Barcardi, any electrical supply house carries the zinc 6-32 and 8-32 machine thread 2" screw's, oem house outlet's are 1/2" to 3/4" to 1", but in your case as well as mine, the both of us have to use 2" screw's because of useing the furutech wall frame, you can get 6-32 2" zinc screw's at lowes or home depot, I believe to get the 8-32 2" zinc screw's you would have to go the the electrical supply house, likly, you will only need to use the 6-32 if you have not already used the furutech 2" stainless none magnetic wood thread screw's, my box got ruined by the furutech 2" screw's, so I had to go with the 8-32 2" screw's, they are a little bigger around with a bigger head on them, a pain to screw in the gain box,however, they worked, I use a brown industrial very thick fiberglass gain box that you can only get from the electrical supply house, the gain boxes at lowes or home depot are dinky cheap in comparison, cheers. |
@Audiolabyrinth, where do I get these magnetic zinc screws? |
Barcardi, look for ward to your impressions, however, if I were you, I would not use the supplied stainless steel none magnetic 2" wood screws, first off, the ruin the gain box to accept any other screw, second, they sound terrible!, the best sounding screws for this application I have found is 6-32 or 8-32 thread 2" length magnetic zinc screws that is long enoough for the wall frame application, 1" to 1/2" is common in the u.s.a. for use on outlet's,as said, you need 2", you will gain sound stage bloom,organic sound to vocals, you loose no transparency, the bass is not as clean, but the bass is very clean enough to where you also gain a bigger bass thump, the music all blends better with zinc screws, it is my opinion, that the supplied screws from furutech that comes with the wall frame kills to much of the electrical field, this is a sound theory, Tara Labs has magnetic element's inside their ground stations long,long before High-fidelity cables come out with magnetic conduction cables, based on most enjoy the sound of these cables, and these company's use magnatism to their advantage of their cables, there must be something to what I am saying here, the difference in the sound of the screws is not subtle, on the other hand, very noticeable, cheers. |
I have a Furutech wall frame and cover plate on its way to me. My Furutech GTX-D rodium is on 300ish hours now. Can't wait to ice the cake. |
Bacardi, yes, that is what I have, the furutech wall frame and cover plate, it does work, I say 20% to 30% improved performance, depending on the system and outlet used with wall frame and cover plate, cheers. |
Audio labyrinth, I think I will try the Furutech outlet cover as others have had great results with it. |
Bacardi, I cannot give you an answer on the sound differences of the oyaide wall frame,cover plate combo and the furutech wall frame and cover plate, I have never owned the oyaide, but it is my opinion, oyaide makes some good stuff, I have oyaide on my Tara Labs Cobalt power cord from the Tara factory, second best model IEC and wall plug oyaide makes currently, sounds good to me. |
Audiolabyrinth, thx. I am only using one and intend to get the wall plate for it. From this thread the Furutech wall plate has better results than the Oyaide. Is this correct? |
Bacardi, Welcome to the thread, your outlet will sound alot better at 300 hrs, all the bloat will be gone, but you will have extended very defined bass and dynamics, with speed through out all the sound, for the asking price, I really believe the GTX-D outlet's are a bargain for what they deliver with performance, now becareful, sometimes, to many of them on the same system will kill sound stage bloom. |
This Furutech GTX-D rodium is in my system and replaced my Maestro. From installation I have a few words. Holy $&@! This thing destroys my Maesto and S.R Teslaplex SE. I'm aware of the long breakin period but:
Positives:
Huge dynamics
Extended bass to lower octaves
Depth of instruments is greater but edgy
Isolation of voices and instruments is cleaner
Dead silent
Negatives:
Little grainy in the highs
Edgy
Hint of bloat
I'm sure up to the 700 hours this outlet will show its ability and out of box I am convinced this outlet takes the icing on the cake. Two thumbs up Furutech...... Well done... |
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Just using one. My power conditioner and a Nordost QX2 is plugged into it. Still can't believe the improvement with the cover. They should sell the outlet, frame, and cover together. The first thing any audiophile should do is get a dedicated line and install the furutech outlet package. |
How many furutech outlet's do you have macdude? |
very interesting macdude, nice set-up you have, thankyou for getting back to me. |
Hi Audiolabryinth, I use the rhodium on my wall outlet. My power conditioner is connected to it. I have an Ansuz Mainz power conditioner that I like, but it doesn't use GTX-Ds.
