I actually think the most revealing components are the sw1x dac and nap 500dr.
My sw1x pre iii special is actually more detailed and more richer sounding than the 552Dr with a lower noise floor even though it’s a tube preamp. However the 552dr is my favourite preamp because of its timing and thunderous bass and leading edge magic. The way it soars in the highs as well is super fun.
But yes the DAC and power amp are so detailed that I can even hear a difference in sound at different times in the day. lol.
May I ask if anyone has any experience of the Furutech Alpha series FA-220 RCAs, specifically using them from streamer to integrated amp? 14 AWG “POCC” conductor is used and note it is now discontinued.
Don’t forget Oyaide as well. The build for me is ahead of Furutech and to be fair to Oyaide they were on the scene if I recall before Furutech and 15 years ago Furutech where the cheap alternative to the better made Japanese Oyaide.
Yes, there are a number of companies out there that make these sort of parts but being this is a Furutech thread, they haven’t really been discussed. I don’t know about their past history’s but as far as Oyaide being ahead of Furutech, this I personally wouldn’t agree with. Far more engineering/unique aspects has gone into Furutech, as far as what goes into the products, Oyaide is far more common place.
Take the top of the line plugs Oyaide is Aluminum, vs SS with carbon fiber & dampening material. Oyaide use beryllium copper vs pure copper for Furutech. Furutech uses NCF material, Oyaide does not. Furtech incorporates a ground jumper system, etc.
As to which one you sonically prefer, that is up to the user, but saying the Furutech is a cheap alternative to Oyaide couldn’t be further from the truth.
I believe these were around before the latest generations.
You would find these on most of the high end and really high end power cables.
But, I agree Furutech have pushed things in a positive direction since, albeit at a premium price.
Yes, Naim must still regard these as good. A version of Wattgate plugs are used on Powerlines here in North America. I’m sure they could be improved upon but at a high cost.
I didnt say Furutech is cheap today. My only comment was when I was looking at IEC’s in the last 2000’s Furutech where then a new to market cheaper option to Oyaide. They have clearly positioned themselves differently since.
I can understand why Naim use them, they have the same very high grip as the Powerline, much more than the Furutech IEC connectors. They’re no frills quality and you can get the basic brass ones that are compatible with the plating on the Naim inlets. I’ll be trying the one I have on my Puritan ultimate cable at some point.
Fair enough but you did also mention you thought the build was better on Oyaide, which I personally don’t agree with.
I’ve had cords with Wattgates over the years & don’t really recall them gripping any better then other IEC’s I’ve used. Actually, I’m not sure if they changed things but the most recent Furutechs I’ve been using have had rather snug IEC’s. One thing to also remember is many of the Furutechs use pure copper as a base metal which is more malleable vs the copper blends that the majority of the other connectors on the market use.
I do prefer copper for most contacts and am not familiar with all Furutech IEC’s but I did recently have two Furutech F1-11 connectors that I bought and one C-029 Oyaide and I was not impressed by the build of the Furutech in comparison and they were not able to grip and hold the 6mm squared cable as well, so I sold them and bought more Oyaide. Also if you held the Furutech side by side the finish and quality of the mouldings was better in my view with the Oyaide. In this case the Furutech was cheaper and in this case in my view it was not the same quality.
I’m not an expert on Furutech or Oyaide but I can say in my opinion the C-0-29 is better made than the Furutech F1-11. In my humble option the build quality was higher.
Not trying to be difficult but its not really further from the truth is it ? I have used a fair few IEC’s over the years, not exhaustive but I have over 30 IEC connections in my system and all use 6mm squared cable, so part of the challenge is holding and contacting thick cable. It’s more than possible the F1-11’s would sound better than the C-029 connectors, I never listened to compare
It’s the new WattGate 320 EVO, bought mine last year along with the FI-28 Furutech connectors, it’s as hard to remove as my Powerline, especially with glass shelves on balls! The Furutech connectors don’t need anywhere near the strength to remove, although they do grip better than standard IECs.
Another thing I quite like is that you can strip them down completely, have good wire clamping and they use hex screws which is nice, they’re basic admittedly but well made.
I tend to agree. For me Furutech is a safe bet with very decent quality (plated) copper, which I can afford (and justify) throughput for all my cables, including wall sockets, and my SOtM mains block is equipped with a Furutech inlet socket too.
Oyaide is just in a different league especially in terms of polishing, attention to detail and craftsmanship but even their posphor bronze connectors are above what I would normally justify price wise. Yes, they are generously gold and/or palladium plated etc. and each polished several times to perfection but I would still prefer to have copper all the way through.
Rather an apples to oranges comparison though. Here the C-0-29 is priced around 65% higher then the FI-11, so it should be a given that its of better quality. My comments were in regards to top of the line for both.
The FI-11 series is towards the bottom of their line, as expected quality jumps up significantly as you move up the lines.
Believe 6mm is equal to ~10awg here, in the past I have successfully put up to 9awg wire (believe that should be ~8mm) in a number of different Furutech ends (including the FI-11 series). Though I don’t feel doing so with bare conductors is the best route & now use spade connectors when doing so.
I’ve not used that model in the past, just the more entry level stuff like you find on the PL’s. If I had to take a guess I would say their clamping ability likely has something to do with the brass vs pure copper for the Furutechs. Like most things in life, you choose what compromise you prefer, better clamping with brass or weaker clamping with pure copper. Personally I’d always take the pure copper base metal, but there is no right or wrong.
If I’m not mistaken the FI-11 is the cheapest in the Furutech range when I inquired about the price with the dealer sometime last year. The FI-28 is claimed to be the minimum standard for decent sound quality. The FI-11 looks like a toy to me from the photos with the plastic cover.
I have my cords terminated with FI-28 (R) and FI-50 NCR (R). Both are high quality, the latter much more.
… just that they have the same grip on the iec, but good point about it being on the other end!
Both Furutech and Oyaide are top-notch connectors.
As example: