Solid Rhodium is corrosion proof. Gold plating deteriorates within time or times of using connecting/disconnecting. Solid Rhodium will always be same.
Solid Silver is the best conductor or even silver plated termination may sonically perform better than both Rhodium or silver due to the best conductivity.
Niether Rhodium or Gold-plated termination will have substantial differences in performance after all, but Rhodium will last a life time if not more. |
Czarivey,
You stated "Niether [sic] Rhodium or Gold-plated termination will have substantial differences in performance after all ..."
My experience is that there are substantial differences in my system between gold and rhodium. My system prefers rhodium. |
Popular opinion is that rhodium plating is neutral to cool while gold is slightly on the warmer side.
I've installed rhodium and gold plated Furutech outlets as well as Furutech AC power cable terminations with both platings. If the described differences exist at all I find them to be quite subtle. IMO: You could go either way without discerning much difference.
While gold plating is definitely cheaper the durability issue mentioned in the previous post might be a consideration as I have had gold wear off AC plugs. In retrospect I wouldn't lose too much sleep over this issue although others may feel differently.
Another possibility to explore is unplated copper AC outlets and terminations. Opinions on these indicate an even warmer presentation than gold plating although I have no experience with them. Visions of green corrosion has prevented me from trying these although that may be an unjustifiable bias. |
unplated cooper will need frequent corrosion cleaning
Rja, what is the measure units of Sound Temperature? |
I'm not sure Czarivey. For sure the whole subject is extremely subjective (no pun intended). As mentioned, I don't perceive much difference between rhodium and gold.
The differences I described I attributed to the opinions of others (practicing to become a politician?). |
Had them all from Oyaide and my experience is the same from Czarivey...my choice is Silver. |
Sabai,
Your statement doesn't surprise me as I'm sure this whole thing is very system dependent. In my system I hear very little difference but if I had it all to do over again I'd probably go the rhodium route because of the increased durability. As I mentioned I have had gold wear off AC prongs exposing the underlying copper and who knows what goes on inside the outlets?.
When it comes to audio I try to abstain from making all encompassing statements such as "there is no difference" as my opinions are based only on my own experience. Too many variables exist to make such statements.
While asking for opinions is a good place to start, experimentation is definitely the key to finding what's best for a given system and listener. |
For the most part (generality), Rhodium seems to sound like a loudness button was pushed. More top end cleanliness and extension, and tighter and louder bass. The mids seem to retract a wee bit.
Again, very general impression based on 4-5 rhodium plugs I've heard and tested vs standard copper or gold plated copper/brass. |
Rja, don't take it very seriously, I'm far away of being politician:-) I'd rather ask the community about 'Sound Temperature' cuz I'm just curious!
My interconnects are silver-coated. Gold and Rhodium make them more durable vs. silver, but I don't mind taking some time and 'deoxit' them. I stay with logic rule of minimum connection impedance and so far it worked very well. Connection quality and also material matters more than quality of wire itself. |
Most audiophools would probably agree that the terms cool, neutral and warm could be attributed to sound produced by audio systems but how you would/could measure it or quantify it I have absolutely no idea. I like your descriptor of "Sound Temperature" though. |
So recently, I came cross to the same challenge Â… choosing between Rhodium and Gold connector. I had two long cable ended with Furutech Rhodium connectors, I cut them by half and created two more cables using Furutech Gold F-11 connectors. It took more than 180 hours to break-in new Gold connectors. Same cable with Rdodium give this impression of an airier HF and less Bass and midrange compared to Gold connector.
It all depends, to which components they are connected. I use a cable with Rhodium connectors to feed my Tara labs PM2 power conditioner. My LECD-Tv is connected to this PC and picture quality is fantastic with tones of clarity and resolution. The magic of Tara labs PM2 is that it creates an impressive depth in picture and sound (somehow 3D). Using the same cable with F-11 Gold, presented more pleasant sound (better bass and midrange) on LCD-Tv but a little bit of less resolution on Picture. Better picture quality on Rhodium case is certainly related to extended HF bandwidth of Rhodium connector. I know that because I did a lot of academic research on TV signal in the past, and improvements of details on the contour of objects relay on High Frequencies.
