I have been using a strip with Cary tube preamp and digital
sources on a Furutech GTX-D Gold outlet and Pass power amp to a Maestro
on the wall for a while now.
The combination seems decent but
lately with some bass heavy recordings I have found the bass thick and
boomy on extreme low bass notes. The mids and highs are fine and I tend
to be sensitive to bright treble.
I took the preamp out and put
it to the Maestro on the wall and this ameliorated the bass somewhat.
Everything became fuller sounding but as a result, there was less low
bass reverb (sounds contradictory?)
I suspect it is the GTX-D
Gold. I am guessing if I replaced that with a GTX-D Rhodium NCF, it will
tighten up the bass and hopefully eliminate the excessive low bass
reverb. But in doing so, will the highs become too forward, hard or
bright as Rhodium tends to be vs Gold?
Any experienced feedback from users who have tried the Maestro, GTX-D Gold and GTX-D Rhodium NCF is much appreciated.
mikey8811: I think your description of Rhodium is spot on plus it often takes 500 hours to fully break in. I have compared the GTX-D Rhodium (nonNCF) to the Synergistic Research Blue outlet and I really like The Blue outlet. The sound is more precise without being hard or bright. The music has a relaxed flow but with wonderful details and a full bodied texture to individual notes. I also like the fact that the Blue outlet comes with a 30 return and during September there is a special that gives you a free Synergistic Research Blue fuse with the purchase of a Blue outlet.
Yes. Furutech gold-plated will be warm, with bass that is not as bight, but it does soften and roll-off the high frequencies.
Furutech rhodium will have deep tight powerful bass, but it will also have a lot of resolution and attack in the high frequencies. If you don't like high frequencies then this may not be for you.
You could try davidpritchard's idea of the Synergistic BLUE outlet. I have never tried this but it is possible that the BLUE could be smoother and more forgiving in the highs than the Furutech rhodium.
mikey8811: Since you are in Malasia you could try a Synergistic Research Blue outlet from their Hong Kong dealer. Lowther China. E- mail: creevyyu @gmail.com.I have not tried or read any feedback with the Cardas outlet. I have tried the SR Blue outlet and the Furutech GTX-R outlets and while both are excellent I do prefer the SR Blue.
I have about 5 hours on them now. I have the Cary tube preamp and digital sources on a strip to the outlet. I have the Pass Labs power amp on the Maestro.
There is greater clarity, air and instrumental separation. Image outlines are also more distinct, but with less bloom and fullness - I guess this would constitute a minor negative. The bass has tightened up and there is more micro detail all round.
More on the downside, the treble has become "silvery" with a bit of hardness and brightness. There is more extension but the sound doesn’t seem like it has opened up yet and still sounds etched and shut in.
I do hope the treble hardness and brightness goes away. How long does this take?
The GTX D Gold had boomy low bass but I liked the top end on that. Overall, if I had to choose one among the 3 outlets, I prefer the Maestro so far.
mikey8811: Your memory is correct. Rhodium outlets have the longest and most frustrating burn in of the outlets that are available. Elizabeth's approach to condition the Rhodium outlets for Months outside the audio chain and only then install them is the only approach that makes sense. I have endured the long break in with the Furutech GTX Rhodium outlets and I hated it.
I must say this is why I prefer the Synergistic Research Blue outlets. Twenty four hours after being installed they sound good, 3 days latter they sound better, and after 10 days they sound great! If you are unsure you like them at 21 days, send them back. This makes for a quick and easy experiment.
NCF has the worst break in of anything I've ever seen, be prepared to wait at least 7 to 8 weeks and maybe it will level out, this outlet is totally schizophrenic. NCF information retrieval is unbelievable but at at a cost of sounding a little analytical in my all tube system after break in. To solve problem I left NCF in wall and bought furutech gold to go in power conditioner. Gold with rolled off highs took away what I liked about NCF. I almost pulled NCF but with one last shot I bought the new version of PI Audio modded Pass Seymour heavy duty outlet. PI Audio outlet totally solved problem! PI audio outlet has same characteristics as NCF but more musical to my ears. This combination saved NCF from living the rest of its life in a junk drawer. I also found after break in if NCF does not have power running through it and system is not being used for 4 or 5 days it can sound thin for 4 to 12 hours. Good luck, if you can find a good combination NCF is well worth the purchase.
I whopped a Cardas Golden Reference power cord on the DAC (I had a Cardas Clear Beyond there) and it ameliorated the issue with the highs brought about by the GTX-D R NCF, making the listening more enjoyable and less of a chore during the burn in process.
There was less air and space between notes than with the Clear Beyond but a fuller more "golden" sound kind of like with the GTX-D Gold outlet but with more detail.
All these tweaks and cabling are tone controls - just saying.
Would it be enough to have poweramp and dac/preamp in standby while it rests to keep the Furutech Rhodium outlet "warm" without having to heat up the rhodium outlet for 4-5 hours before listening?
Thanks Elisabeth. I bought two Furutech Rhodium (Not NCF) outlets a year ago. I installed one and it sounded awful so i threw them in a drawer. After reading this forum they areback in the wall.. and Im already liking what Im hearing. 😊
Has anyone compared the Furutech GTX-D (R) NCF to the GTX-D (R) non-NCF? I was told the NCF reduces a little sparkle in the highs and makes it sound smoother. It’s like applying dolby NR with the NCF? Does anyone find the non-NCF to sound more neutral and uncoloured, or perhaps better than the NCF equivalent?
Looks like I'm answering my own question I posted above. I just installed the Furutech GTX-D NCF and although I didn't compare it with the non-NCF, man the difference between the GTX-D NCF and standard outlet is night and day. Stunning improvement in sound quality. Clarity, dynamics and everything improved by leaps and bounds.
I have both GTX-R and GTX-R NCF side by side. The first is fully broken in, the second is brand new but has been previously installed in the shop and an air fan worked full speed trough it for about 60 hours. Now installed in the music room, I did not hear or feel any significant difference between it and the non-NCF (not yet). Nor did I feel or hear any of the agressive rendering coming usualy with new, unbroken sophisticated cable or outlet. An Audience Adept Response aR2p-TO is plugged into it and the amp into the conditioner. All the other components are plugged into a Chang Lightspeed which is itself plugged into the aR2p-TO. If you want to know, the amp, a Classé Delta 2300, works much better through the aR2p-TO than directly in the wall, and the whole thing also sounds better when the Chang goes through the aR2p-TO than directly in the wall receptacle.
I just did my time with the Furutech GTX-D Rhodium NCF. I call it doing time because it felt like I was in prison for a few months. The rhodium made the highs unnatural and breakin never helped. I tried running a fan from the outlet for a week, still no good. I just switched the outlet to the GTX D Gold and am instantly happier. I felt like I ruined my system with the rhodium. I’m the type of listener that likes to hear the different tone from one cymbal to the next. All the rhodium did was hiss at me. It had a few good qualities but not enough to make up for that.
Furutech GTX-D R NCF has a sharp, dynamic and vivid presentation. It does wonder for my subwoofers. It is more dynamic and impactful on the low end without the unnaturalness of the highs.
For comparison, Oyaide R1 is more balance. Audioquest Edison is more musical and smooth, but lacks a little vividness compare to the other two.
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