Rhodium vs Gold AC connectors

I think there are two issues in these discussions: 1- AC power cord with Rhodium or Gold Nema/IEC connectors and 2- Respectable AC outlet Rhodium or Gold.

Obviously, there is a relation between these two. In an exchange mail with Chris Vanhaul he mentioned that too, when I was hesitating to buy Rhodium Connector vs. Gold.
I need to say I don’t have too much experience on different respectable ac outlets. I used to have a Hubbell Cryo and a Synergistic Research Teslaplex and I am happy with it. I am considering to add an Furutech GTX-D (R) in the near future, especially If I find a used one!!! There is a good review on enjoythemusic, January 2014, entitled: Audiophile AC Power Outlet Comparisons
Oyaide, Synergistic Teslaplex, ACME, Hubbell IG 5362, cruzeFIRST Audio Maestro, and Furutech GTX.

As for power cords, based on my own experiences. I think AC connectors play a big role on the output sound. Obviously, there are plenty parameters to consider too, like cable materials, no. of gauges, device equipment (CD player, DAc, preamp, AMP), power conditioner(s), the interconnect cables materials, speaker cables and most importantly the SPEAKERS. Devices being Tube based or Solid-State could also play a role in term of overall dynamic and revealing different frequency ranges. One could use Rhodium connector for CD player or preamp and Gold for Amps. For example, I use Dynamic Design power cord with Rhodium for one of my power conditioners feeding my LCD TV and AMP, CD player with an excellent clarity and results. The Dynamic Design Challenger cable with Gold connectors are used on my CD player. On my second system, I use a DD power cable with Rhodium feeding my preamp/processor.

I am afraid there is no any objective way to make rules on using Rhodium or Gold on CD player or amp. It is a multi-dimensional problem without any theoretical answer. The best way is to try and test.

Beyond all of these, THE MOST PROMINENT PARAMETER is the PERSONAL TASTE on type of music (Classic, chamber, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Metal), preference of being a bass freak or not, preference to have a more lively midrange, preference on more articulated vocal voices and enjoinment of hearing more pronounced instruments on high frequency or not.
I tested and have a lot of power cords and put some for sale. Some present an excellent sound especially with big orchestra and some are more suitable for jazz or chamber music. Of course, some cables present a reasonable compromise between the two. One might also choose to have entire power cords sets for each of these configuration. Some are very good for power conditioner, some are better for CD player or preamp or amps.

Regarding expensive power cords (>$800 used!), I am not sure, the subtle improvement that they might bring to your system could be really justifiable. I don’t believe neither reviews on Magazines that could be biased. One could learn some notions from that but buying based on review is not recommended. Based on my experiences, buying a reasonable and not expensive cable and changing the nema/iec connectors would present a much better result. I think Rafael0054 did that too on his Purist audio cables.

Audiolabyrinth, Your Krell amp is a beast (in a good way) and I guess it comes with its own internally attached power cord. Have you ever considered to change that power cord and see what you get instead?! I was reading an interview with Dand’agustino of Krell saying up to a few years ago he didn’t believe on importance of Power cords! I guess it was the eras of before ~2004, where all these fancy/sophisticated Ac connectors didn’t exist. Since then there has been more improvements and people pay more attentions on their connectors, not only Ac connectors but also interconnect and speaker cable connectors.

Michaelzay, yes, I have considered a power cord for the krell 700cx, krell says they cannot put an IEC on the back panel, it would consist of machine work, so I have an Idea, leave about a foot of the stock hard wired power cord coming out of the amp, and terminate with furutech to a power cord of my choice, and since the Tara labs Cobalt with oyaide termination's is nothing short of revolutionary on my digital running direct to amplifier that Is a $5,450.00 power cord, I was considering getting the new top model Tara labs Grandmaster Evolution with oyaide terminations that is a whoping $12,000.00 6ft power cord for the krell, this would take up to a year or so to do, considering the cost of the entire set-up, that is the only way to do this, is some kind of fancy termination modds from one power cord to the other.

Hi Audiolabyrinth.
Are you sure you want to cut the original power cable of the Krell amp?Why don´t you try desoldering it an solder instead an excellent quality cable with a furutech iec termination, and there you plug your power cable?In doing so ,if it doesn´t have the result you are waiting for, then you can resold the original power cable of the Krell without altering their originality.It´s only an idea.Because I´m afraid that the krell fpb 700cx was designed and calculated to work with its original power cable.It´s a thought I have( may be I´am wrong)For instance I use my ARC D 200amp and my ARC Ls2Bmk2 preamp with their original power cords.I only use reterminated cable in my Krell kav 300 cd ,which has a iec termination in the chassis.Cheers.Raf

Audiolabyrinth, I did what you suggest on an amp. with heatsinks on the back and a hardwired ac cord. One can buy male IEC connector that go on cables. I bought one and left about three inches on the existing pc and attached the IEC male. I then just plugged a better pc with an IEC female into it and on to the wall.

I am not sure that Furutech make such a piece, however. I should also note that I did sell the amp later and felt I needed to include the ac cord.

very,very, bad news Michaelzay and Rafael0054, running the Furutech GTX-D Rhodium and Gold version's together was fxxxxxx awefull!, run them 4 hours to no prevail!, no open sound,cancelled each other out bad!, that was the worst experiment to date for my system ever!, answered my own question, does anyone run the Gold with the Rhodium?, no wonder I did not get any answers!, they do not work together at all!, as a matter of fact, I am getting another Rhodium for the Krell anyway, I believe the bass will come thru, and if it does not, I likly will sale it,BTW, I put my $6.00 15 amp hospital grade copper alloy made in mexico outlet back on the krell with the Rhodium on the digital, oh yea, the magic is back with bass and slam, and with all the best clarity and attributes of the Rhodium intact, cheers.