Pete, Dave; how does the GTX-R NCF compare with the GTX-R?
I've listened to several outlets recently in my new Digi-Buss and Buss-Stop, (more on these later) and wall: Pass & Seymour croy'd 5362, polished, croy'd P&S 5362, Furutech FPX Cu, FPX Gold, GTX Rhodium, GTX Gold.
I found the Pass & Seymour croy'd 5362 in my various Busses (including in my now departed Mini-Buss) to be a solid outlet that does not do any harm and I actually preferred Dave’s polished and croy'd version to the FPX Cu, which seemed to be very slightly harsh in comparison. I did prefer the FPX Gold to both of them in tonal accuracy, the main difference between these receptacles.
The GTX outlets are, as everyone has stated, significantly superior to these others. They are more resolving, more dimensional and more tonally accurate, with the rhodium version having a bit more emphasis on leading edge transients and greater soundstage depth and detail. At first I thought it was thus the best receptacle. But, with extended close listening, I find the GTX Rhodium - on some material - to have a slight touch of the glare and "glaze" that have always been prominent on inferior rhodium connectors. I found having one GTX rhodium in a system with multiple receptacles does provide some additional clarity without any drawbacks even though I prefer having most of my gear into the GTX gold.
Given that much of the quality of the GTXs is supposed to be due to the high level of polishing, and given that I have always preferred un-plated copper connectors for their tonal accuracy, I asked Dave if he would polish the FPX Cu as he had the P&S. He kindly did so and the result was clarity, resolution, and tonal accuracy that easily surpasses the polished P&S & the Furutech FPX Gold in direct comparison (same wall outlet location with the identical configuration of Digi-Buss > Buss-Stop > the wall receptacle).
I then switched my amp from the GTX Gold in the Buss-Stop to the polished FPX Cu in the wall. More wow. A small increase in dynamics (because of the outlet, or because of going direct into the wall instead of into the Buss-Stop? I don't know) but, again, even more tonal accuracy and resolution.
Although I couldn't compare them directly (yet; I hope to do so in the future) I suspect the polished FPX Cu is superior to both of the GTXs.