However for my preamp (MCintosh C2300) I got an excellent result with F-11 Gold connectors compared to Rhodium connectors with same cable. The bass is more present, midrange is fantastic and HF is very good too (perhaps less airier HF compared to Rhodium case). Overall, Gold connector present more musical sound. Using Gold Connector with my amp (BAT vk-600se) presents the same phenomena.
My experience with my power conditioners: Synergistic Research PowerCell 4, Tara labs Ad6 and Tara labs PM2, brought me to this conclusion that feeding Power conditioners with cables using Rhodium connectors is more suitable. However, using cables with Gold connectors feeding main components gave me an overall better musical sound.
There are a few reviews and comparison on this site that hopefully would be useful. Usually his review are objective:
http://www.hifi-advice.com/Furutech-alpha3-review.html
cheers, |
Rja,
I agree. A lot of gold plating comes off easily like with Neutrik plugs and jacks. Not so with Oyaide -- if you like the 079 series, which I do not. In fact, after extensive experience with Oyaide products I much prefer Furutech products -- in my system.
I agree with you. Experimentation is the key. No one can tell you what to do with your system. Only you know what works and what does not work in your system. It's all system dependent. Others may make suggestions. But the proof of the pudding will always be in the eating. And you're the one sitting at the table. |
Rafael: I have tried the Furutech RH and AU plugs and agree with your consensus. You must also match the plug to the outlet. I also did not find any wear issues with either plug |
Hi
The Furutech GTX-D and the FI-50 available in SILVER ? |
I'm not aware of any Furutech AC products in silver.
You could try IeGO brand from: acoustic-fun.com
They sell solid silver and silver plated
AC outlets and connectors.
I have ordered from them, their products seem to be of
good quality and they are reliable.
I believe they are in Taiwan.
BTW: Gold plating has worn off the prongs of one my Furutech AC terminations. |
Michelzay, Hi, That was a good review on your part, I enjoyed reading your post, come over to the cable threads some time to the Tara labs thread, cheers |
10-09-14: Sabai
Czarivey,
You stated "Niether [sic] Rhodium or Gold-plated termination will have substantial differences in performance after all ..."
My experience is that there are substantial differences in my system between gold and rhodium. My system prefers rhodium. Yes Sabai, your (tube) based system prefers rhodium. I agree with Rja's and Czarivey's opinion, in the case of the new GTX-D wpo's, there is NOT a drastic difference between these, despite the plating difference. The major mojo is in the base metal (pure copper), and the slight lean towards warmth vs resolution in the gold vs rhodium (respectively) is more related to a slight 'shade' vs night/day difference. |
10-09-14: Rja
Popular opinion is that rhodium plating is neutral to cool while gold is slightly on the warmer side.
I've installed rhodium and gold plated Furutech outlets as well as Furutech AC power cable terminations with both platings. If the described differences exist at all I find them to be quite subtle. IMO: You could go either way without discerning much difference.
While gold plating is definitely cheaper the durability issue mentioned in the previous post might be a consideration as I have had gold wear off AC plugs. In retrospect I wouldn't lose too much sleep over this issue although others may feel differently. + 1. That was a very cogent and well considered post Rja and echoes my own understanding after reading reviews & discussing the new Furutech GTX-D outlets at length with Chris from VH Audio. |
Rhodium often have more authority. I have the Furutech FI-50's as well. But the Oyaide F1 is superior to them. Better dynamics and also more details. |
I definitely understand where Sabai is coming from with an all tube system and rhodium.
My system is tube CDP(2-12AX7, 2-6922)w/volume control straight into a solid state amp with a combination of gold and rhodium outlets and connectors, all Furutech. |
Rja and Melbguy1,
It takes some time to find out what works best in our systems. Each system is different. Trying to depend on music memory can be problematic. Doing A/B-ing is essential. The properties or characteristics of one outlet that works well in one system many not work well in another system. The best we can do is to share our experiences and hope it makes a difference for others.
I used to like Oyaide products very much, and Synergistic Research receptacles, but I gradually moved over to Furutech. I find more clarity and better sound staging with Furutech products in my system -- their receptacles, IEC inlets, plugs and IECs, wires (AC, interconnect and speaker) and spade terminations. The Furutech imaging, transparency and overall feel is the best I have ever experienced in my system. |
That's fair enough Rja. I currently own a tubed cd player, but will be moving to an all-solid state system with my next next cdp. I maintain that with the new Furutech GTX wpo's, the plating doesn't have as much influence on the overall sound as say, the Furutech FPX outlets. The real mojo is in the base metal (pure copper). And although the Vitus gear is on the warm side, on balance I think the GTX gold version is the right way to go, and Chris and I are on the same page there. |
Hi dear fellows!I`ve already tried rhodium connectors and in my system they don`t work very well.Is it true that they have more top cleaniless and extension, but basses are thighter and mids are retracted.For instance voices seems to sound like throught a compressor.Summarizinq they don`t have a relaxed listening at all.Originnally I have my power cable with wattgate brass connectors and even if they weren`t as detailed as rhodium,they had a much more musical, relaxed and pleasent listening.So I will try gold furutech connectors instead( Fi-11).My question is........Do you think Gold connectors will make a better work than the original brass connectors?I mean if they will sound even more musical, warmer, making prevale the mids and having more detail??...
Many thanks for your valuable comments!!Raf |
Hi dear fellows.Just a correction about my last post.I wanted to say (It is true that they have more top cleaniless.. bla bla bla...) Any comments will be appreciated.Regards!Raf |
Rafafel ... just some points for clarity ... Brass (Copper + Zinc) Bronze (Copper + Tin) and Beryllium (Copper +Beryllium) are the different base metals the conductors are made of
Rhodium .. Gold .. Platinum and Palladium are platings that are applied to the base metal
The base conductor material ... good .. better .. best .. Brass .. Phosphorous Bronze and Beryllium is important to conductivity
The plating's how ever are not .. good .. better .. best .. but more flavoring or seasoning to taste or need
Tubes may appreciate Rhodium .. SS and Digital may blend well with Gold and a system slightly down on detail may perk up with Platinum and Palladium
Pick your base metal for the best conductivity ... audiophile grade starts at Phosphorous Bronze .. then you can select a plating based on your systems need for seasoning ... does it need more salt or garlic
Just remember ... What effects the Cow Effect the Cheese (;-]
. |
I understand your remarks about the warmer sound by gold
connectors. But you should not forget that even it sounds more
warm you still loose details. It often has to do with the
properties of other parts in your set what causes it.
When a set has a good balance you will not have the limitation
of the involvement in the high freq.
Furutech make good plaugs, but the Oyaide are better in
definition. Also in drive I was amazed that the same Purist
Audio powercable had much more dynamics with the Oyaide plugs.
The Oyaide gold 079 is also an option for you.
I tested in the past many connectors, standard, wattgate,
furutech and Oyaide. Mannnn they make a difference. I love
these tools a lot! |
wall respectacle outlets the Furutech GTX-D (R) or (G) ? And
US Plugs and IEC (R) or (G) ?
My audio system equipment SS.
Thanks |
I have found Furutech work better than Oyaide in my system. |
I have the oposite experience. I still own the F50, but in a comparison with the OyaideF1 this was superior in my set. |
On comparison of different receptacles, there is this interesting review that I thought would be useful:
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0114/audiophile_ac_outlets.htm
By the way, Chris from VHaudio, recommends Furutech GTX-D too.
