PS Audio Introduces The Power Port, The First AC Socket Custom-Designed For A/V Systems

Innovative, Affordable, And Easy To Install, New AC Receptacle Significantly Improves Audio And Video Performance

18-May-01

PS Audio, an innovator for 30 years in developing superb high performance audio components, introduces the Power Port, the first AC socket specifically designed for home A/V systems. The Power Port is a custom-built hospital-grade, 15 to 20-amp receptacle with isolated grounds. It is designed to significantly improve audio and A/V system performance, noticeably enhancing both audio and video quality. PS Audio, a company long-dedicated to the importance of ""getting it right"" when it comes to AC power, believes the Power Port to be the finest A/V-grade AC receptacle in the world.The Power Port joins a distinguished and growing family of innovative power line components that includes the award-winning Power Plant series of personal power generators, the compact Ultimate Outlet, which provides clean, protected AC power for audio and video components, and the Lab Cable and Mini Lab Cable, unsurpassed reference quality power delivery systems.The Power Port dramatically increases electrical conductivity and connectivity through a unique design that deposits 15 layers of hand-polished nickel plating over machined brass. The innovative process helps users maintain high levels of A/V system performance for years to come by reducing surface pitting and eliminating the efficiency-draining oxidation and corrosion that occurs in conventional AC sockets.The AC receptacle, or wall socket, is the interface between our power sources and our power and A/V equipment. Most homes in the U.S. and Canada use 15-amp duplex NEMA wall sockets. Some use 20-amp versions, but all are basically the same. In developing the Power Port, PS Audio evaluated every AC receptacle its engineers could find. It installed the best of these, the Arrow Hart hospital-grade receptacle, into its groundbreaking Power Plants, which regulate voltage and create a balanced power supply.Continuing its research, PS Audio discovered that different AC receptacles sound different - that is, audio performance varies depending on the type of AC receptacle an audio system is plugged into. PS Audio identified three major categories of receptacle: Commercial Grade, Spec Grade, and Hospital Grade.Commercial Grade plugs - the type used in 90 percent of North American homes - sound noticeably poor, and can also degrade the video quality of any large-screen display. Constructed out of stamped steel and brass, the ground connections are riveted in place, and made from dissimilar materials. The contacts quickly oxidize, tarnish, and become pitted, conditions incompatible with top performance.Spec and Hospital Grade outlets are made essentially the same way, with one or two exceptions. Hospital Grade plugs, for example, maintain a tested, certified tension on male plugs, and are built to minimize the danger of explosion from oxygen-rich hospital environments. But from a listening standpoint, there is little or no difference between them and Commercial Grade plugs.PS Audio believed a plug could be designed that would significantly improve A/V performance, and maintain top performance for a much longer time. To achieve this, PS Audio formed an engineering and manufacturing alliance with one of the nation's leading AC receptacle manufacturers. The solution, developed with the experts, called for machining the contacts in solid high-purity brass, polishing the surface, then nickel plating and polishing the surface again. After many trials, PS Audio discovered it would take 15 separate coats of nickel and 15 separate hand-polishing operations to achieve the desired results - maximum conductivity and a high surface area, without pitting, oxidation or corrosion over the life of the plug.That's a lot of plating and polishing, but the results proved worth the effort. In addition to its unique construction, the Power Port is a certified Hospital Grade outlet, which means its contacts have a grip of steel and maintain full tension on all male plugs. The Power Port is also fully isolated. In many homes, the outlet boxes that contain the receptacles are grounded through house wiring or the metal pipes that convey the wiring, leaving consumers little or no control over grounding. With the duplex Power Port, users have the freedom to separate the top and bottom receptacles, as each is isolated from the other. For example, users can use the top plug for digital components and the bottom plug for analog components, or run a 15-amp circuit on the bottom plug and a 20-amp circuit on the top plug. The Power Port is designed for 20 amps, but can be used in any 15-amp circuit. Its construction and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certification guarantee it can be used safely and legally to run anything from a 10-amp to a 20-amp circuit. Power Ports are also easy to install. The basic steps are: turn off power to the outlet, remove the cover plate and two screws holding the existing plug, then pull the plug out of the box. Use a screwdriver to disconnect the wires from the existing plug and reconnect them to the Power Port. Restore the two screws and cover plate and youíre done.For more information about the Power Port and PS Audio, visit www.psaudio.com.

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