Tag Archives: Lineflux

Opinion 1

Anyone at least acquainted with High End knows, how key the use of proper plugs for audiophile cabling is. And while in the area of power cords the use of different plugs seems quite common, like for example in the Acrolink 7N-PC6700 Anniversario, where you can choose between PCB and CBN plugs, or the David Laboga Custom Audio (GR-AC-Connect & G-AC-Connect), or when using cables available from spools – the Furutech FP-3TS762, which we tested with the basic plugs FI-28R/FI-E38R and with the top FI-50 NCF(R), in signal cabling changing the connectors is not as common. Of course we need to mention that Siltech (Siltech/Oyaide) allows for that, or our Polish brand Next Level Tech, but the case we will deal with today is even more interesting. As it turns out, before the Furutech LineFlux NCF was presented, the Japanese decided to showcase their newest plugs CF-601MR NCF/CF-602 NCF R before they updated their cable. And if you wonder what came out from those, let me invite you to read on my subsequent, completely subjective, observations.

I must confess, that in terms of the initial impression, something you can do only once, the tested Furutech came over very favorably. First of all, the silvery, cardboard boxes, lined with soft foam, are esthetic enough to not shame the flagship products, while being modest and unabsorbing enough to waive any accusations of spending too much budget on them. Secondly, the cables themselves, are a class on its own, clearly showing, that we are dealing here with top shelf products. And I am not talking about above average cross-sections or byzantine ornamenting, dripping with gold, but this kind of casual elegance and luxury feeling. Starting with the nicely looking combination of dark blue and bottle-green nylon sheaths, through the discreet splitters, reducing the diameter before the plugs, carrying the model and directionality markings, the latter being only applicable for the RCA cables for obvious reasons, and finishing with the newest plugs, complete with a chrome shine, the whole combines into a very harmonious entity, which is a joy to look at, and at the same time does not try to catch our attention as eagerly as Invicta watches. Due to the ends being of smaller diameter, the ergonomics of the LineFlux NCF is very satisfactory – not only they allow us to bend them as we like, but due to their internal construction, they keep their shape – without excessive spring or tension, which could cause lighter devices to move.
Although gentlemen should not talk about money, in case of the High End, we cannot go past financial aspects, especially, when the plugs used are appropriate. You need to know, that if you want to do some DIY cables equipped with the rhodium plated 600 NCF, you need to spend about 675 PLN for the CF-601M R NCF and 780 PLN for CF-602F R NCF, so about 3000 PLN in total. And this is just the beginning of the game, as you would need a decent cable, some sheaths, etc.
The plugs themselves are traditionally made from non-magnetic materials, according to the press materials. The conductive elements made from “single copper elements” were α (Alpha) treated and coated with rhodium. Their cores are formed from a resin resistant to high temperatures with an addition of NCF co-polymer. Additional isolation-mechanical elements are made from a mixture of nylon, fiberglass with ceramic nanoparticles, carbon powder and anti-resonant NCF polymer. The carcasses are hybrid, with the external layer made from a polymer, a braid from silver coated carbon fiber and a layer of NCF resin, under which we find the main body from chrome plated brass. Similar attention was given to the mounting of the individual wires in the signal pins, as well as the plugs on the cable itself, so we find the moments to fasten the respective bolts.
And there is something to mount those plugs on, as the, currently top of the line, LineFlux NCF is equally intriguing. Its external layer is made from the opalescent nylon braid, under which a vibration layer made from nano-ceramic particles, carbon dust and composite PVC. Further layers are composed of a paper tape and a double shield with an α (Alpha) processed external copper braid and an internal layer made from PET/AI tape. Then we find a filter from polyester yarn and finally solid core conductors with a 1.3mm α (Alpha) OCC copper in high quality polyethylene isolation.

When after a few days of accommodation, required due to the fact, that the cables were supplied to us by the Katowice based RCM completely new, I started to listen more critically, it became apparent, that the newest Furutech interconnects are following the path started by the phenomenal power cable Project-V1. I mean, that the sound transmitted by them is completely devoted from nervousness and competitiveness. But it is not about any kind of slowing down, darkening or withdrawal, but a slightly different, than the stereotype associated with High End, placement of accents on the individual components of the sound. But before we move on to that, I need to turn your attention to one thing. The LineFlux NCF begin the process of creation not from what you can hear, but from what you do not, the completely dark and limitless background, from which the silhouettes and sound created by them appeared. And it is not the known from jazz and small chamber ensembles “playing with silence”, but one similar to the absorption of light by Vantablack, where between the sounds noted in the source material, there is completely nothing. I mean, there is the reverberation aura, the echo of the phrases just played whirling under the sacral roofs, everything that needs to be there, to have the walls from Noirlac Abby from “Monteverdi – A Trace of Grace” by Michel Godard, or the catacombs from “Tomba Sonora” by Stemmenklang/Kristin Bolstad not imitate one of the quietest studios – the Belgian Galaxy, where for example the “From Heaven on Earth – Lute Music from Kremsmunter Abbey” by Hubert Hoffman was recorded. So please, do not confuse the removal of any kind of parasitic artefacts, noises and clicks, that usually disturb and degrade the sound with laboratory antiseptic and morgue-like coldness, as the Japanese interconnects are the complete opposite of that. This also does not mean, that the LineFlux sound dark, as you might initially have that kind of impression, because the upper part of the sound spectrum, due to its smoothness, clarity and refinement is so “organic”, and absorbed with such ease, that our senses, not exposed to any painful and discomfortable peaks, let down their guard and move on to the phase of fully relaxing absorption. And again, it is not about toning down, sweetening or rounding off, but about extracting the beauty and positive energy from areas, where you would not look for them. Let us take for example the latest disc from Megadeth – “The Sick, the Dying … and the Dead!”, an album, where there is ample energy, lots of fierce riffs and mad smashing of cymbals. However due to surprisingly well done mastering, the material presented by Dave is stunningly mighty and presses you down in your seat with dynamics, but it does not make you hurt, even at volume levels close to concert ones. Of course, when there should be harsh, then you have the sharpness reserved to damask steel knives, but again – due to the cleanness, the cuts are so smooth and precise, that you feel your head being cut away from your neck once it bangs on the floor.
Moving to a more civilized repertoire, on the album “Nectar” by Silent Skies, the vocals of Tom Englund (yes, the one from Evergrey) was presented very near, it is palpable – made from flesh and blood, contrasting brilliantly with the ambient-oneiric accompaniment from Vikram Shankar, where the Furutech shows the differences between the live person and computer loops in an absolutely flawless way, but not by a brutal contrast, or mutual exclusion, but by coexistence and addition. The synthetic bass is round, almost undefined, but it does not boom. It pulsates in its own rhythm, and at the same time, it has no tendency to dominate other parts of the sound spectrum.
And a few words about the natural instruments, without any electric support. On “Jubilo – Fasch, Corelli, Torelli & Bach” by Alison Balsom the gradation of the planes is splendid. Interestingly, it does not happen due to blowing out the stage in depth and width, but through natural adjustment of its size to the amount of musicians on it. For obvious reasons the trumpet is being favored, but the rest of the ensemble does not need to compete for our attention. Please turn your ears to the organ parts, which, although placed in the back of the stage, have absolutely no issues with their definition or readability. They are just in their place, and nobody is trying to pull them to the front, because there is absolutely no need for that – you can still hear, they are above the full ensemble and they do not need to prove anything to anyone.

In terms of our usual summary, I will allow myself to mention, that the Furutech LineFlux NCF, in both versions, the RCA and XLR (they sound very similar, and the differences are mostly due to the electronics they connect) are the ideal proposal for all or you, who have enough of the ongoing chase for who will do things best, and that in the highest of categories. Here, while you will not find that competitiveness, you should discover, that true High End means something completely different – naturalness and “normalness”, intrinsic to live events, where the definition of the virtual sources means being able to point to a musician with your finger, and not to be able to verify the material his or her jacket is made of. So if you prefer that kind of approach to sound, then I have no other choice but encourage you to borrow the Furutech LineFlux NCF and test its capabilities in your own system.

Marcin Olszewski

System used in this test:
– CD/DAC: Ayon CD-35 (Preamp + Signature) + Finite Elemente Cerabase compact
– Network player: Lumin U2 Mini + I-O Data Soundgenic HDL-RA4TB
– Digital source selector: Audio Authority 1177
– Turntable: Kuzma Stabi S + Kuzma Stogi + Dynavector DV-10X5
– Phonostage: Tellurium Q Iridium MM/MC Phono Pre Amp
– Power amplifier: Bryston 4B³ + Graphite Audio IC-35 Isolation Cones
– Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Contour 30 + Brass Spike Receptacle Acoustic Revive SPU-8 + Base Audio Quartz platforms
– IC RCA: Tellurium Q Silver Diamond
– IC XLR: Organic Audio; Vermöuth Audio Reference; Acrolink 7N-A2070 Leggenda
– Digital IC: Fadel art DigiLitz; Harmonic Technology Cyberlink Copper; Apogee Wyde Eye; Monster Cable Interlink LightSpeed 200
– USB cables: Wireworld Starlight; Goldenote Firenze Silver; Fidata HFU2; Vermöuth Audio Reference
– Speaker cables: Signal Projects Hydra; Vermöuth Audio Reference Loudspeaker Cable + SHUBI Custom Acoustic Stands MMS-1
– Power cables: Furutech FP-3TS762 / FI-28R / FI-E38R; Organic Audio Power + Furutech CF-080 Damping Ring; Acoustic Zen Gargantua II; Furutech Nanoflux Power NCF
– Power distribution board: Furutech e-TP60ER + Furutech FP-3TS762 / Fi-50 NCF(R) /FI-50M NCF(R)
– Wall power socket: Furutech FT-SWS(R)
– Anti-vibration platform: Franc Audio Accessories Wood Block Slim Platform
– Switch: Silent Angel Bonn N8 + Silent Angel S28 + Silent Angel Forester F1 + Luna Cables Gris DC
– Ethernet cables: Neyton CAT7+; Audiomica Anort Consequence + Artoc Ultra Reference + Arago Excellence; Furutech LAN-8 NCF
– Table: Solid Tech Radius Duo 3
– Acoustic panels: Vicoustic Flat Panels VMT

Opinion 2

Furutech is for sure a brand name, that is known to everybody, who came into contact with high quality music reproduction at any time in his or her life. For 100%. In case of cabling and related accessories, this is the first choice brand for many. And I am not only thinking about ready made products, but also about items targeted at the DIY market, like cables sold from spools or all kinds of plugs and similar confection. It is such a powerful brand, that they do not care about other companies from the same market segment are using those components in their products; also, in contrast to the current trends, they are not introducing changes to their product lines often. This happens only in cases, when the engineers decide, that they have made clear progress. Still it happens from time to time, and when they do, they never forget to let us know. This is how we were able to get acquainted with the newest line of RCA/XLR cables, the Furutech LineFlux NCF, kindly provided by the Katowice based distributor RCM.

I will now try to show you the construction of the tested cables, based on the information I got from the distributor. The main information is, that the conductors are made from OCC copper, subdued to the proprietary Alpha process, and are in the form of solid-core wires with a 1.3 diameter. To protect the signal from distortion, the manufacturer employed double shielding, while the whole is enclosed in polyethylene with increased density. This should improve the width of the reproduced frequencies and improve the tonal balance of the transferred sound. Finalizing this short, but comprehensive, information about the main characteristics of the tested cables, I will just add, that the cables have the typical Furutech length of 1.2m, external diameter of 13mm and are equipped with CF-601MR NCF and CF602FR NCF. The cables are packaged in silvery, cardboard boxes lined with soft sponge.

I must confess, that plugging in the tested XLR in my system – my power amplifier from Gryphon has only such inputs – I was abnormally excited as to what will happen during listening. A bit maliciously, but frankly speaking I was completely justified to be like that, I had one main goal – to test the manufacturer’s claims about tonal balance. The predecessor of the tested cable, which was splendid in reproducing the vitality of the sound, seemed sometimes too abrupt, what could be to someone’s liking, or even saving a bit overweight system, but it was always a configuration lottery. And we are talking about High End, as this is the level that series of cables is operating on, where there should be no shortcomings, this is why it was so important to verify the statements made by the constructors. Too often the descriptions in the marketing materials are only wishful thoughts, that are rarely considered. But this time I am dealing with a brand, that does not often throw words to the wind, so with flushed cheeks I waited for the first sounds played by the system. And?
As it turned out, the gentlemen were not wrong. The first thing that you notice after installing the NCF interconnect is the flawless and consistent cooperation of each subrange with another. Without jumping to the front, but just as a tool in the hands of the artists. This translated into an improvement of the energy of the attack and mass of sound, what bettered the motoric of the events reaching me from the stage. There were no holes between the individual subranges; only a coherent cooperation in fighting for equality in reproduction of music. This was a very universal happening, as it did not pump up the bass or midrange, killing resolution of those subranges in the process, but just increased their pigmentation. And as such, you should not be surprised, that every genre profited from this approach.
From rampageous metal like the newest disc from Megadeth (“The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!”), through the “Blade Runner 2045” soundtrack to the older, issued in 1994, jazz from the brilliant trio of Keith Jarrett with Gary Peacock and Paul Motian “At the Deer Head Inn” the way the tested cable presented the sound – I mean not only the brilliant, very energetic presentation of a higher essentiality, but also the masterful extension of the virtual stage and the ease of its presentation – was grist for the mill of each and every album. If the music required an outcry of fierce rock rebellion, with a strong base drum hit, juicy guitars and vocals full of temperament, then the system provided ample essence required for that. When reproducing the upcoming dark future, the room was to tremble with frequent seismic murmurs, I sometimes covered my ears, to prevent from unpleasant clogging of my eardrums, a result of keeping full control over the lowest frequencies. And when a few older gentlemen, with their natural instruments, came, I was enjoying fully the resonance and nobleness of the piano, the brilliant mastering of the double bass, with special attention being paid to the consensus between the finger on the string and the resonant body, and the cymbals, phenomenally placed in the air. I do not know how the Japanese did it, but at least in the last aspect – the cymbals – the predecessor of the tested cable, having an often nicely perceived nonchalance in the upper registers, should be better in that aspect, yet due to the mentioned tonal balance, the newest cable made the whole much more sonically mature. The tested interconnect offered less clicking, but did not lose on the amount of supplied information, what made it more imposing as a whole.

Would I recommend the tested cable to each one of you? Unfortunately I know from experience, that it has no chance for an issue free accommodation with everybody. But I would recommend to check out any of the tested cables even to enforcers of merciless transparency and signal slew rate. Despite having a nice timbre and interesting essence of the reproduced music, those are still very lively and energetic wires. I know, as I tested that in my system, which is well based in mass, and which did not suffer at all by placing the Japanese cable in it, but showed how much more music in music I can achieve with it.

Jacek Pazio

System used in this test:
Source:
– transport: CEC TL 0 3.0
– streamer: Melco N1A/2EX + switch Silent Angel Bonn N8
– DAC: dCS Vivaldi DAC 2.0
– Master clock: Mutec REF 10 SE-120
– reclocker: Mutec MC-3+USB
– Shunyata Research Omega Clock
– Shunyata Sigma V2 NR
– Preamplifier: Gryphon Audio Pandora
– Power amplifier: Gryphon Audio Apex Stereo
– Loudspeakers: Gauder Akustik Berlina RC-11 Black Edition
– Speaker Cables: Synergistic Research Galileo SX SC
IC RCA: Hijiri Million „Kiwami”, Vermouth Audio Reference
IC XLR: Tellurium Q Silver Diamond, Hijiri Milion „Kiwami”, Siltech Classic Legend 880i
Digital IC: Hijiri HDG-X Milion
Power cables: Hijiri Takumi Maestro, Furutech Project-V1, Furutech NanoFlux NCF, Furutech DPS-4.1 + FI-E50 NCF(R)/ FI-50(R), Hijiri Nagomi, Vermouth Audio Reference Power Cord, Acrolink 8N-PC8100 Performante
– Table: SOLID TECH HYBRID
– Accessories: Harmonix TU 505EX MK II, Stillpoints ULTRA SS, Stillpoints ULTRA MINI, antivibration platform by SOLID TECH, Harmonix AC Enacom Improved for 100-240V, Harmonix Room Tuning Mini Disk RFA-80i
– Power distribution board: POWER BASE HIGH END
– Acoustic treatments by Artnovion
Analog stage:
Drive: Clearaudio Concept
Cartridge: Essence MC
Step-up: Thrax Trajan
Phonostage: Sensor 2 mk II

Polish distributor: RCM
Manufacturer: Furutech
Prices:
Furutech LineFlux NCF RCA: 10 400 PLN / 2 x 1,2m
Furutech LineFlux NCF XLR: 11 500 PLN / 2 x 1,2m

Niby półmetek wakacji powinien wskazywać na pełnię tzw. sezonu ogórkowego i powszechne lenistwo a tymczasem częstotliwość dostaw „zabawek” do recenzowania nie tylko nie maleje, co wręcz wzrasta. Tym razem kurier pojawił się u nas z jeszcze pachnącymi fabryką najnowszymi interkonektami Furutech LineFlux NCF RCA & XLR.

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