Years later, I’m weighing back in on the Furutechs, due to a recent purchase.
I’ve had the Furutechs for years now, and they are every bit as good as I thought. That said, the NCF units Furutech released show that the rhodium version has a little less weight in the "power range" of music (100-400hZ). This won’t matter if you listen to rock, since so much pop music is compressed anyway, when the mix is done on it. It will show up a bit on orchestral music, though, or perhaps jazz. The NCF is an advancement, not putting the rhodium Furutech out of business, but I might opt for the Gold, which is smoother at the top (not as extended as the Rhodium and perhaps a bit "brighter), but also FULLER in the power range, which will give music more of a "surging" sound, the way waves on a seashore come crashing in and then recede. Just as a note, the late HP of TAS, lauded his Silver Circle conditioner after the Furutech Golds were installed, so that might be the way to go, too. But the NCFs are superior to both of the earlier versions, as so often (but not always) happens in newer versions of equipment.