Rhodium vs Gold AC connectors


Hi dear fellows.Does anybody tried these type of connectors in power cords?In my case I don`t know which could be the differences in sound performances between them.I heard that rhodium connectors have more extended hights frequences , more airy and fluid than gold connectors, but also that they can produce a non-lively sound, with too much control.Regarding Gold connectors I red that they produce a warmer sound, specially in the mids, but with not so much detail as rhodium.Is it true?I will appreciate your comments to make a proper decision.Thanks in advance!Raf
rafael0054
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!
..and nothing to do with $3300 speaker cables and $100 entry level connectors? It's like Audiolabyrinth said -

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!

It's lucky we have forums like Audiogon to get to the bottom of which connectors and wpo's work best.
I think there are two issues in these discussions: 1- AC power cord with Rhodium or Gold Nema/IEC connectors and 2- Respectable AC outlet Rhodium or Gold.

Obviously, there is a relation between these two. In an exchange mail with Chris Vanhaul he mentioned that too, when I was hesitating to buy Rhodium Connector vs. Gold.
I need to say I don’t have too much experience on different respectable ac outlets. I used to have a Hubbell Cryo and a Synergistic Research Teslaplex and I am happy with it. I am considering to add an Furutech GTX-D (R) in the near future, especially If I find a used one!!! There is a good review on enjoythemusic, January 2014, entitled: Audiophile AC Power Outlet Comparisons
Oyaide, Synergistic Teslaplex, ACME, Hubbell IG 5362, cruzeFIRST Audio Maestro, and Furutech GTX.

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.

Audiolabyrinth, Your Krell amp is a beast (in a good way) and I guess it comes with its own internally attached power cord. Have you ever considered to change that power cord and see what you get instead?! I was reading an interview with Dand’agustino of Krell saying up to a few years ago he didn’t believe on importance of Power cords! I guess it was the eras of before ~2004, where all these fancy/sophisticated Ac connectors didn’t exist. Since then there has been more improvements and people pay more attentions on their connectors, not only Ac connectors but also interconnect and speaker cable connectors.
Michaelzay, yes, I have considered a power cord for the krell 700cx, krell says they cannot put an IEC on the back panel, it would consist of machine work, so I have an Idea, leave about a foot of the stock hard wired power cord coming out of the amp, and terminate with furutech to a power cord of my choice, and since the Tara labs Cobalt with oyaide termination's is nothing short of revolutionary on my digital running direct to amplifier that Is a $5,450.00 power cord, I was considering getting the new top model Tara labs Grandmaster Evolution with oyaide terminations that is a whoping $12,000.00 6ft power cord for the krell, this would take up to a year or so to do, considering the cost of the entire set-up, that is the only way to do this, is some kind of fancy termination modds from one power cord to the other.
Hi Audiolabyrinth.
Are you sure you want to cut the original power cable of the Krell amp?Why don´t you try desoldering it an solder instead an excellent quality cable with a furutech iec termination, and there you plug your power cable?In doing so ,if it doesn´t have the result you are waiting for, then you can resold the original power cable of the Krell without altering their originality.It´s only an idea.Because I´m afraid that the krell fpb 700cx was designed and calculated to work with its original power cable.It´s a thought I have( may be I´am wrong)For instance I use my ARC D 200amp and my ARC Ls2Bmk2 preamp with their original power cords.I only use reterminated cable in my Krell kav 300 cd ,which has a iec termination in the chassis.Cheers.Raf
very,very, bad news Michaelzay and Rafael0054, running the Furutech GTX-D Rhodium and Gold version's together was fxxxxxx awefull!, run them 4 hours to no prevail!, no open sound,cancelled each other out bad!, that was the worst experiment to date for my system ever!, answered my own question, does anyone run the Gold with the Rhodium?, no wonder I did not get any answers!, they do not work together at all!, as a matter of fact, I am getting another Rhodium for the Krell anyway, I believe the bass will come thru, and if it does not, I likly will sale it,BTW, I put my $6.00 15 amp hospital grade copper alloy made in mexico outlet back on the krell with the Rhodium on the digital, oh yea, the magic is back with bass and slam, and with all the best clarity and attributes of the Rhodium intact, cheers.
very,very, bad news Michaelzay and Rafael0054, running the Furutech GTX-D Rhodium and Gold version's together was fxxxxxx awefull!, run them 4 hours to no prevail!, no open sound,cancelled each other out bad!, that was the worst experiment to date for my system ever!, answered my own question, does anyone run the Gold with the Rhodium?, no wonder I did not get any answers!, they do not work together at all!, as a matter of fact, I am getting another Rhodium for the Krell anyway, I believe the bass will come thru, and if it does not, I likly will sale it,BTW, I put my $6.00 15 amp hospital grade copper alloy made in mexico outlet back on the krell with the Rhodium on the digital, oh yea, the magic is back with bass and slam, and with all the best clarity and attributes of the Rhodium intact, cheers.
Audiolabyrinth, I did what you suggest on an amp. with heatsinks on the back and a hardwired ac cord. One can buy male IEC connector that go on cables. I bought one and left about three inches on the existing pc and attached the IEC male. I then just plugged a better pc with an IEC female into it and on to the wall.

