Furutech GTX NCF receptical break in, how long

Right, I can’t believe I’m updating this thread. A little update. Just today I’m hearing a change with the system. The bass is hitting lower and sounds fuller with better definition and detail. More defined. Midrange and treble also sound fuller and fleshed out. The highs sound silkier and more illuminating. I can’t believe this. I thought I’m not getting anymore changes with the system but it looks like the Furutech NCF receptacle really needs time to break-in.

I’ve made some calculations and so far I think I have about 300 hours on the outlet. If this thing will only give its 100% after reaching 500 hours as claimed by few here, I can’t imagine how my system would sound like then. At the rate I’m going I think I need 2 more months to get to the 500 hour mark.

Thanks for the update.

Burn in has begun with the Furutech GTX ncf and of course I liked what I heard out the box but not going to fall for that old trick! Good thing I have cables and my Jc5 still needing to finish burning in so here we go all  been running 24/7, I'll post back in a few weeks with an update.

Just over a 120hrs on the GTX ncf and last night sounded good with bass extension returning, the two nights before had me worried. I do use a 1hr break with no signal as two allow a relax period then back at it. I'm burning in Morrow Audio MA 5 xlr's  as well which arrived two days prior and last night indicates when all said and done this will be great.

Don't be surprised if the Furutech GTX NCF outlet alters good to bad and takes hundreds of hours to break-in and sound good 100% of the time as has been stated earlier.

I'm in for the long haul as I've been burning in gear for the last three months and this is the icing on the cake!

All Furutech products are basically the same burn in story because its their Alpha OCC materials, the exception being their teflon DSS cable which is a whopping 500-700hrs or their 55N PC which is like 800 hrs. (My DSS literally sounded worse at 300hrs than $5 Audioquest cables I plugged in and compared)

NCF material requires no burn-in, it is a passive effect from crystals embedded in the plastic housing. You can buy booster braces and instantly get an effect when you put them around cables, like if you have a gold outlet.

I’ve been burning in Furu gear for about a year, story is always the same - decent but bloomy out of the box. Then a dive until 100-150hrs. Then an irritating sharpness till around 200-250 and you start to cry thinking you bought the wrong thing. Then it smooths out and we open up to spaciousness around low 300s. Then you think you are done, and sweetness comes in the very end around 350-400+.

I also noticed the differences between R and G become small when you are in the thousands of hours compared to how things start out. They are there, but not nearly as extreme as the start if you compare apples to apples connectors. which I have. I stopped judging anything I hear from Furutech until 300hrs. Amazing how many reviewers (even 6moons) take their products out of a box and immediately make comments. Its also amazing Furutech isn’t mitigating this information, but they are a weird company run by an eccentric trust funder. A totally legit and awesome company, but weird. 

Come sunday i will have 388 hrs on the    Furutech GTX NCF outlet, I took a good listen last night for changes (  I've used the same two disc for the last 4 months to evaluate my various upgrades for the end of 2020) and in contrast to out the box and mid way through, the highs are opening up nicely and shimmer has arrived in delicate bells that were missing up till now. The taunt bass heard out the box is extended and show casing layers, midrage has a beautiful timber with realism . depth and demision in the sound stage is also more broad without losing dead center imaging. Pretty impressive!

One thing to be aware of is the Furutech products increase _transparency_, not euphonics. What this means is that, often times, I have used a test song or album that progressively sounded worse as the cables broke in. The dynamic range became smaller and flatter, etc. 

Once I began branching out to other albums in my collection, I was blown away at the reverse happening. 

The cables/metals are going to reveal sound - albums with low LU (loudness units) will properly appear flatter and more "in your face", and albums with high ones (like classical) will grow in dimension. 

Bad cables/metals will often "add" dynamics and weird things that aren't in the music but mask good stuff there is. That's why I totally abandoned WBT. :)

Indeed it's revealing of the source . one main trait this outlet has that I like is it's relentless dynamic burst that can be startling at times but still. Retains musical flow, bit of an enigma at times. I still need another 300+ hrs  I'm at about 500hrs and changes are still occurring . I have a fully burned in AQ Edison outlet which is by no means a slouch by any means and will compare the two as they're in the same duplex.

The outlet is done settling in and took 600-700 hrs to do so! The result is well worth the wait and is flat out what could be considered  essential as it's the best outlet money can buy and does indeed represent the current SOTA. Hard pressed to give it a sound character as it just gets out of the way of the source , It's not fatiguing in anyway, its never dull or overly warm  one would think when judging it's plating (Rhodium) that it will have this sound or that sound and you would be wrong. I could really go on and on about this outlet but for the first time giving thoughts on an addition I'm at a loss for words! In short if you want to upgrade your outlet, skip the rest save your money if need be and get the Furutech GTX-D NCF ! 

Sharing my experience with a recent install of a pair of Furutech GTX-D NCF(R) Duplexes; GTX Wall Frames; and 106-D NCF Outlet Covers.

Having read this thread as well as others regarding break-in for the NCF(R) duplexes, I was expecting a long and wild ride.

This has not been the case. After about 2.5 hours sound quality settled and has incrementally improved since, with the exception of some weirdness with vocals on day 1 and day 2.

I have not experienced the variance others have reported.

I have been playing music through the system for 14 to 16 hours a day followed by a 10 to 8 hour break, though there is some draw through the outlets during the down time.

My system is highly transparent (read: resolving... mentioning this to address a point from earlier in the thread regarding low-resolving systems).

The outlets have about 220 total hours on them (as of now). Assuming 60% playtime, accounts for 132 of the total hours (an approximate figure).

The outlets were in their original packaging. In other words, no prior burn-in.

I have not experienced the variance others have reported.

I have been playing music through the system for 14 to 16 hours a day followed by a 10 to 8 hour break, though there is some draw through the outlets during the down time.

My system is highly transparent (read: resolving... mentioning this to address a point from earlier in the thread regarding low-resolving systems).

The outlets have about 220 total hours on them (as of now). Assuming 60% playtime, accounts for 132 of the total hours (an approximate figure).

May I ask if you have experienced further changes to the sound after 400 hours or so? 220 hours is quite far off the 300 hour mark where I perceived a sudden significant jump in performance with the outlet.

As echoed by others, this GTX-D NCF outlet is the best I’ve experienced in my system. I do not have the privilege of trying other premium outlets but this one combined with good power cords truly transformed my system.

@ryder   Incremental improvement, only...since my previous post.

Certainly no 'jumps' in performance.

May I ask if you have experienced further changes to the sound after 400 hours or so?

Approximately 340 hours of additional active play time since my post on 9/30. Therefore, just under 500 hours as of today. Total draw time is approaching 800 hours.

+1 regarding: "this GTX-D NCF outlet is the best I’ve experienced"

My previous experience with the same NCF outlet was very different (read...not as impressed). However, that was the receptacle only implemented in a power supply. 

I currently have two of the bundled outlet sets. I will be adding two more bundle sets.

Reminds me of an old joke...new car buyer asks how long will her car take to break in?...dealer says...by the time the engine blows--she’s well broken in!