@ghdprentice AQ Hurricane is a very nice cable. I had it long enough to get verry familiar with its pros and cons.
Hurricane’s emphasis on bass had me impressed initially with its power and texture. However , it happens to also be this cable’s curse. Eventually I realized it was all the coloration and its tendency to sound bottom heavy, which in turn muddies up the mids and warms up the treble a bit too much. The air was missing. It sounded pinched in the highs.
The DPS-4.1 with FI-50 NCF plugs has a more open sound with tighter, more articulate bass, clearer mids and sweeter more extended highs. There’s more air around the instruments and vocals with the Furutech. The soundstage grows wider (depth is about the same).
As far as Rhodium plating goes, and this is based on my experience with Audience AU24SX speaker cables with Rhodium plated spades, the two GTX-D R NCF outlets, the FP-S55n power cable with FI-50 R NCF and the FP-S032n power cable with regular FI-50 R connectors. There’s absolutely zero hardness/harshness to the sound. The presentation is free flowing and relaxed.
If there’s a downside to the aforementioned Furutech components it would be the break in process where you get excellent sound right out of the gate but it degrades quickly, within the first 24 hours and the rollercoaster begins. At different points throughout the break in you will have dull highs, gray and veiled mids, weak bass, nasty brightness. This all goes away and the cables and plugs begin to settle after about 300hrs and continue to improve for another 200-300 hrs after that.
It’s extremely annoying and not easy to live thru but hang in there and you’ll be rewarded with great sound.
@shtr74sims Talk to Chris at VH Audio about the plugs for DPS. I wouldn’t go lower than FI-50 R for that cable. Not worth sitting and wondering what you may be missing.