I have used an FIM 880 for many years. I also have the Furutech NCF and Prior Furutech generation, Furutech GTD Rhodium, Oyaide R-1, Maestro, Furutech 101, PS audio PPP, and standard PS Audio outlets (blue).
I’ve been living with the Maestro for several months, and somehow my system sounds awry. There is a missing snap, crackle, pop to the music and while this may be a distortion, I’ve had the CDs for 30 years and heard them on various equipment, in different parts of the country, friends systems and dealer alike. And I would have to say that I prefer the FIM 880 over the Maestro, which strikes me as having a slight suck out in the upper mid range and the lower treble. Very minor - but audible. I think I’m going to reinstall my FIM 880. I don’t doubt the music sounds excellent, but there IS a slight loss of presence that is not merely from having a hyped up upper mid range and lower trip. I think the maestro truly has a very mild “BBC dip” and makes the music sound more genteel then it should. And it sounds lovely, but not as distinct in some ways as the maestro, not as three dimensional as the maestro and it definitely has less upper to lower bass power than the FIM. It took me quite a while to arrive at this conclusion. I wondered if I was hearing a quality to the music that was just too “polite. “ So what are the new super outlet these days?
Ye, a long thread, but an important one. 16 years old! Outlets have changed quite a bit since then and since they are the VERY first thing that the power cord encounters, we need to be very cognizant of any euphonic colorations, especially since the outlet will, to some degree, “color” the power cord.
I’ve been living with the Maestro for several months, and somehow my system sounds awry. There is a missing snap, crackle, pop to the music and while this may be a distortion, I’ve had the CDs for 30 years and heard them on various equipment, in different parts of the country, friends systems and dealer alike. And I would have to say that I prefer the FIM 880 over the Maestro, which strikes me as having a slight suck out in the upper mid range and the lower treble. Very minor - but audible. I think I’m going to reinstall my FIM 880. I don’t doubt the music sounds excellent, but there IS a slight loss of presence that is not merely from having a hyped up upper mid range and lower trip. I think the maestro truly has a very mild “BBC dip” and makes the music sound more genteel then it should. And it sounds lovely, but not as distinct in some ways as the maestro, not as three dimensional as the maestro and it definitely has less upper to lower bass power than the FIM. It took me quite a while to arrive at this conclusion. I wondered if I was hearing a quality to the music that was just too “polite. “ So what are the new super outlet these days?
Ye, a long thread, but an important one. 16 years old! Outlets have changed quite a bit since then and since they are the VERY first thing that the power cord encounters, we need to be very cognizant of any euphonic colorations, especially since the outlet will, to some degree, “color” the power cord.