I also run a dedicated line and Nordost QX2, QV2, and QK1. I have Ziro Audio Disclosure interconnects that absorb background and electrical noise.
Once I discovered power delivery was crucial, I went all out. |
Hi Macdude, looks like your impression's of the furutech wall frame and cover plate is my impression's, I tried the gold on tube/solid state hybred digital and solid state amp, the gold sounded good at best but was very veiled compaired to the Rhodium outlet, these take along time to burn-in, I am still doing it by playing music only, the good thing is we got instant gratification from the frame and cover plate,however, there is a place for both version's I can imagine, I still need one more frame and cover plate, e-mail me where I can get a discount?, where do you have the R version's on? |
Still stunned at the increase in coherency, scale, and resolution due to the outlet cover. They must coat these things with magic dust. |
I'm using the Furutech's outlets but with the Oyaide covers, I think they look better. |
Lak, I have the furutech frame and cover plate, work's very good. |
I have the GTX-D rhodium for my wall outlet. I have tried the gold in a power conditioner and would only use it there.
There are places where you can find the frame and cover at a discount, but it's worth the full retail cost. I was hesitant to add the frame but there's no looking back after you do.
I only added the cover on a whim because I had store credit, but it does remove a level of haze (that you didn't know was there) by minimizing smearing. Overall it's a very nice step up in performance and there's no going back after you install it.
I have also tried the Acoustic Revive outlet frame, but it wasn't my cup of tea. |
Macdude,
I've read where others say the Furutech GTX-D outlet with the addition of the outlet frame and cover was an improvement but the cost of all of this (like audio) is crazy! What is considered to be a good price for the frame and cover?
Has anyone else tried the Furutech frame and cover with mixed results? |
Hi macdude, which version do you have, the Rhodium or Gold? |
I agree with Audiolabyrinth.
I have the GTX-D with the outlet frame. The outlet frame itself made a dramatic difference. So I thought the cover was an afterthought (and only for aesthetics).
I just installed the Furutech cover and I'm stunned at the increase in performance. There is less smearing of the sound so it comes across as an increase in resolution, clarity and smoothness. The leading edge attack is faster and overall it solidifies the sound. Sounds so crazy I was hesitant to post this. |
Hi Roxy54, I agree with you, I was quite stunned with the performance of the furutech GTX-D Rhodium outlet's I have over the wpo's-wall power outlet's I was useing, I bought one of these just so I could run a 30 amp single pole breaker on my amp, as it turned out, I was floored with the sound of these, I bought two and one wall frame and cover plate, will be getting another wall frame and cover plate, the wall frame and cover plate increase's the performance by 20% to 30% by my evaluation's, I felt like I was living under a rock when I heard what a good outlet could do, I tried some outlet's years ago, worked good, not to this kind of performance, never did I ever imagine or expect wpo's could do this these day's, I am still burning mine in, currently, I have 559 hrs on the first wpo, 306 hrs on the second wpo out of 700 hrs that is said that it takes to burn these in, cheers. |
Audiolabyrinth,
Hi, I just saw your post. I bought the Afterburner 8 outlet, and I truly believe that it made more positive difference to the sound of my system than upgraded power cords. I really only did it to feel more "secure" that I was using a good outlet, and I was expecting little if any difference. It turned out to be $65.00 well spent.
I have not compared them to anything but ordinary outlets that were installed in my 10 year old home. |
Don't step on the merry go round with these tweeks. Ever heard of K.I.S.S.
Keep-It-Simple-Stupid. Put the money into the hard wire. Less links in the chain......actually there is none in the chain. Cheers.... |
Roxy54, Hi, I was hoping for some thought's from you, in this hobby, I listen to everyone, do like all other's, make my own decision's, I never get enough of learning period, an addict to high-end education! |
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The merry-go-round is a bitch to ride and you can never find the best unless you are willing to say I'm happy with what I have and hear.
The Furutech GTX-D (Rhodium) or Gold is a very good or excellent outlet. Give yourself a break unless you enjoy the quest, which many do. |
no outlet I've heard is better and to hard wire 8/2 from panel. Eliminating outlet and any power cord. I'm going to try cryo'd 8/2......CHEERS!!!! |
Hi Roxy54, it's been a while since I have seen you on the board's, hope you are doing well, yes, these are the two I would like to choose from, Do you have some idea's that you could introduce me to?,I am tring to get the best available, although opinion's may differ, Thankyou Roxy54 |
Audiolabyrinth,
You ask that question as if they are the only two choices. |
what is the community's view on wall plug's?, Is the oyaide M-1 better than the furutech FI-50m? |
Hi Jebsmith73, I recieved my furutech GTX-D R saturday, sounds incredible running all Rhodium, you must have got you wpo's from the cable company?, good deal, however, the wall frame's and cover plates are $265.00 everywhere, I have some now new in the box, waiting to fully burn-in my wpo's, The new Rhodium is new out the box to the modded krell 700cx, very good sound,very listenable, I am shocked over that!, so the ones that have 300 hrs on them, are you pleased this far of the sound of them Jeb? |
About 300 Hrs, ordered 6 more GTX-d Rhodium . They are going in the back of my re generators. Picked them up for $175 each. |
Jebsmith73, How many hrs do you have now on the wpo's?, also jeb, I might add, I did many test with different screws on the out let's, believe it or not, different metal's sound different!, stay away from none magnetic pure brass screws, the magnetic Zinc screw's are not bad at all, if you can get your hand's on the Furutech none magnetic stainless steal screw's it's the best fit, unfortunally, the out-let's do not come with screw's, I do have a brand new Furutech wall frame and cover plate here that does come with 2" stanless none magnetic furutech cryo treated screw's, I went to Lowe's and checked out their stanless steal screw's, they were of poor grade!, they were still a little magnetic, I did not get them, maybe I will try them and see how they sound for experimentation reason's, at the end of the day, I will be useing the Furutech alpha cryo treated 2" stainless steal screw's, I have two now, I may go ahead and get two more, even though they come with the furutech wall frame that I will be buying for the digital wpo, the wall frame and cover plate I have now will be going on the amp wpo after I hear the complete break-in of the new GTX-D R that will be here monday or tuesday, reason being, I want to listen for any sound benefit's of this wall frame and cover plate, they were more exspensive than any of the furutech outlet's, reply when you can jeb, Happy new year. |
Jebsmith73, Thanks!
Merry Christmas! |
Furutech makes a very nice speaker binding post , FT-809. Base metal is copper, installed them on a pair SS power amps. |
Ozzy, my re generators are PurePower 2000's . |
Jebsmith73, Are you replacing the outlets on a PS Power Plant? If so, how? |
Jebsmith73, yea, the first 3 hrs of listening is a high pitch squelch beyound belief, I threw my head phones off my head, I thought my ears were fricken bleeding from the brightness!, all that goes away quite quikly, I still do not have 400 hrs, 700 hrs is said to me to be the magic number, I believe 500 should get most?, Jeb, I will not have the other GTX-D Rhodium until monday or tuesday, to be honest here, I hate burning in the outlet's, only one other item in my system took this long for burn-in, my digital player, that's it, The fricken krell only took 500 hrs, LOL. |
Thanks, Audiolabyrinth. They do sound a little disjointed than my well seasoned R1's . Just ordered 5 more , replacing the ones on the back of my A/C regenerators. |
Jebsmith73, allow 500 to 700 Hrs before final impression's of your Furutech GTX-D Rhodium wpo's, congrat's Jebsmith73. |
Hi Jebsmith73, warning, these Furutech GTX-D wpo's are a bitch to break-in!, Steve Klein of Sound of Silence has told me that these take 700 hrs, I believe him, you will get good sound out of 300 to 400 hrs, but it will still sound a little compressed untill they reach their total hrs. |
Well... I just traded out two Oyaide R1 duplex plugs feeding both of my PurePower 2000 Re- Generators, with two Furutech GTX-D Rhodium duplex plugs. |
Stringreen, what did you put the Maestro wpo's on? |
I had Porter Ports, and replaced them with Maestro.....a HUGE change for the better. |
This by far is the best outlet review!, The reviewer was spot on with what I heard with the Furutech GTX-D Rhodium and Gold, only I believe the Rhodium works best on copper cable's, on extreme High-end power cable's, you can significantly hear a difference between the Rhodium and Gold version's, It is my opinion, That The Rhodium clearly is better sounding with the resolution of such after market power cables. |
January 2014
Audiophile AC Power Outlet Comparisons
Oyaide, Synergistic Teslaplex, ACME, Hubbell IG 5362, cruzeFIRST Audio Maestro, and Furutech GTX.