I am not sure that Furutech make such a piece, however. I should also note that I did sell the amp later and felt I needed to include the ac cord.
Thankyou TBG, I might not do anything to the power cord, BTW, do not ever use a furutech GTX-D Rhodium mixed with Furutech GTX-D Gold, it does not work, as a matter of fact, they work against each other, worst sounding experiment to date ever on my system, needless to say Norm, I have another Rhodium coming, and If that does not prevail on the krell with the other Rhodium on the tube/solid state hybred digital player like my $6.00 copper/bronze outlet that is on the krell and sounds wonderful with the Rhodium on the digital, then I will conterplate on selling the Rhodium to some fortunate audiophile,I remember years ago, I tried numerous power cords on a different krell amp, that did not work, the stock power cord for some odd reason was better period, that was in the late 90's, cheers Norm.
Hi Audiolabyrinth,
Thanks for your conclusions.They are very helpful.I´m glad to hear that in several krell power amps the stock power cord works better than the new ones.It may confirm the idea that some audio components were designed to work with their original power cords ( that´s why they don´t have a iec termination in the chassis).If your next test using rhodium outlet gtx d in the Krell toghether with the same outlet in the cd player will not work, then one possibility could be to use the cheapest model furutech fpx cu, which is made of phosphore bronze then plated with copper.In this way you will have the same base metals in the plug of the krell and the outlet.It could work very well and at the same time you could have the characteristics in performance of Furutech products.This fpx cu outlet is the one I use to feed my Shunyata Hydra 4 power conditionner were I plug all my components of my system with great result.Hope this helps.Cheers!Raf
Hi Rafael0054, Thankyou, that was some helpful information, I will do exactly as you have said if the other Rhodium does not work good with a Rhodium on the krell, you know, these older krell amps are finiky to any change attempts, very odd!, I will absolutley keep the Furutech FPX cu outlet in mind, may be a while, I am not sending the Gold back untill saturday morning, then because it is christmas, it may be 4 or 5 day's till I get the Rhodium, this time, I am sticking it on the refrigerator for 300 hrs before I use it, I know now exactly all the break-in changes of sound for the Gold and Rhodium, ha, I do not want to listen to that again, LOL!
Rafael0054, you asked of some impression's between the Furutech GTX-D Rhodium and Gold?, The biggest mistake most make of the Rhodium is they think that the mid-range is reccessed with-in the sound stage, the fact is, that depends on your cables, I have cables that are world renowned to have one of the best sound stages possible, that includes a front to back very deep sound stage that is rare for any cable to do, that said, The Rhodium outlet keeps that intact, it is more forward with the mids than the Gold, but also has an incredible depth to the Rhodium that the Gold does not do at all!, a test that can be done is, walk up to your speakers, walk all the way to the wall behind your speakers, if you can hear the music close to what it is like in front of your speakers, you have good depth, the Gold absolutley did not have any sound what so ever behind the speakers, everything was in front of the speakers, but not forward sounding at all, this Rafael0054 is 2-dimensional sounding versus the 3-dimensional sound of the Rhodium, hope this helps.
Rafael0054, also, I will add, The furutech GTX-D Rhodium also has a bigger stonger middle, more together layered sound where as the Gold version is not as big or tight vivid sound stage, I am into presatation alot as you can read here,hope this was some help as well.
Rafael0054, Do you think there was a possibility that The Rhodium gave the Krell a bass suck out because the Rhodium used never had 200 watts and more on it?, like maybe it was not burned in to the power of my amp that is nearly 500 watts just on idle?, mmmm?
Hi Audiolabyrinth.Very interesting your experience with both outlets.Very well described.I'll make that test walking behind the speakers when I'll test these outlets.Regarding your last question about the rhodium outlet and the watts it was submited to, I think that you should use it several hours in the krell in order to burn in it before making a final conclusion.Or at least burn the outlet in some device that consumes many watts if you don't want to suffer the breaking period. These Furutech products requiry audiophile's patience but in the end the wating worthwhile.CheersRaf
I've never read such a load of claptrap in my life. The Oxford dictionary must have a linko this thread next to the word "misinformed", lol!
Rafael0054, I talked to Krell yesterday, as it turns out, the stock power cord that is 10awg 3/1 9ft is a common power cord, but patrick bresnahan also said that the hard wireing part of this power cable is unlike any other manufactuor's, most use a bus bar then go from there, Not krell, this power cord is wired directly to the power supplies and power regulator's, that's really good, however, Patrick also said that the plug on the end of the cable is also common, that I would really benefit by changeing the plug at the end of the power cable, a big up-grade in sound he said would happen, The Furutech FI-50M comes to mind, oh no!, I might agonize again between Rhodium and Gold?, pricy!, $300.00 for that plug, It's on my pallet to do list for sure, nothing but the best for MR Krell.
