installing 7 Furutech GTX-D NFC (R) outlets this morning

DaveC

Industry Expert
Nov 16, 2014
3,897
2,141
495
It's best to use the clamps in the GTX, it's not a typical cheapie "backstab", it's an actual cable clamp that is definitely better than using the screw.

For the ground use a crimped-on spade.
 

Kingsrule

VIP/Donor
Feb 3, 2011
1,429
680
1,430
I'll stick with more surface area around screw....
 

Gregadd

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
10,508
1,771
1,850
Metro DC
Is the line solid or stranded cable? Stranded will flatten out. For that kind of money you'd think they might have a hole that you could thread the cable through. I hope that made demse.
 

Folsom

VIP/Donor
Oct 25, 2015
6,020
1,486
520
Eastern WA
"backstab" cheap AC receptacles that don't use the screw are a fire hazard. They are not even legal everywhere. I highly suggest replacing them if you have any in your house.

Don't assume your home is too nice or too new to have them.
 

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
12,432
11,314
4,410
Furutech FI-50 NCF combo, male plug + IEC

I've ordered 7 sets of Furutech NCF male plugs and IEC outlets that my dealer will retro-fit to my Absolute Fidelity power cords. these are spendy puppies; $340 retail each piece, $680 per power cord. but I expect it will be like upgrading your power cords to new ones.

http://www.furutech.com/2015/11/18/12057/

http://www.furutech.com/2015/11/18/12059/

2 weeks ago I had 7 of the Furutech GTX-D NFC (R) duplex outlets installed upgrading my regular GTX-D (R) outlets. I was very impressed by what the NFC 'Nano Crystal Formula' added to the performance. the tourmaline which is what the 'Nano Crystals' are seems to be kick ass. if they arrive Friday they could be installed this weekend.

stay tuned.
 

Gregadd

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
10,508
1,771
1,850
Metro DC
Keep pushing the envelope.
 

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
12,432
11,314
4,410
my dealer is now almost done switching in these 7 sets of FI-50 male and IEC plugs. he's working on the last cable now. he started at 7:30am this morning.....it's now at the 4 hour point. he is my hero.

he's put them on the (1) dart pre, (2) power supply of the NVS tt, (3) Lampi Golden Gate dac, (4-7) the dual subwoofer amps per side (the MM7 bass towers have 2 separate amplifiers each).

we've continued to listen as he's worked and I've switched the cables in and out.

so far the biggest thing was the dac; which clearly took a step. the dart pre is battery powered so hard to know what to expect. we are listening to vinyl now and it does seem to have a bit more authority. even with only one sub amp powered the bass is really 'delicious'.

more later......
 

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
12,432
11,314
4,410
provisional response;

wow!!

interesting to hear what improving power cords on subwoofers crossed over at around 35hz do for overall coherence and authority. more agile and expressive in the lower registers, overall cleaner and more real. crosses farther over into suspension of disbelief.

more subtle improvements on the vinyl than the digital; which makes sense with the phono stages battery powered. still the vinyl is better. the digital is quite a bit better.

of course; hard to separate and isolate cause and affect when doing more than one power cord upgrade.

these connectors sure look spiffy with the polished stainless steel over carbon fibre/nano crystal. but it's not just a pretty face.

and the proverbial 800 pound gorilla in the room is I have not yet upgraded the plugs for the power cords on the dart mono blocks which typically yield a large share of any power grid related upgrade.

of course; I'm only commenting on what they sound like in my particular system as my first blush perceptions.
 

mauidan

Member Sponsor
Aug 2, 2010
1,512
11
36
Pukalani, HI
I've ordered 7 sets of Furutech NCF male plugs and IEC outlets that my dealer will retro-fit to my Absolute Fidelity power cords. these are spendy puppies; $340 retail each piece, $680 per power cord. but I expect it will be like upgrading your power cords to new ones.

http://www.furutech.com/2015/11/18/12057/

http://www.furutech.com/2015/11/18/12059/

2 weeks ago I had 7 of the Furutech GTX-D NFC (R) duplex outlets installed upgrading my regular GTX-D (R) outlets. I was very impressed by what the NFC 'Nano Crystal Formula' added to the performance. the tourmaline which is what the 'Nano Crystals' are seems to be kick ass. if they arrive Friday they could be installed this weekend.

stay tuned.

How would you compare this upgrade with your large investment in Entreq boxes and cables.
 

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
12,432
11,314
4,410
Mike

I would love to see what your PC's look like with those adaptor

Any photos

not sure the pictures can capture the quality of how these are built. they are really works or art in terms of the attention to detail.

I am very impressed.

male plugs for the twin subwoofer amps for the Evolution MM7 bass towers.

Furutech FI-50 male plugs--bass tower amps.jpg

IEC for upper bass amp

Furutech FI-50 IEC plug-top sub amp.jpg

IEC for lower bass amp

Furutech FI-50 IEC plug-bottom sub amp.jpg

male plug for the dart pre

Furutech FI-50 male plug--dart pre.jpg

male plug for the Golden Gate dac

Furutech FI-50 male plug--Golden Gate dac.jpg
 

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
12,432
11,314
4,410
How would you compare this upgrade with your large investment in Entreq boxes and cables.

at this point in time my impression is that both the Furutech GTX-D NCP (R) outlets and these FI-50 NCP male and IEC plugs are multiples larger net gain than the Entreq Silver Tellus or Posiedon, as is the Troy Signature by even a larger multiple.

however; the Entreq is doing different things than these power grid products. not to say that it's all not related together in some way. and I'm still learning and so my perspective needs some time to find clarity.

but I'd also point out that my system and it's already super low noise floor, extreme dynamic capability, and very refined signal path is not particularly typical. so my impressions cannot be blindly applied to other cases.
 

spazmatron

Banned
Dec 4, 2015
190
0
0
Somerset, uk
Thanks for your thoughts Mike, I am going to follow you off the cliff on this one:)
 
Last edited:

Gregadd

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
10,508
1,771
1,850
Metro DC
Thanks Mike for constantly reminding us this is a hobby.
 