Review By Jonathan Lo
Most audio reviewers dislike writing cable reviews, especially if it involves comparing multiple cables, since the amount of time, effort, and concentration required makes it a laborious challenge. What is even more onerous? It has to be audiophile AC outlet comparative reviews because changing out outlets to compare outlet A to B to C, then back to A severely tests one's perseverance, patience, memory, and sanity. There is good reason one does not see this type of reviews very often, but it has to be done, so here it is.
The reason one cannot simply ignore AC outlets in the audio system is that they can make rather large differences in sound quality, as much as different cables, tubes, and even entire audio components can make. The fact these audiophile outlets tend to be relatively affordable compared to major components is the other reason audiophiles should experiment with them to find ones that synergize with their systems. However, it would be a mistake to assign absolute rankings to various outlets and expect the same results for different people's systems and tastes, so this article is an attempt to describe some sonic characteristics and personalities that others may find useful when they decide to choose outlets they would like to experiment with. In order to maximize the ease of comparison as well as to preserve consistency and repeatability, the outlets were installed in my DIY outlet boxes, which enabled fast switching.
Oyaide SWO-XXX
There has been a lot of ink spilt over Oyaide outlets. Since many audiophiles have tried the SWO-XXX and are familiar with their sound, they may be a good reference for comparing sound signatures. SWO-XXX, which is often thought of as their "palladium" outlet, utilizes highly polished deoxidized phorphor bronze as base metal, which is plated with 1.5 micron thick gold, then again plated with 0.3 micron of palladium. Oyaide has since come out with SWO-XXX Ultimo, which uses the same base metal and plating, without a clear explanation of what exactly has changed. Comparatively, SWO-DX series uses the same base metal plated with silver, then rhodium, while SWO-GX series is basically gold over gold, resulting in extra thick (2 micron) gold coating.
Audiophiles who have not experimented with "audiophile" AC outlets may be shocked at first to hear the sonic difference between a normal household AC outlet and Oyaide SWO-XXX, especially as the quality of AC outlets seems to keep going down in these new track homes being built. SWO-XXX will redefine what a mere outlet can do for "air" and "smoothness" in a system. There is oodles of air cushioning each sonic note and performer, seemingly lifting them upwards in the soundstage, while traces of brittleness, hardness, and grit are removed, resulting in a more liquid, smooth textures. Having a good amount of experience with palladium or platinum based conductors and cables, I recognize the great air and speed as a trait shared by both materials, usually with palladium sounding softer and smoother than platinum which tends to be airy yet more immediate, less soft. The final layer of palladium gives Oyaide R1 its unique flavor of smooth liquidity, which numerous audiophiles have loved and settled in with.
All is not perfect, however, as when one part of the sonic spectrum is so spectacularly noticeable, long-term listening usually bears out issues elsewhere. In the case of SWO-XXX, there is a sense that quite a bit of editorializing has been done to the sound, akin to photo's that have had slightly too much "photoshopping" done to them. One keeps thinking "this recording shouldn't sound this liquid" or "that note was never that airy." Also, the deep bass foundation appears to lose a bit of quantity and aggression. Now, many systems out there sound the exact opposite, i.e. rolled-off highs with dry textures and overblown bass, in which case SWO-XXX will do wonders to push those parameters the other end. SWO-XXX can certainly be an impressive life-saver for many systems out there, but as usual with these tweaks, try in your own system before deciding.
Oyaide R1
After the SWO series have become very popular, Oyaide rolled out the R1 as their premium AC outlet. While the SWO series starts out with phosphor bronze as the base metal, R1 uses beryllium copper as the base metal. What's the advantage of beryllium copper? To quote Be Cu Manufacturing Co, Inc:
"This malleability provides outstanding precision for critical miniature parts. However, unlike pure copper, beryllium-copper can be heat treated to harden the alloy into an extremely strong and durable metal. Stamped and formed shapes, such as springs, retain their performance characteristics for long spans of time. The inclusion of up to 2% of beryllium to copper enables the alloy to retain high electrical conductivity. Equally important, heat-treated beryllium-copper features excellent dimensional stability, fatigue resistance and corrosion resistance. Its strength is greater than ordinary copper alloys and many steels."
Oyaide takes beryllium copper, polishes it highly, then plates it with platinum, then again with palladium. Basically, R1 uses platinum plating instead of gold plating stage of SWO-XXX while outside stays palladium. Platinum and platinum alloys in past have struck me as having a bit more immediate, resolved nature compared to palladium while still leaning to the fast, neutral mien instead of warm and romantic like gold. This trend bears out for R1, which sounds significantly more resolved, less soft, and less ethereal than SWO-XXX. There is more definition to images and more bass foundation compared to SWO-XXX. While many loved SWO-XXX after its release, there were some grumblings on the net talking about how SWO-XXX was too cool or lean in their systems. The R1 should fit in more comfortably into many more systems, providing meaningful improvement over generic outlets. Compared to something more upfront and vivid like Teslaplex, R1 still has the Oyaide signature of refinement and liquidity, just not to the same degree as SWO.
Synergistic Research Teslaplex
The outlet under comparison is the original Teslaplex, which has since evolved into Teslaplex SE, which has different material for the back strap apparently. Reading about the Teslaplex outlet on the Synergistic Research website will likely cause a non-audiophile to burst into laughter or question whether it's April Fool's:
"The Synergistic Research TESLA Plex SE is our Quantum Tunneled duplex outlet. Quantum Tunneling is a process that changes the way a conductor works at the sub atomic level, impacting the entire TESLA Plex SE assembly. By applying a two million volt signal to each individual unit, at a specific pulse modulation and an ultra-high frequency, for an exact duration of time, we transform the outlet at the molecular level. This process is also performed on all TESLA Series cables, from Accelerator to Apex. The before and after' is startling, with a lower noise floor and improvements in inner detail, air, low frequency extension, and overall transparency."
Yup, it's a tough pill to swallow even if you are an audiophile. Frankly, there is a lot of language on Synergistic's website that describes some incredulous stuff like active shielding for cable, "quantum" fuses, EnigmA valve power supply for active shielding, and Acoustic Art room resonance control cups. Putting all the baggage aside for a moment, the jist of Teslaplex seems to be zapping an outlet with very high voltage (two million volts) to change its sound. Well, what does that do?
Apparently, the extreme-voltage zapping really makes Teslaplex sound clear, vivid, and involving. This is not a ethereal, warm, or forgiving outlet; instead, it's very "open," super-resolving, crisp, dynamic, and engaging. In some systems that already accentuate upper-mids and lower-treble, it may even come across as unforgiving and bright, but in well-balanced systems, it is all about throwing away that veil and making music come alive. Perhaps because it tends to enhance edge-definition and highlight outlines, it seems to present more defined images to voices and instruments compared to outlets like Oyaide and ACME.
Its personality tends to suit tube-based systems better, especially the single-ended triode variety, when the main voice or instrument is helped to project energetically into the room with exciting clarity and bite. Still, as usual, one will need to be careful which components would work best with Teslaplex and how many is too many in one system.
ACME Audio Silver Plated Outlet
ACME Audio Labs outlet is definitely an "oldie but goodie." ACME takes the Pass and Seymour 5242 outlets, silver-plates the metal parts and screws, then cryo-treats whole thing. The ACME outlet has been around a very long time, and while many other audiophile outlets have been brought to market since, it still sounds excellent while maintaining a budget price. The main hurdle to enjoying the ACME is the seemingly ridiculous amount of time it takes to break in, and it's probably a good idea to just install them into other rooms, connect some lights, refrigerator, etc, and just forget about them for a few weeks before actually installing them into the audio system.
If hastily installed and listened to right away, the ACME will likely introduce the proverbial Audio Hell to the owner, who will likely be disappointed and give up on this great outlet before the good stuff starts. At first, music will sound rigid, bright, rough, without any natural flow, and over the next few weeks, there will be a rollercoaster ride of improvement here and there while some things take a step forward then a step backward. When all said and done, the ACME presents a clear, resolute view into the recording with superb dynamics and definition. While it's probably not an outlet to use to soften and hide system faults, it will likely secure a place in a system, perhaps to feed some good tube amps, while another outlet that's a little more forgiving feeds the digital source, for example. It's difficult to beat the price-to-performance ratio of ACME outlets in this day and age when boutique outlets can cost an order of magnitude more.
Hubbell IG 5362 Double Cryo'd AC Outlet
Hubbell IG 5362 should not be confused with the regular Hubbell 5362. "IG" stands for Isolated Ground, and this model also happens to be built from phosphor bronze, which is very rare in non-audiophile, off-shelf outlets.
Unlike the ACME, which took an extremely long time to settle down, the Hubbell sounded good right out of the box and didn't exhibit much "nasties" during break-in. Compared to a "normal" household outlet, both IG5362 and ACME cleared away a veil, removing a wooly gauze' over music. Images snapped into focus with better 3-D density. Bass was warm and popped with authority when called for, but not cyborg-uptight. While it is possible to imagine a system that is very rough around the edges that may benefit from the defocusing effect of a "regular" outlet, in order to extract that last 10% from the system, strategic use of good outlets is a must.
Compared to the double-cryo'd Hubbell, the ACME seemed to have a slight amount of glare and hardness riding on top of upper-midrange to low-treble area, which is an effect very similar to silver-plated solid-core copper wire relative to plain copper. It's not very noticeable with most music, but with music containing lots of energy in this area, such as a trumpet or female vocals at top of the range, there's a certain "tearing" effect with the ACME. Luckily, having used the ACME outlets for many years in various rooms, I can report that when they are truly well-used, like many months, this hardness eventually disappears, leaving a nicely extended, dynamic, clear-sounding outlet, if not exactly forgiving.
When thus fully burned-in, ACME can demonstrate what may be a bit of a problem with double-cryo'd Hubbell, which is a mild attenuation of frequency extension at the extreme top and bottom. IG 5362 probably has the most rich and bloomy midrange of all the outlets mentioned here, a delight and an almost tube-like response curve. Certain solid state or class-D amps with strong top and bottom response but somewhat reticent midrange may in fact pair beautifully with the Hubbell, as well as digital front-ends that exhibit similar subjective response. My personal reference systems revolve around tubes and refined digital sources, which is the reason my system synergizes better with Teslaplex and ACME.
cruzeFIRST Audio Maestro Outlet
cruzeFIRST Audio takes a completely different approach to audiophile outlets compared to a company like Oyaide. Their Maestro outlet eschews any plating, which cruzeFIRST Audio strongly believes benefits the unobstructed power flow. Instead, they concentrate on starting with sound materials by the way of commercial-spec outlet made to their specifications with high-purity copper/brass alloy. This is not a simple off-the-shelf outlet one can buy anywhere. This outlet then undergoes precise deep cryogenic treatment, special coating to reject RFI / EMI, then mechanical dampening applied. That's not all, as it then goes through a two-week break-in process before being sealed into its packaging.
The very first thought that occurred when plugging into the Maestro outlet was how supremely clean it sounded. It's not so much that other outlets did not sound clean before; many of them certainly sounded quite clean, especially when compared to run-of-the-mill household outlets. However, Maestro outlet seemed to open a new level of clean sonics that's revealed best in direct comparison. The lack of any plating may have something to do with this impression, among other factors, as there was almost a subliminal sense of less "stuff" between my ears and the music signal, less make-up and gloss being placed on music. This meant that less-than-perfect recordings with passages with some irritating texture or peaky brightness came through without these imperfections being thrust into one's face. They are still there but not as aggravating, which allows a deeper relaxation into one's favorite tunes, a boon for sure.
The second thought that came into mind was how delightfully natural the Maestro sounded. "Natural" is not exactly a heart-pounding, exciting description and is easily lost in the sea of audiophile verbiage; but it also happens to be one of the toughest attributes to achieve in an audio component. Take for example the Teslaplex, which at times comes across as more spot-lit, exciting, and engaging, which is a pleasing effect for many systems out there. Unfortunately, with certain recordings, it can have almost a "crispy" type of brightness which is unpleasant and distracting. The Maestro presents the performers a bit less forward and less thrusted toward the listener, more properly set back within the soundscape. There is less tension in the audio frequency "presence region" with the Maestro as well as a bit more natural bloom and weight in the mid-bass; as a result, some tracks that are overcooked and close-mic'ed are more enjoyable via Maestro, but all without losing true resolution or detailing because they are just slightly less forward. In fact, it is evident that the Maestro is neutral and natural enough to fit into a vast majority of audio systems out there without throwing off the system balance way too much, which cannot be said about many other audiophile outlets out there.
Some audiophiles might not be very impressed by an outlet that is described as "clean and natural," but that would be a mistake. The Maestro clearly has been painstakingly tweaked and optimized to arrive at those underappreciated goals, and what is truly wonderful is this outlet sounds natural because it is transparent, not because it smooths over details. It seems kind of odd to call an outlet transparent, but the Maestro certainly deserves that credit.
Furutech GTX-D Rhodium Outlet
The Furutech GTX-D is built like a jewel and sounds like it, too. Unfortunately, such quality does not come cheap, and those who are used to $1 light-weight, plasticky outlets used in most large residential developments these days may be somewhat shocked by the $239 price tag for the Furutech GTX-D Rhodium. Going straight to the source, Furutech, there are reasons their top-of-the-line outlet costs what it does.
In an ideal world, pure copper would be used for power connectors and outlets, but unfortunately, pure copper is quite soft and malleable, which would deform and loosen over repetitive use, leading to a potential disaster for AC power chain. This is the reason most power connectors and receptacles are made with materials with worse conductivity such as brass or phosphor bronze. Furutech has developed a technique that allows the use of their best conductor material, Alpha-treated pure copper, as the base conductor. Alpha-copper means being blessed with Furutech's patented cryogenic treatment and demagnetization process, good enough to be used in Furutech's premium signal cabling products. This copper is strengthened with nonmagnetic stainless steel spring system that maintains a very firm grip on power blades while avoiding damages to male connector blades. These receptacles receive the world-renowned Furutech rhodium or gold plating, becoming (r) or (g) versions of GTX-D.
Attention to detail does not stop there, and in order to minimize vibration and resonance, the receptacle body is made from a heavy-duty composite of nylon and fiberglass, which is impregnated with carbon powder and "piezo nano" ceramic. This technique is used to convert mechanical resonance into heat while performing shielding duties from EMI. Some of the other features include a curved pressure clamping system that increases surface contact area between the electrical line and the receptacle, accommodation for either spades or bare wire, special protective clamp cover, patented wire clamping system, nonmagnetic stainless steel mounting strap, and an anti-resonant rear dampening clamp.
If still not convinced regarding the price, one just needs to hold the GTX-D in his hand to realize this has to be the best built, most sturdy, meticulously thought-out, non-resonant piece of audio outlet available. Every moving part, screw, strap inspires confidence that this jewel will last for generations and still deliver. If still not convinced, one only needs to listen to it. Before listening to the Furutech, I was initially worried the rhodium plating may sound too analytical, which is the somewhat accepted reputation for rhodium; the corollary is that gold plating yields warm and euphonic sound. This description somewhat matches my previous experiences with these plating methods with other products, but GTX-D (r) managed to walk the fine line between resolution and warmth, while definitely avoiding any hash, grit, sheen, brightness, or harshness.
GTX-D achieved the highest levels of both resolution and smoothness, something usually not seen together in one product. If one switched from the $1 house outlet to GTX-D, the staggering amount of previously-unheard resolution, clarity, and dynamics will likely be startling to the listener. All that extra information and energy is delivered in a defined, controlled way, without various sound bites getting out of control and ragged as can happen with lesser outlets. Bass is not overblown or obscuring; instead, it is tight, defined, and extended with energetic dynamic punch. Tiny sounds from various nooks of soundstage come alive with crystalline and pure delivery while instrument positioning, layering, and depth become effortlessly obvious. To make matters worse (?), GTX-D delivers a gorgeous, tasteful, 3-dimensional solidity in the all-important midrange without going overboard with overly round and thick presentation. This outlet is not held back by a overly "balanced" but boring presentation with polite, reticent midrange presence, either. The voices have superb reach into the room and soundstage, vivid and forward enough to be engaging while not overcooked, especially in the sibilance and presence region.
What are the flaws? Well, Furutech must have a reason for making the gold plated version of GTX-D as well for a different flavor. Some of the Furutech vendors recommend the rhodium version for neutral to warm systems, probably with tubes, which may mean the gold version, may fit better in neutral to cool systems. Not having the GTX-D Gold in house to compare to Rhodium, it is difficult to say for sure, but going by prior experience with gold vs. rhodium plating, one might presume that GTX-D (g) might have a warmer tonality with possibly more bass quantity, albeit with less tightness. It may also have more forgiveness but not as much detail resolution. Would that make (r) version any less worthy and flawed? Any well-heeled audiophile would already know that systems are different and that one does not fit all. One outlet may serve a certain type of system better while the other outlet may synergize a little better with a different type of system, with final results heavily being dependent on the listener's personal tastes as well. Once again, there is no substitute for actually trying the product in one's own system, and for those audiophiles who are willing to pay the tariff and do the hard work, the Furutech should be on the rather short list. |
Hi mehdi, I am getting Both the Furutech GTX-D Gold and Rhodium, after 500 hours on them, I will give my feed back of my impressions, cheers. |