Michel. |
Hi!I`ve red at the specs of F1-11-N1 (G) and the base metal of the conductors is phosphorous bronze, so according to what says Davehrab I am on the wright path.As this matter of choosing connectors is certainly system dependant, I will describe it: krell Kav 300 cd , ARC LS2BMK2 preamp. ARC D200 amp,Apogee Centaur speakers, Purist Maximus interconnects, Purist Aqueous speaker cables, Shunyata Hydra 4 power conditionner,Shunyata HC HVTX power cord, furutech fpx receptacle outlet; and the cable I want to change the connectors is a Purist Audio Design Musaeus that I use to connect the cd player to preamp. This cable originally came with the PAD connectors and as I said before, in my system did a good work( balance, soundstage, imaging etc etc).I hope this furutech Gold will make the change in the direction I want.I have the feeling that furutech products gives that transparency ,detail and soudstage that Sabai sais and preserving a relaxed listening at the same time.If it doesn`t work I will ask borrowed to a friend an Oyaide gold P079 and a C079 to see what happens.According to yours experiences... Which ones of these two connectors will make a better job in my system.??..Any guessing??Regards!Raf |
Raf, fyi i'm my system i'm using Jorma Prime pc's which use the Oyaide P-004/C-004 connectors (one model down from the F1) are sound natural and well balanced top to bottom. My Gigawatt power conditioner uses wpo's designed in-house using brass connectors plated with a thick layer of pure silver, whilst i've gone for the Furutech GTX-D (G) wpo as i'm moving toward an all-ss system. The Gold GTX should better preserve the tonal balance of my system compared to rhodium. Btw, there is no difference in resolution between the GTX-D gold & rhodium versions. |
For years I used Eagle outlets having compared the three major brands available then. Then I moved to the Hubbel HBL5362 Extra Heavy Duty Industrial Series. Unfortunately the first one of these I got had been cryogenically by Jena Labs. It was fortunate that I had only one treated. Much later I tried the Oyaide R1 and was disappointed. The Oyaide R0, however, proved better. I will soon have my HFC Waveguide power center back with Furutech GTX duplexes. I was about to replace the Porter Ports in it with the special Hubbels, but Scholtz says the GTXs are great.
Apart from comparing cartridges, comparing outlets is my least favorite activity. |
Rafael, forget the specs and listen.
Tbg, cables too!
I prefer listening to music and not all the other stuff but sometimes it has to be done (unfortunately). |
Rja Yes,you are wright.It`s a matter of listening.Today I will receive the furutech gold connectors, I will assembly them and then I`ll have a conclusion.I hope they`ll fit well in my system.If not, I think I will return to the wattgate brass connectors that this cable originally had, and have a glass of good wine and just listen.Sometimes is a bit tiring trying to improve, you could make a step forward, aside or even worse... a step back.I`ll wright my conclusions after this trial.Thanks to everybody and keep in touch!Rafael |
Rja, I don't think comparative listening really helps with outlets, cartridges, speakers, or ac plugs and IECs. Cables, however, are easier. |
Tbg,
I have done a lot of comparing with outlets, speakers, plugs and IECs. I have found this very helpful. |
Dear fellows.Yesterday I assembled the PAD musaeus power cord with furutech FI-11-N1 gold.I must say that what really surprised me was the soundstage that generate these AC plugs.It`s just opened it to all my listening room( before with other plugs ,it was situated in the line of speakers and a bit behind)So it`s like being hearing with headphones and you have the experience to be IN the music and not In front of^Incredible!Regarding general performances, the voices sounds bigger, opened and velvety, strings with much more body, the bass has increased respect to Rhodium^s Furutech version and it is not as tight as it was( so for me, better).Details are present, not as overexposed as Rhodium makes ,but the neccesary to make a real, natural, pleasant listening(before with Rhodium I had a lot of these microinformation but unbalanced with the bass section,that was louder and tight and the mids that sounded like forced)So my conclusion is that (In my system) Furutech gold is the one I need.I`m sure that Rhodium`s plugs are excellents for other sistems.I hope this experience will be useful to others.Regards and many thanks for your comments! Keep in touch!Raf |
Rafael0054, what did you use the Gold furutech on, solid state?, tube equipment?, what did you use the gold fitted power cord on?, this will help, Thankyou. |
I use Furutech rhodium plugs and IECs in my system to great effect. |
Tbg,
Is Rick installing the gold or rhodium Furutech GTX duplexes on your HFC Waveguide? Do you use the HFC UR Rhodium Power Cords? Also, is your system all solid state? I am just curious how the HFC UR Rhodium Power Cords sound with the gold Furutech GTX.