Joe Pittman

Well-Known Member
Sep 14, 2010
35
1
151
Seattle, Washington USA
www.kosmic.us
I have replaced all of my previous Furutech GTX-D (R) outlets with the new NCF version in my main reference system, 8 total. I'm really impressed with these outlets. The new NCF material is the real deal and highly recommended.

Based on the improvement in the receptacles, I replaced the connectors on my reference Absolute Fidelity Power Interface cables for my front end equipment (preamp, phono stage, turntable speed control/psu, and network player) with the Furutech FI-50 NCF connectors. Again, I was really impressed with improvement due mostly to the NCF. The biggest improvement was with my preamplifier. The FI-50 NCF are pricey but worth every penny. As Mike says, the pictures don't do them justice. I just ordered more FI-50 NCF connectors to do my amp power cables and IsoTek Syncro's, so everything in my reference system will have NCF.

Furutech also makes a new NCF chassis mount IEC connector called the FI-06 NCF, which I'll try in the future.
 

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
12,432
11,314
4,410
I have replaced all of my previous Furutech GTX-D (R) outlets with the new NCF version in my main reference system, 8 total. I'm really impressed with these outlets. The new NCF material is the real deal and highly recommended.

Based on the improvement in the receptacles, I replaced the connectors on my reference Absolute Fidelity Power Interface cables for my front end equipment (preamp, phono stage, turntable speed control/psu, and network player) with the Furutech FI-50 NCF connectors. Again, I was really impressed with improvement due mostly to the NCF. The biggest improvement was with my preamplifier. The FI-50 NCF are pricey but worth every penny. As Mike says, the pictures don't do them justice. I just ordered more FI-50 NCF connectors to do my amp power cables and IsoTek Syncro's, so everything in my reference system will have NCF.

Furutech also makes a new NCF chassis mount IEC connector called the FI-06 NCF, which I'll try in the future.

thank you Joe, for your expertise and efforts on installing the FI-50 plugs on my power cords, and installing my GTX-D NCP outlets. they sound wonderful.

btw; Joe is my dealer, and I've purchased all my Furutech NFC outlets and plugs from him, as well as my Entreq pieces. Joe also helped my with my Oyaide R-1 outlets 6 years ago, and the original Furutech GTX-D outlets 4 years ago.
 

Joe Pittman

Well-Known Member
Sep 14, 2010
35
1
151
Seattle, Washington USA
www.kosmic.us
Furutech GTX-D NCF and FI-50 NCF Connectors.jpg
Thanks for the kind words Mike. I know your system was already great and regardless of the improvement due to the outlets and plugs, your system is the best I have heard so far in my life. No BS. It is a privilege to hear it, unfortunately most people will will not be able to experience it.

Words can never convey what we hear but I thought others might gain insight into how I perceived your system using audiophile speak in no particular order of importance/significance when I listened to the classical piece Swan Lake:
Overall sound: Best ever.
Virtual Reality?: High suspension of disbelief, very realistic.
Spacial:Walls/room disappeared and replaced with the venue on the recording, best I have heard so far, simply amazing.
Imaging: Completely realistic from left to right, front to back with believable sense if height
Scale: Presentation had a correct sense of scale, full size, not too small not too big, just right. (the Goldilocks zone)
Tonality: Each instrument had it own unique/individual voice
Micro Dynamics: you could hear the "wind" and "touch" of each instrument
Macro Dynamics: Spectacular! Impact, slam, crunch of real instruments. Exceptional power.
Bass: Limitless bass power, speed and extension.
Noise: Undetectable noise floor. LP noise almost non-existent and totally uncorrelated with the system.

Mike, with your room acoustics changes, equipment, and software, I congratulate you on your accomplishment in advancing the art! I'm looking forward to hearing the amplifier power cable change, can't imagine your system sounding better.
 

mauidan

Member Sponsor
Aug 2, 2010
1,512
11
36
Pukalani, HI
at this point in time my impression is that both the Furutech GTX-D NCP (R) outlets and these FI-50 NCP male and IEC plugs are multiples larger net gain than the Entreq Silver Tellus or Posiedon, as is the Troy Signature by even a larger multiple.

however; the Entreq is doing different things than these power grid products. not to say that it's all not related together in some way. and I'm still learning and so my perspective needs some time to find clarity.

but I'd also point out that my system and it's already super low noise floor, extreme dynamic capability, and very refined signal path is not particularly typical. so my impressions cannot be blindly applied to other cases.

Mike,

Thanks for the feedback.

In my system, replacing my wall outlets with Furutech GTX-Ds made a difference, while the Entreq Silver Tellus did nothing.

I'm having a new PLC built, it will have Furutech GTX-D NCP (R)s and a FI-06 NCF.
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing