Thought I’d give a little update, since all my pieces should now all be well run in. For those that haven’t read through the whole thread, I will once again confirm that the old “Rhodium sounds bright” simply isn’t true. I have swapped 7 gold plated ends for Rhodium & the system is actually warmer & more musical then ever before, while at the same time being far superior in the “audiophile” aspects. For me, Furutech has done an outstanding job in exactly this, giving you all those audiophile aspects you like but not at the expense of leaning in a more analytical direction. This whole experience has been a real eye opener on just how much power effects the sound quality. Over the last year I haven’t made any actual kit upgrades, I’ve just upgraded power related components & room treatments. Now by no means are the upgrades I’ve done to these areas considered cheap but I can say their impact has improved sound more then any box upgraded I’ve done. I’m at a level that I never would have guessed was possible a year ago with the same kit, & at that time I still felt I was extracting most of the potential out of the kit. I have been thinking about starting a thread, for all those on the endless upgrade merry go round, about how much potential is likely not being extracted from what you currently have.
As far as as Furutech goes, their FI-50 NCF ends are outstanding, yes they are expensive but given their actual performance, I feel the price is justified. The GTX-D NCF outlets, even more so, while a crazy price, performance wise they are a bargain.
For bulk cable, the DPS-4.1 is a true flag ship bulk cable, it is very transparent but at the same time still musical & not analytical. It will show exactly what your kit is capable of. Lots of insight, quick, large soundstage, pinpoint imagining, impactful bass, etc. If your kit is up to it, I’d definitely recommend it, I would only hesitate to recommend it if your kit is of lower quality as I could see it might have the potential to reveal short comings elsewhere.
The S series, S55N & S022N, when paired with the FI-50 NCF ends makes a cable that performs far above its price point/far above what a very “regular” cable configuration should. This cable when compared to DPS-4.1 gives a bit less insight, while adding a bit more warmth. The S022N version seems pretty neutral top to bottom, where the S55N might add just a bit more warmth & extension to the top & bottom.
Going forward I will likely swap out the rest of my Cryo Hubbells for GTX-D NCF’s, change my TT phono lead ends for the newish CF-102 NCF ends & try out a FI-50 NCF powerline…
Edit: Not Furutech related but I briefly mentioned above, I was thinking about trying the Puron power conditioners that seemed to have good reviews. Their prices are supposed to be going up shortly & they’re currently running a promotion for a reduced price if you buy two, so I picked a couple up. Should be receiving them in the next couple days.