Furutech Gold and Copper connector

@adi74

I use Furutech GTx-Gold for my AMP and GTX-Rhodium for front end including power conditioner. It seems they are the best among other wall outlets. Audioquest has also a Silver wall outlet which seems to be interesting.

 @audiolabyrinth

@michelzay 

Late to this party, but great insights, thanks.

I recently moved a Nanotec #308 cable with Furutech FI-11 gold connectors to my receiver.  This great wire had sounded wonderful in the mids and highs, but a lttle bass heavy when connected to the linear power supply for my DAC.  Bam!  Attached to the high current device, the sound that the Nanotec wire with gold connectors produced was powerful, fast, dynamic and natural, producing in-the-room presence with all sources when compared to the Shunyata Diamondback cable with gold plated molded brass connectors it replaced. No woolly bass here.

Swapping the Shunyata into the DAC, it sounded a little more balanced, the bass was a little less woolly and the treble a little more tinkling, but the midrange magic was clearly down a notch. I attributed the cleaner bass to the Shunyata being shielded, which was why I thought to swap it in the first place. Overall sound not bad really for the modest price and molded brass gold-platted connectors, but the real revelation of the swap was the Nanotec on the receiver.

Of further relevance to the last part of this thread, I just replaced the Shunyata on the DAC’s power supply with a Furutech FP-SO22N cable and FI-28M/FI-28 Rhodium connectors.  Wow.  The woolly bass is gone, banished.  Stone cold off the bench, this cable was coherent top to bottom.  I came onto this thread due to break-in time reference for Furutech connectors, but must report the rhodium connectors are working extremely well for me on my digital front end, and an unshielded cable with a similar wire formula and copper/bronze/gold Furutech connectors sounds just right on my amp.  Very much looking forward to sound of Furutech cable/Rhodium connectors in my system once they are fully broken-in.

Michaelzay, I believe you are a well seasoned audiophile my friend, an asset to me, seems everything I find out about these Furutech GTX-D wpo's, from no where you are spot on like you read my mind or something, Rafael0054 talked me into tring the Gold out on the Krell amp, The Rhodium sounded better in everyway, including sound stage, but one important part of the tone, BTW, Krell is known for bass, for some odd reason, I cannot understand, The Gold had lower, fuller, bigger bass than the Rhodium on the krell amp, it's like I had a bass suck out on the krell, bass half notes that was thin compaired to the deep full bass of the Gold on the amp,you quoted this-,,,One could use Rhodium connector for CD player or preamp and Gold for Amps., what!, that is exactly what I am going to try today, for the first time, I am going to test the both on the entire system, since I only need two, The Rhodium had way better bass on the tube/solid state hybred digital, so this is a monkey wrench into what I thought before, being the Gold does bass correctly on the Krell, but everything else, including vocals and sound stage was way better with the Rhodium on the krell, just no bass, I do not get it?, I was about to send the Gold back for a Rhodium, I listened to Rafael0054 and did what he asked, mmm, glad I did, as they say, not so fast!, I will tell you how this may turn out.

As for power cords, based on my own experiences. I think AC connectors play a big role on the output sound. Obviously, there are plenty parameters to consider too, like cable materials, no. of gauges, device equipment (CD player, DAc, preamp, AMP), power conditioner(s), the interconnect cables materials, speaker cables and most importantly the SPEAKERS. Devices being Tube based or Solid-State could also play a role in term of overall dynamic and revealing different frequency ranges. One could use Rhodium connector for CD player or preamp and Gold for Amps. For example, I use Dynamic Design power cord with Rhodium for one of my power conditioners feeding my LCD TV and AMP, CD player with an excellent clarity and results. The Dynamic Design Challenger cable with Gold connectors are used on my CD player. On my second system, I use a DD power cable with Rhodium feeding my preamp/processor.

I am afraid there is no any objective way to make rules on using Rhodium or Gold on CD player or amp. It is a multi-dimensional problem without any theoretical answer. The best way is to try and test.

Beyond all of these, THE MOST PROMINENT PARAMETER is the PERSONAL TASTE on type of music (Classic, chamber, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Metal), preference of being a bass freak or not, preference to have a more lively midrange, preference on more articulated vocal voices and enjoinment of hearing more pronounced instruments on high frequency or not.
I tested and have a lot of power cords and put some for sale. Some present an excellent sound especially with big orchestra and some are more suitable for jazz or chamber music. Of course, some cables present a reasonable compromise between the two. One might also choose to have entire power cords sets for each of these configuration. Some are very good for power conditioner, some are better for CD player or preamp or amps.

Regarding expensive power cords (>$800 used!), I am not sure, the subtle improvement that they might bring to your system could be really justifiable. I don’t believe neither reviews on Magazines that could be biased. One could learn some notions from that but buying based on review is not recommended. Based on my experiences, buying a reasonable and not expensive cable and changing the nema/iec connectors would present a much better result. I think Rafael0054 did that too on his Purist audio cables.

what I want to know is, Has anyone mixed the Furutech GTX-D Rhodium with Gold Wpo's?

Hi Michaelzay, I enjoyed your review and find that I have the same impressions between Gold and Rhodium Furutech GTX-D wpo's, my cables are copper!, The Tara labs Zero Gold I/C, Tara labs Omega Gold speaker cables, Tara labs Cobalt power cord that is terminated with oyaide ends, the Rhodium is incredible with these cables, I went through a shock factor of the synergy with all of this, The Gold did not have the magical sound stage presatation or the Resolution that the Rodium brought out of my cables, you seem to be the first audiophile that knows what he is talking about, has nothing to do with tube or solid state equipment, like you said, rather it has everything to do with cables synergy!, well said Michaelzay, one thing that is most important that I have not said to no one yet, is the fact the Rhodium is incredible on the $5,450.00 Tara labs Cobalt power cord that is this,, Another industry first is TARA Labs' propriety annealing process, known as SA-OF8N 99.999999% copper (super-annealed, oxygen-free, eight nines pure copper). This creates a unique, long, unbroken crystal structure called “mono-crystal” which has exquisitely smooth and detailed transfer of frequencies over a very wide bandwidth. pure copper, which is the purest in the cable industry,even more pure than occ copper that is 6-nines,also versus cheaper power cords that I do not use that I had on hand for many comparisons that was not so much of a huge improvement like putting the Rhodium on a very good pure copper power cord, cheers.

Last week, I made another experience regarding Rhodium vs. Gold Ac connectors. I put back again my AQ Volcano (Copper) speaker cables (instead of AQ Meteor Silver) and some copper interconnects (instead of AQ SKY silver) that I have. With Fi-11 gold AC connectors, the sound was kind of dark side of warm sound and lacks a little bit the high frequencies. Even though music was alive and resolution details were present and the bass was too much pronounced. Honestly I am not a Bass freak… I put back again my Dynamic Design power cords having FI-11 Rhodium and high frequencies opened up magically with Copper interconnect/speaker cables having wider soundstage. The sound was more neutral and one could hear tiny noises out of the records.

It was a pleasant surprise which confirms the AC connector needs to be matched also with interconnect cables materials and speakers cables. Gold connectors with Silver interconnect/speaker cables and Rhodium connectors with copper interconnect/speaker cables. I continue to be amazed how Power cords and related AC connectors would impressively change my system sound. Of course, AC receptacle play a big role especially matching it with power cords. I use Tesla AC receptacle.

I ordered some Silver and Gold “iego” set AC connectors that I look forward to receive them to make new experiences with Silver connectors and compared them with Furutech. I was told Silver connectors presents the best of Gold and Rhodium, let’s see ...

Michel

which Furutech GTX-D Gold or Rhodium put the vocals further into the room and sound fuller?

Btw bo1972...i have tried purist anniv 25 on my amp but had better result in term of Sound quality with david Elrod gold on my amp.(had better ..(autority And différent texture in term of Sound reproduction wich i prefered..nevertheless trying on my cd ayoncd5 purist anniv 25 gave me better result but had to give it Back to the owner "friend" because of it´s price And kept my BMI o.stat with oyaide plugs on..😢..
What's your pview regarding luminus pcord from purist..?..on cdp..thx.chahed

I also have a Purist Audio Powercable with Oyaide 004. These I also prefer over the Furutech. Next year I will sell the Furutech plugs. Oyaide is a very lazy company with slow delivery. The people who are distributers of Oyaide dislike the company. Often I have to say no to my clients!!

The Oyaide F1/M1 outperforms the Furutech FI-50 with ease. I
have them both on the same Purist Audio powercable. The Oyaide
has a lot more drive/dynamics, more open mid en also more
resolution. I use the one with the Furutech for my subwoofer.

I was surprised how big the differences are. Used on a source
I had the same outcome. These days I only buy Purist Audio
powercables ( by far the best in the world) with F1/M1
connectors!

Always go for the best possible, the rest doensn't matter!!

I have been using rhodium for at least a year now still did not Break in yet the Sound is still Harsh could be my Pcord BMI.To my experience rhodium plug has the best électrical conductivity more Dynamic very directive but may take longer to be smart compared to gold wich has more body And caramelised Sound And silver Might be lean And polite Sound so it may take a bit longer for rhodium to reach what one may expect from others plugs And if you're patient rhodium Will provide your system fuller body Sound as far as your p. Cord is supériorité to its plugs therefore a better Controle of what is connected to its termination what ever is the plugs "rhodium -gold-béryllium -silver plugs" they all need to be inferior to what they are connected to (Powercord)And in my case i use BMI pcords stat.rhodium as stated before more Dynamic forwards Sound the second pcord is also Bmi stat And terminated with oyaide plugs 046/079 gold wich Sound more relaxed with full body Sound but less Dynamic connected to my amp And the third pcord is hammerhead with the same oyaide plugs Sound more transparent but less body but refined Each connectif has its parfum all dépend where or with wich gear it is connected of course system dépend . So the plugs connect or must be inferior to the pcord.That´s what i noticed with my system.
Hope that helps.CHAHED

B01972- You are right on Oyaide connectors. It takes forever to get a clear sound out of them. Pricewise they are more expensive. I hear they are good but never used them. On their descriptions it is mentioned they use brass. The dilemma is that usually brass electrical conductivity is inferior compared to Rhodium, Gold and Copper!So, how they do it to sound so good.

Furutech connectors are very good and present tones of sound details. I bought a pair of them (FI-iiMM/IEC) sometimes ago. Before purchasing more of them to make some DIY cables, I tested those on some of my cables. FI-11 Gold are very good but even after 3 days, it is still doesn't have too much of clarity that one would expect. It is compared to Rhodium version. The bass is much fuller, midrange is fantastic and a little bit of shyness on High frequencies. Hopefully after 200 hours I will get more clear sound and precision on different spectrum of frequencies.

Power cable choice is not an exact science! Besides, I found it is useless to trust reviews on power cables in general and from one system to another one could get totally different sound. I tried several cables along with different power conditioners. Each has its good features as well as its drawbacks. It is valid also for choice of connector, from Rhodium to Gold the difference is so audible. It is amazing to find out how a power cord could totally change the sound character of your system.

Next try will be to test Furutech copper connector which seems to be more neutral.

Sonic_genius , For break-in power cords, in some sites I saw:
“Appliances such as computers and refrigerators are ineffective for breaking in power cords because they have energy-saving modes. Using appliances such as heaters, air conditioners, and powerful fans for over 100 hours can save significant in-system break-in time. “

Higher current breaks in connectors and cables faster. Try a refrigerator or air conditioner.

I agree, Chris vanhause knows what he is talking about, I respect him, and do bussiness with him.

I have changed often connectors for myslef and clients. So I know the burn in time very well. I have compared connectors of different brands a lot. Oyaide is a company what is a pain in the ass for many companies who use their connectors. Many stopped working with them, they did not have a choice. But theyare stil the best. I have the best Furutech makes, but the Oyaide are better in dynamics and also in details. I am a perfectionist and only interested in the best. It is difficult to get Oyaide, but for myself I only want these on my cables. Rest I really don't care!

Thanks Bo1972, I exchanged a couple of email with Chris Vanhaus at VH audio. He had a kindness to replay and here is his answer:

[Chris VenHaus
replied:] I can't really answer about the connectors themselves, since I usually also need to take into account the burn-in of the cable. Cables are usually 200-400 hours, and receptacles are usually 200-300 hours, so I'd say probably about 200 hours or so should get you to a good place.

Chris is a gentleman and it is so nice to have his feedback.

Cheers,
Michel

And yess powercables have a burn in period of about 300-400 hours.

For connectors is a lot shorter than a cable. It is about 24 hours.

As response, Not Funny and So Ridiculous.

Optimization at 324 hours and 42 minutes.