion of dessicated pure gas and reduced degradation of the motor and butal surround." It should be equally as effective in sonic improvements as using it is street tires is. Yea, I made a few friends in the tire business on that one. Got tossed off one forum. Some people don't like it when they have to admit they got snookered. I think the offended person actually bought a full cylinder from the local gas supplier. "Dry" Right. Ever watch a tire get mounted? See that big swab of soapy water they slop the rim and bead with?

Now everyone knows why a BS in Business is called a BS degree. Most of what they taught us was.... BS.

Serious comment on outlets. Here in the US, outlets are actually made in several quality levels. Jobber, Commercial, and Hospital. Hospital grade are certified against leakage currents for use where sensitive (read that poorly designed) medical equipment is plugged in. Jobber is the cheapest that will meet NEC, UL and CSA standards, where commercial is a bit beefier and has stronger tension on the blades when inserted. $1.29 vs $4.29 at the big orange store. I did have some outlets that were fatigued enough after 50 years that they were in danger of overheating with a heavy load. (Kitchen appliance) so I spent the extra for commercial grade when I replaced them. Probably a waste of money as I expect jobber grade will outlive me. But as an engineering type, I like overkill. I would be seriously concerned about putting an outlet inside a wall box that has rf or transient suppression components in it. These are usually sacrificial. You may notice surge suppressor strips always have a circuit breaker or fuse in them. This is because MOV's SHORT. Not what I want in my walls.

I forgot to thank Canada for CSA. Far more sane and stricter requirements than UL. Well done neighbor.

You missed your calling, my TVR affectionado friend.
You belong on Madison Avenue!

Naw. I prefer to be able to sleep at night. Easier now my TVR has found a new home in NJ. I am totally out of the British car addiction. They are all gone. Maybe it is withdrawal. At least I will have space come spring to set my table saw up and get back to speaker building.

Awesome! That's a screaming deal at half the price of Machina Dynamica's Teleportation Tweak and way easier since you don't have to answer the phone.

http://www.machinadynamica.com/machina60.htm

Leviton makes commercial grade outlets which run the side screws into a floating piece of metal which lets electricians too lazy to form the wire ends into hooks back-wire without relying on normal back-wire outlets' silly spring clip.

I'd like to see some customer reviews before taking the plunge on that one, but their "Nimbus Sub-Hertz Isolation Platform" shows some real promise.
This is some seriously hilarious stuff!

I have a feeling this was a test of scientific debate more than desnaking of oil.

Can most people see through the charade? Yes.

Can most people turn that common sense into a scientific debate of the subject at hand? Maybe not.

Reference: http://svconline.com/mag/avinstall_u...ontrolling_rf/

"...strategies to control RFI..."

"Maintain good connections. Connectors left undisturbed for long periods can develop high-contact resistance or become metal oxide detectors for RF. Hum or other interference that changes when the connector is wiggled indicates a poor contact. Use a good commercial contact fluid and/or gold-plated connectors."

Basically it's saying that a poor connection can become like a semi-conducting junction and act a bit like a diode which would demodulate RF. This could thus cause RF noise to enter the system.

So the answer to your question is...maybe. It depends on whether or not your problem is caused by poor contact at the AC receptacle. If so then this product might solve the problem. Cleaning the contacts of the original receptacle or replacing it with a new inexpensive one may also solve it equally well.

mk

Tell that to bose.