There is a reason why Boulder, Gryphon, Vitus, Vac & Kondo don't hard-wire their flagship amps, but shhhh, don't tell Audiolabyrinth ;)
Rafael0054, since I know Gold does not mix with Rhodium, pending that all this works out, The Furutech FI-50 plug I would get will be Rhodium, I really would not have a choice, have you read the info on this plug?, spectacular it is, It is said that this plug does more High performance than the wpo's, what's your take?
Rafael0054, I was wrong!, The Carol 3/1 solid core conductor, oil and water resistance, 600 volts power cord on the Krell is $200.00 a foot, more exspensive than beldin power cords, when I put a Furutech FI-50 or FI-52 Rhodium plug on the end of this stock power cable, it should be way better than before.
Hi Audiolabyrinth,I think that if upgrading a male connector of the original power cord will ptoduce a benefit, then do it.However I'm not sure which male connector will fit better with outlet receptacle(I mean compatibility between them)I would define first the outlet that works better whith the Krell and after I would choose a male connector with the same base metal conductors in their pins.Ex.If you choose gtx d rhodium outlet which is made of pure copper then plated with rhodium, then I would choose a connector with pure copper as base metal and plated with rhodium as well.Cheers.Raf
Rafael0054, I am doing the metal matching you have told me to do, The Furutech FI-50 or FI-52 Rhodium is an exact match for the Furutech GTX-D Rhodium, I agree, I will give the wpo time to hear what will happen on the krell first, If that pans out, it's off to the races with the plug, however, I have a question for all here, is there a benefit between a 20 amp plug over a 15 amp plug?, I just got confirmed to use a single pole 30 amp breaker on my Krell, this allows more current, and better the amp's sound stage and allows the amp to run smoother as Krell says, and a member here on audiogon uses a 30amp breaker on each of his Krell 750mcx amps, of course I am not doing that till I see what the Rhodium does with the Krell over a period of time, the 30 amp breaker that is here new in bag will be the last thing to do after the full impression's of the Rhodium's.
Audiolabyrinth, Sound Applications has always stated that 20 amp IECs and plugs sound better than 15 amp ones. This is very difficult to check so I have never done so. While the wall plug end can be done fairly easily the IEC end would be a great pain.
Thankyou TBG, I believe I will do the 20 amp plug, it is awkward looking, it has a side ways connector blade on it, any 20 amp wpo will accomidate this type blade configuration though, do you believe the 20 amp plug allow's for more current?
hi Audiolabyrinth.
I would try FI 52 Rhodium instead of FI 50.A 20 amp plug should be more suitable for your amp.At least that's my impression.Cheers.Raf
yes, I will Take your and TBG's advice, however, there is a big cost difference, the furutech FI-50 is $295.00 and the FI-52 is $341.00, this hobby is exspensive, to bad I do not know where to get an IEC installed on my amp, I talked to a fellow member, He just bought used Krell 750mcx mono Blocks that the previous owner had the IEC's installed, he was never told where this was done, I asked, Krell say's they will not do it because of the machine work involved, and they do not have any 700c back plates in stock any more which would be a fix.
Hi Audiolabyrinth, The issue is that this hobby is not only expensive, the problem is that maybe you buy the connector, spend $341.00 and imagine if the result is not as you expected??That`s why I suggested before to match the wall outlet with the base metal of the original Krell amp connector?May be with a basic Furutech fpx CU ( $ 66.00) you could have a good result and avoid spending 341.00 in a AC male connector.I suggested that because you mentioned that the amp sounded better with the copper wall outlet made in mexico.I am of the idea of not touching the original cables of equipments.I only changed the connectors of a PAD musaeus power cord ,after having emailed Jim Aud, the founder of Purist Audio Design.He told me that these Furutech FI 11 N1 g will work good on the cable.So I did it.Anyway if you want to take the risk and put the connector just do it.Who knows may be it will sound wonderful. Anyway the general rule in Hi End audio follows an asymptotic curve :in order to get a tiny step forward in sound performance you have to spend a huge quantity of money.Unfortunately hehe!Hope this helps.Cheers!Raf
Hi rafael0054, I was considering putting the new Rhodium on the refrigerator when it gets here monday or tuesday, however, when I think about it, The krell will cook the crap out of it alot faster!, I will just suffer the sound of burn-in I suppose, do you believe this to be a good idea?
In my 300B tube based system I prefer the Furutech Gold/copper AC plugs. Rhodium has always sounded a little too hard akin to (gag) nickel. FWIW.
Hi Sonic_genius, I am sure that outlets are system dependent, I do not know if you are aware that I had the Gold and Rhodium here for complete evauation, the gold was two dimensional sounding, all music was in front of the speakers, no debth, the gold on solid state and tube equipment that I have sounded hard sounding compaired to the Rhodium out let's, also, equipment is only part of it all, the most all this does have to do with is the cables being used, however, what componet's do you have that have the 300B tube's?, and what cables and model do you have, welcome to the thread.
Hy Audiolabyrinth.The best way to evacuate doubts is to try.In the case of testing gtx-d R I think is better that you cook it in the Krell.What could be a good test is trying the gtx-d R vs fpx cu to see what happens using the original´s krell male AC connector.I know that gtxd R has better isolation materials but on the other hand gtx-d R doesn`t have the same base metal conductors of your amp´s plug.So that`s why I insisted about making this try.Sometimes in Hi End audio you verify that cheaper hi end products could work better than higher ones IF they have more sinergy with equipments.Remember that your amp is from 2003?So may be it was designed to work with simpler outlets than the ones you see nowadays.But anyway if you see that with the rhodium outlet works far better than with your copper outlet made in mexico, then I don`t see the need of testing other outlets.Cheers.Raf
Rafael0054, Thankyou, I will put the Furutech GTX-D Rhodium on to the amplifier when it gets here, my amp was made in 2005, however, it's been mostly refurbished with 2014 parts and modifications, also, a due note here, I have studied the wall plug that is oem on the caroll power cord on the krell, as it turns out, it is a 15 amp interpower brass plated plug, about $20.00 plug, it is not phosorus copper, so the fpx cu Furutech will not be a match here for metal, I will be moving toward chanching the plug on the Krell power cord no matter if the Rhodium wpo's work out on the system or not, I did read a wonderful review today saying that the Furutech FI-50 Rhodium wall plug is a match with complete synergy and quality sound with the GTX-D Rhodium wpo, when I do the plug change I do not know yet, I will not have the new GTX-D R until monday or tuesday, then these wpo's take so darn long to break-in, how is what you doing coming along?, do you have some good feed back for me to learn from you as always?
HI Audiolabyrinth.I didn`t know that the original plug was made of brass,I thought it was made of bronze.Anyway If someone elses has tested the gtx d R toghether with FI 50 R in a krell amp with succesful result, then I have nothng to say.Regarding my FI 11 n1 g connector it has reached the 200 hours so I consider it to be broken in.More transparencies appeared, better defined basses and bigger mids.Anyway I must say that most of the improvements came out when I dissambled the cable and cuted the soldered ends (they had a tin surface that made contact with the furutech clamps) I did that after consulting Jim Aud at Purist Audio Design´s custommer support because I suspected that these soldered ends could not make a proper transmission of electricity as the pure copper filaments of cable do.I must say that in the original wattgate connector these soldered ends didn´t make contact with the clamps due to its format.So I´m very happy with the result.Please tell us how improves your system with gtx d R.I Wish you luck in the break in process and of course I learn from you as well.Many thanks for your feed back!It´s allways useful.Cheers.Raf
Rafael0054, wow!, just installed the furutech GTX-D Rhodium on the krell brand new out the box, get this, it is not bright at all!, The krell has the best bass I have ever heard out of this amp, talking about a hit home run here, I am pleased!, the two Rhodium's are awsome to say the least together for the entire system sound, this turned out way better than I ever expected, Bravo!
Hi Audiolabyrinth.Congratulations!!Nice to hear you found the perfect outlet match for your system..Enjoy it!!Cheers.Raf.
Rafael0054, Hi, I installed the Furutech outlet wall frame and cover plate, I had doubts that these could give improvement, man, talking about a nice improvement, this wall frame and cover plate works great!, A substantial improvement.
Hi Audiolabyrinth.I red this wall frame its made of a special aluminium 13.0 mm thick that shields RFI..it also has a coating to isolate even further.According to what you say there's no doubt that this firm leaves nothing to chance.I am a fan of Furutech's products.I had a huge changement in my system only by changing a pair of connectors in a power cord.So chapeaux!!!Furutech is one of the leader companies in this field.I'm very happy indeed!!!Cheers.Raf
Hi Rafael0054, I agree, I have never listened to any tweak's as good as the furutech's, each day my system sound's better and better as the outlet's burn-in, I believe soon I will get another wall frame and cover plate for the Rhodium on the digital, oh, the frame also comes with a pure teflon flat piece of material that goes on the frame before you put the wpo on the frame, even the 2" screw's are alpha cryo treated, a very well thought out product, I am as happy with the wall frame and cover plate as I am the Furutech GTX-D Rhodium wpo.
Happy new year...

