I’m looking out for used Powerlines and have came across both one with the transparent Furutech Schuko and one with a black Furutech Schuko. Is the black Furutech Schuko authentic/original and the latest version you get when purchasing new today?
I have both and think they are just different years.
I had the black one included with a 555PSDR from 2019
I got a black one with my 555DR also. Possibly a newer range of schuko plug
I only find black Schukos from Germany 
I have a PowerIgel Plus from Music Line (German Naim distributor) which is a bit older and came with a transparent Schuko on the Powerline that goes into the socket. Like all Powerlines complete with a serial number on the cable. Unfortunately except the 555 I have no other Naim units that came with Powerlines to compare.
I asked the German distributor the question and his answer was simple. They take whats currently available. I use two transparent and three black and don’t hear any difference.
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So new Powerlines can be both transparent and black. Because it’s different Furutech schukos so in theory if you believe in connectors they might not sound the same.
Both tested on an NDS / 555PS and a Linn Klimax Radikal and found no difference other than looks.
I have both PowerLines and Furutech cables. The black shuko is newer and slightly further up the Furutech range of plugs. Transparent is still available but I guess Nain opted for the black. I couldn’t comment on how the plugs differ. The black are slightly more expensive and feel more substantial. Transparent is the entry level Furutech plug. Even so, it’s very good and no nonsense.
These seems to be the two different Schukos used.
FI-35® (transparent)
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α (Alpha) Pure copper Rhodium plated Conductor
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Nylon/fiberglass body incorporating nano sized ceramic particles for absorption of vibration resonance
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Multi layered nonmagnetic stainless steel and carbon fiber housing and incorporating acetal copolymer. The best of damping and insulation materials for improvements in frequency extension and tonal quality
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Specified for cable diameters from 6 mm to 20 mm
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Dimensions: Body length 56.8 mm x 40.5 mm diameter x 96 mm overall length
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Metal cable clamp for improved grip and reduction of mechanically and electrically induced distortion.
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Specifications: Acc ommodates cable diameters from 6.6 mm to 18.0 mm
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Dimensions: Body length 56.0 mm x 39.0 mm diameter x 88 mm overall length
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Rated: 16A/250V
FI-E38 ® (black)
•α (Alpha) pure-copper rhodium-plated conductors
•Floating Field Damper System*
•Nylon/fiberglass body incorporating carbon particles that absorb vibration and resonance
•Specified for cable diameters from 6mm to 17.0mm
•Dimensions: Body length 56.6mm × 39.6mm diameter x 88.7mm overall length
•Metal cable clamp improves grip and reduces mechanically and electrically induced distortion
•Rating: 16A/250V AC
I have three each of the transparent and black versions.
Connected to various combinations of Supercap DR, HiCap DR, NAPSC, CD 555 PS, nDAC, bare NDX, NAP 250 DR, NAP 250.2, NAP 110, NAP 140, CB HiCap, Rega Brio-R, Rega DAC, Wireworld Matrix 2, Netzleiste Plus and Audio Agile Line 5-socket power block, I cannot detect any difference between them.
Using them between a wall socket and power block also seems to benefit units connected to the power block by the standard Naim power leads.
Adding one to the NAPSC feeding a NAC 282 to provide a Powerline to all of the units in the system surprised me the most. It seems that having a full set of Powerlines produces an improvement that is greater than the sum of the individual Powerlines.
Like Fraim levels in the right colour combination, I buy them whenever they turn up on the used market for a good price.
I still need another two (or three).
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Transparent FI-E35 on mine. Bought about 6 months ago but ex demo so could be a year or two old.
Would be very interesting if anyone notices a difference.
Hence the PowerIgel Plus with the added bonus that all Powerlines are welded to a shared contact point
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That is a solution I would really like to try one day. If a used one becomes available and I see it in time, I’ll go for it. In the meantime, I use the Netzleiste Plus, which seems to be a good compromise in terms of the connections it offers.
A NAC 252 will soon arrive, so I can rebuild the Fraim stacks and do another mix and match session with the Powerlines, power blocks and components over the Christmas break.
The new price is indeed steep. I have the one with 6 lines (luckily with one to spare, I put the SMPS of the P8 into a separate socket on a separate circuit) and am super happy with it. I was very lucky as they are really rarely sold used. Then one evening a few months ago I could not sleep thinking about the system and upcoming purchases (all new in my profile except for speakers). Somehow my thoughts locked onto and circled around the PowerIgel and after an hour of agony I got up, searched, and found one that had popped up a very short time earlier on one of the sites, with 45% of new price or so.
Sounds like we acquire equipment in much the same way. Powerigels do appear from time to time on the big auction site (usually for silly money) and sometimes on eBay-Kleinanzeigen. At least on the latter platform, it seems to be easier to negotiate a better price. If possible, I prefer local pick-up with a short test before any money changes hands.
With Powerlines and Powerigel, it is just a question of patience and I am in no particular hurry.
Yes, occasionally, but there are more used 500-series units than PowerIgels. It takes time. I didn’t even plan for it then, as I was already spending so much on the other stuff and it was a “maybe later” thing. But annoying as it kind of left me feeling with a hole in the new system. It’s a perfect fit of course and just superlucky that it fell into my lap without waiting and searching. Mine was on Kleinanzeigen too, the guy was super nice (he is on the forum somewhere but I haven’t found him out), he arranged a convenient pickup and we had a nice evening chatting about hifi to boot 
Just purchased a Powerline. Will be interesting to see how it handles compared to an Audioquest Z3 and Furutech The Empire.
Would love to hear your impressions. I sold a bunch of Z3 and Y3 from my old system during the journey to the Naim system and Powerline insanity, but never heard them in the new one