Thank you. |
Hello Audiolabyrinth, I use the Gold Furutech AC connectors in a Purist Audio Design Musaeus power cord to feed a Krell KAV 300 Cd player.My amp is a Solid state Audio Research D 200 that has its own factory power cable ( so no possibillity to put another power cord)and my preamp is an hybrid tube /FET stereo line stage Audio Research LS2BMK2 ,also with its own factory cable.All my sistem is connected to a Shunyata Hydra 4 power conditionner and this is connected to the Furutech fpx wall receptacle by a Shunyata HC HVTX power cord.I hope this helps!Regards!Rafael |
Thankyou Rafael0054, this did help, question, does the gold sound better on snare drum and vocal mid-range to you than the rhodium on your solid state cd-player? |
Audiolabyrinth.Yes certainly!In my system sounds better than with rhodium connectors; I mean snare drums sounds precise, very fast, with all the modulations and vocals are opened, big,with throat sound and wet.I mean there is no struggle between this furutech Gold and the rest of the components and cabling in my system.I don`t know how is configurated your audio??is it tube or SS?I heard that Rhodium is suitable for tubes amps, but it depends. A friend of mine has a solid state Fortè amp and the rhodium connectors works very well in it.I Think that rhodium connectors and outlets loves high current( for instance if you read the above posts, many likes Furutech GTX-D (R) rhodium wall receptacle.May be rhodium works better in such conditions...Raf |
Hi Rafael0054, I have a solid state amp, and a tube hybred cd-player running direct to amplification, it is the recepticles I am interested in, at first, I thought gold, the rhodium, now gold again, I believe I might need to get both and listen to what sounds best on what, I only need two GTX-D outlets, however, I would have to sale one and re-buy the better sounding one if I went that route, my tube digital has plenty of resolution from a good after market power cable, the gold may work there, even though it is tube, I really do not know which way to go between gold or rhodium? |
Hi Audiolabyrinth.If you are not changing the connectors of the power cords but beginning changing the wall receptacles is a very good idea, because the audio system beggins in the receptacle.; and consenquently if you have a very good outlet, then you will be able to judge better other components of your equipment.I agree with you by choosing a Gold receptacle to connect the tube hybrid cd- player, because as you said your digital source has high resolution , so in my opinion, there`s no need to add more resolution by choosing rhodium receptacle.But who knows, testing is the best way.My guess is that if you chosse gold receptacle your system will work very equilibrated for sure,, besides furutech is a hight quality brand and makes products exclusively for audio Hi End. Rhodium could be a surprise . I haven`t tested rhodium receptacles, just Rodhium connectors.If you buy one of these, I will appreciate your comments about how it worked in your chain.P.D.If you have the possibility to make a power line exclusively for your audio, could be great because normally other equipments in the house, ( refrigerators, air conditionners etc) put noise in the line, that interfers with signals in audio, so one way to isolate this noise is to have a power line exclusevely for your audio with its own ground.There is a saying in audio that says ^Electricity is 50% of the sound^and it`s true.Regards!Raf |
Furutech FI 09 IEC AC outlet. Rhodium... Are on my SS Power amps,SS Preamp line stage ,Tube CD player/Dac and SS Phono stage. Prefer the Rhodium plugs over the Gold any day. |
Jeb, just as an academic question i'm interested to know if you've compared the Furutech FI09 (R) to the GTX-D (G)? Are you aware of the drastic difference the pure copper base metal makes in the GTX? |
Hi jebsmith73, Have you experimented between gold and Rhodium out-lets?, good to see you, I do not mind buying both to find out what works best where and on what, however, that means I would likly loose money on buying one out-let, then buy another, to bad I cannot audition the two and send the one back that does not work. |
Rafael0054, Hi, I may have to bite the bullet and buy both to find out what works best on what, do you have anything to add to your impression's of your experimenting?, the answer to you r question is, all the post over the last couple of months has been a mixed bag of what's best between Gold and Rhodium, your explanation of why is helped me alot, cheers. |