I received my two sets (NEMA/IEC) of IEGO AC connectors as Gold and Silver plated over copper. I just installed them on Power cords and would let them break-in for 200 hrs, as it is recommended by David Wei from acoustic-fun.com.

Once it's done I will let you know how it is compared to Furutech Fi-11n.

By the way, acoustic-fun is a really reliable vendor based in Taiwan with a serious customer service.

cheers,
Michel
Hi Michaelzay, I look forward to what you have to say, however, you should consider the Furutech FI-50 Rhodium wall plug's and IEC's, Rhodium over pure copper twice cryo treated, called alpha treated, this treatment is the new best of cryo money can buy, Happy listening.
Hi Rafael0054, under guidance from audiogon memeber's and krell, I installed a single pole 30 amp breaker on my modded krell 700cx with the 4awg speaker cables, after 17hrs of play time on the new breaker, talking about wow!, this was an incredible tweak, the Furutech GTX-D Rhodium's said, bring it!, they are cold to the hand when most recepticles would get warm to hot under this kind of unlimited current, bigger sound stage, vocals are deep organic real!, deeper bass, slam like a bomb going off in my home, snare drum sounds like a real one in my listening room, most people go through all their lifes and never get this synergy throughout their entire system, I am extremly Happy with the trancedence of all this, each day this system is getting better.
Furutech Fi-50 Rhodium over copper(Nema+IEC) will cost almost $600, where IEGO (Rhodium) set cost about $100! Does 6 times higher price would offer >6 times of superiority on quality sound? I don't think so.

I read some objective comparisons done by Christiaan Punter on Hifi-advice which seems IEGO plugs (vs. Fi-25)could sound better. Obviously it also depends to power cable materials too.

Besides, I was looking for Silver Nema/IEC, and it is the only brand which does carry Silver Ac connectors. I am going to compare also IEGO gold vs. Fi-11n Gold. I will post my observations after break-in period in the next 10 days.
Michelzay, the furtech I specified is pure copper, and it is the best of cryo treated, alpha is a new treatment that is better than the norm cryo, and yes!, the furutech FI-50 Rhodium is supperior!, you get what you pay for, tring to get you to absolute nirvana, you may go through the motion's of spending money, I alway's go to the top, then decide impression's, if it does not work, on to the next.
Audiolabyrinth, the IeGO Ac connectors are also G/Ag/Rd plated over pure copper. Furutech series from Fi-28 and FI-50 uses G/Rd plated over copper. The rest (Fi-11 and Fi-25)are G/Rd plated over brass. Besides, IeGO founders are ex-Furutech designers. IeGo carries also AC connectors, with G/Rd over pure Silver. I would like to try them in the future and compare them with G/Rd over pure copper. The reduced cost of these experiences using IeGo compared to Furutech is interesting to point out. This is not an advertisement for IeGo or any other brand!!!!

In my humble experience in general and especially on Audio equipment, More expensive does not mean a better performance, may be it translates on better packaging material. I tried different expensive power cables and compared them to some cheaper versions and found just by changing AC connectors one could get a superior quality out of cheaper PC. For example, I tried Tara labs The One AC PC (~$2000) and Gold AC PC (~$4000)with my Tara labs AD6 Power conditioner and compared them with some Old Transparent audio PC that changed their NEMA/IEC connectors. With my DIY/modified cables I got better sound-staging with more details on extreme frequencies. That's why everyone in this treat tries to do. As always, it all depends to our system and synergy between different gears.
Michelzay, yes, you got my interest now with your last post,thankyou, please keep me informed with your comparision's, speaking of saving money, I recently installed a single pole 30 amp breaker in place of a 20 amp, it costed $5.00 for the new breaker, talking about the wow! factor, best money I ever spent in my life in audio, I would have spent $300.00 for what the 30 amp breaker did for my amp, I look forward to all you have to say.
I think that there is little question that copper is the best cabinet as well as the best material for ac transfer. But it is just too soft. I talked with Furutech at the CES, and was told that Beryllium copper is just insufficiently conductive. I have tried the Oyaides R1 and R0 outlets and prefer the R0s. I do hate gold plated contacts, preferring the rhodium plating. So right now I will live with the rhodium plating.
01-11-15: Tbg
I think that there is little question that copper is the best cabinet as well as the best material for ac transfer. But it is just too soft. I talked with Furutech at the CES, and was told that Beryllium copper is just insufficiently conductive. I have tried the Oyaides R1 and R0 outlets and prefer the R0s. I do hate gold plated contacts, preferring the rhodium plating. So right now I will live with the rhodium plating.
Have you tried the Furutech GTX-D (G) Tbg? That is a different animal to normal gold plated wpo's, as the plating is minimal & the major mojo in terms of the sound is the base metal (copper). Which works best depends on your system. I have a solid state, all digital system & my pc's use Oyaide P-004/C-004 connectors. If I were using gold-plated connectors, or had a tubed system the GTX-D (R) would have been the better choice...it's all a balancing act.
Melbguy1, yes I did try the GTX-Dgs but didn't like them as much as the GTX-Drs.
Tbg, your System thread links into a thread about Spot welding, so I'm not sure about what kind of gear you own. If you have a tube-based system, have an analogue front end or use gold-plated plugs on your pc's then yes, the GTX-D(R) would likely have better synergy. It's all system dependent. Both versions are convincingly better than a cyro'd Oyaide R1.