I introduced you to the Acoustic Revive RPT-6 Absolute in Part 1 of this post, which allows up to six AC power cords to be plugged into it, which is enough to serve as a central point to coordinate all the AC power cords for my entire system, with two extra outlets to allow for a pair of somethings that I'll be telling you about in a post in near the future (it'll surprise you!).
Acoustic Revive's RPT-6 Absolute, top view.
Like all Acoustic Revive products, the RPT-6 Absolute is built to an extreme level of quality, and like all Mr. Ken Ishiguro's designs, the RPT-6 is incredibly innovative in the use of materials science & high-technology ideas to improve performance.
RPT-6 Absolute NCF AC inlet.
I have to admit, just holding the RPT-6 Absolute in my hands, feeling its CNC machined aircraft-grade aluminum chassis, the rhodium-plated brass footers with fo.Q damping inserts, the custom version of the Nano Crystal Formula (NCF) GTX-D outlet’s that Furutech makes for Acoustic Revive, the chassis fill of natural green carborundum, tourmaline, and quartz powder, and finally, the internal wiring of PC-TripleC, really impressed me.
Acoustic Revive RPT-6 Absolute, bottom view of footers and quartz tuning device.
But to quote Duke Ellington, "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing," so the RPT-6 Absolute can have all the quality & high-tech construction in world, but "if it ain't got that swing" it's just another, albeit very nice, outlet box.
Acoustic Revive 2-meter Power Reference TripleC NCF AC power cord.
To find out if the RPT-6 Absolute has "got that swing" it has to be connected to the wall with an AC power cord, and fortunately Yoshi-san & Ken-san sent me the finest Acoustic Revive AC power cords for connection duties, the Acoustic Revive Power Reference TripleC NCF.
Acoustic Revive Power Reference TripleC NCF AC power cord plugged into my wall outlet.
Actually, Ken-san sent me two types of 2-meter Power Reference TripleC NCF AC power cords to try, the first is a three-core version that is intended to connect the RPT-6 Absolute to my wall outlet (which is a combination of a Oyaide R-0 outlet, Acoustic Revive CB-1DB Receptacle Base Plate, and Acoustic Revive CFRP-1F Carbon Fiber Outlet Plate - photo above).
Power Reference TripleC NCF AC power cord plugged into the RPT-6 Absolute.
The second style of 2-meter Power Reference TripleC NCF AC power cord is a two-core version (no Earth conductor) that is intended to connect from the RPT-6 Absolute to the associated system equipment, which Ken-san thinks is the best sounding way to connect equipment (it is also exactly what I do with all my vintage McIntosh electronics, which because of their elderly nature, have period-normal 2-core hardwired AC power cords).
Given the vintage McIntosh electronics in my main music system have hardwired AC power cords, I'll be auditioning the 2-conductor version of Power Reference TripleC NCF AC power cords in my video system on my Leben RS100 line stage and OPPO UDP-203 Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Player via my Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers and vintage McIntosh MC225 stereo amplifier.
Furutech FI-50M NCF(R) AC plug.
Let's start off with how a Power Reference TripleC NCF AC power cord is constructed.
The Power Reference TripleC NCF AC cords are terminated with the NCF(R) Piezo Ceramic Series of Furutech AC plugs, the FI-50M NCF(R) on the wall outlet end (above), and the FI-50 NCF(R) IEC plug for connecting to the RPT-6 Absolute (below).
I've never seen the Furutech Piezo Ceramic Series of AC plugs until now, and I have to say they're rather astonishing devices in and of themselves. In the past I've used the Furutech FI-11M Gold series ($70 USD street price), and the Furutech FI-25 Gold series ($80 USD street price), with excellent results. The street price for the Furutech FI-50 series is approximately $385 USD!
As a side note, be sure you buy Furutech plugs through an authorized dealer, like VH Audio in North America, for example, as Furutech reports that 'fakes' are being sold through unauthorized dealers.
Furutech FI-50 NCF(R) plug.
So what makes the top-of-the-line Furutech FI-50 NCF Rhodium plug so spendy compared to the others? (Here's a link to the Furutech data sheet for the FI-50 NCF(R) plugs).
Acoustic Revive Power Reference TripleC NCF AC power cord.
Here's what Furutech says about the FI-50 NCF Rhodium series of plugs:
"Furutech’s Pure Transmission FI-50 NCF Piezo Ceramic series connector bodies and housings feature several breakthrough construction techniques.
A multilayer nonmagnetic stainless steel and silver plated carbon fiber shell incorporates a special damping and insulating acetal copolymer. Furutech settled on stainless and silver plated carbon fiber for the outer housing after extensive listening sessions with Japanese industry figures and audiophiles.
The body of the connectors incorporates an “active” damping material: Nano Crystal² Formula - Nano Crystalline, Ceramic and Carbon Powder.
Incorporated into select Furutech products, Nano Crystal² Formula (NCF) is comprised of a special crystalline material that has two “active” properties. First, it generates negative ions that eliminate static and secondly, it converts thermal energy into far-infrared. Furutech then combines this remarkable crystalline material with nano-sized ceramic particles and carbon powder for their additional “Piezo Effect” damping properties. The resulting Nano Crystal² Formula is the ultimate electrical and mechanical damping material – only found in Furutech products!
Nano Crystal² Formula eliminates static, “interconverts” thermal, mechanical and electrical energy and damps vibrations—all for the finest Furutech Pure Transmission signal imaginable.
Floating Magnetic Field Effects & Furutech Earth/Ground Jumper System:
How far will Furutech’s engineers go in their attempts to reach Pure Transmission reference quality? Their concentrated examination of each and every element of signal transfer has resulted in another breakthrough technology, the Furutech Earth/Ground Jumper System. It eliminates EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) induced in metal parts like connector housing screws.
Current flowing through the power connector creates a magnetic field, just as an insulated conductor creates both electromagnetic and electrostatic fields. Furutech engineers found this magnetic field induces current flow (and a small magnetic field) in the screws holding the connector together! These magnetic fields interfere with the larger magnetic field around the conductor and connector.
Furutech’s total attention to detail and elegant engineering neatly solves the problem. The Earth/Ground Jumper System connects the securing screws to a ground terminal within the plug completely eliminating the field disturbances they cause. The stray fields are grounded by a series of interlocking parts within the connector that attach to the ground conductor. The Jumper System is available in Furutech NEMA Power and IEC Connectors. The Earth/Ground Jumper System Carries US Patent No. 6,669,491"
In a nutshell, the Furutech FI-50 NCF Rhodium power plugs are mini-components all by themselves, and are intended to be the power plug equivalents of the Sirens of Greek mythology, power plugs that lure in audiophiles with their enchanting musical voices and shipwreck our perceptions of what a power plug can do. Beware, if you listen to their Siren song your fate may be sealed! 😉
Just one look & touch of the Furutech FI-50 NCF Rhodium power plugs will make you believe it, too - they're nice! It'll be interesting to hear if my listening impressions align with the Furutech FI-50 NCF Rhodium's high-tech pedigree promise of musical & sonic supremacy.
I also noticed that Ken-san put hand-written symbols of blessing & good wishes on all of the FI-50 NCF(R) plug ends, which I thought was a very nice personal touch!
Furutech FI-50 NCF Rhodium power plug.
Here's what Acoustic Revive says about the PC-Triple C conductors cables that connect the two Furutech FI-50 NCF Rhodium power plugs together:
The PC-Triple C Single Core Conductors
"A dream new conductor PC-Triple C by forging manufacturing method developed as the world's first audio conductor. Acoustic Revive will adopt this PC-Triple C for all cables in the future. PC-Triple C uses special OFC (oxygen free copper) which completely removes micron unit impurities in raw material, and arranges the direction of grain boundary in the direction of electric flow by forging manufacturing method which is Japanese craftsmanship. It is a revolutionary technology.
In addition, small micro-voids, which could not be avoided even in PCOCC, which is a single crystal material, are eliminated by forging, and the conductor density has been improved to the limit.
With high-density sound quality not experienced with other conductors, with ultra wide range, natural & smooth tone color, and texture expression, energetic and full of dynamic feeling, all items have reached another level of quality. PC-Triple C is a conductor for sound of Japanese Patent No. 5871985."
"Most cables on the market use a stranded wire made by twisting thin wires together to form a conductor. However, twisted wires are subject to stray current from the "strand-jump" phenomenon from the electrical field which circulates around twisted wires. This stray current effect causes incidental sound, noise, distortion, and makes the sound less transparent. Acoustic Revive uses single-core conductors because there is no method other than using a single core conductor to get zero stray current."
Acoustic Revive Power Reference TripleC NCF AC power cord
The Insulating Material
"In the single core cable series, fluoro-resin, which is the material with the highest non-dielectric constant presently, is adopted as the insulating material.
Most commercial cables use PVC or polyethylene (PE), which have a poor non-dielectric constant, and remarkably deteriorates the sound quality.
Also, cables using Teflon, which has the same type of fluorine composition, are domestically priced more than 500,000 ¥, but Acoustic Revive adopts fluoro-resin insulation even for our entry-level cables, realizing high-cost performance in a less expensive cable."
Noise Reduction with Fine Met Beads
"Fine Met beads (Fine Met beads ® is a registered product of Hitachi Metals) are newly installed on power cables to eliminate noise on transmission. Fine Met beads are a material for removing soft magnetic noise by boron, iron and silicon alloy, which is characterized by no sound quality side effects like ferrite core. Acoustic Revive has adopted Fine Met beads at the optimal size for various cable applications, and succeeded in eliminating normal noise and common mode noise without any negative side effects. Without any side effects, the S/N ratio dramatically improves, the music emerges from the silence, and you can experience the pleasure of a realistic super-stereoscopic sound image in a vast sound field."
Acoustic Revive Power Reference TripleC NCF AC power cord.
Cable Structure
"The ideal cable is one that is not diminished by transmission loss or alteration. There are no cables that will improve sound quality, rather it is only by reducing transmission loss and transmission alteration that more of the original sound quality can come through.
In order to eliminate transmission loss and transmission alteration, Acoustic Revive jointly developed with various specialized material manufacturers the ideal cable structure.
In particular, we use a single core conductor of PC-Triple C in an elliptical shape, which excludes resonance inherent to a single wire, that is created for us by the world's best forging manufacturing method by FCM Co., Ltd..
We jointly developed a flexible Teflon coated copper tube to use as a shield, which provides ease of handling with complete shielding characteristics. For inside the shield we collaborated with Eisai to develop a natural silk tube that we use to separate the conductors and suppress vibration by combining dissimilar materials.
Finally, we jointly developed a new screw fastening method with Matsugane Co., Ltd., which eliminates the sound quality degradation of solder.
With the Acoustic Revive Power Reference TripleC NFC we have created a completely handmade AC power cord of state-of-art materials for unparalleled musical luxury."
Acoustic Revive Power Reference TripleC NCF AC power cord.
I've got the Acoustic Revive Power Reference TripleC NCF AC power cord ($5750 USD) and RPT-6 Absolute ($3975 USD) in the big music system with my Westminster Royal SE loudspeakers and vintage McIntosh electronics warming up now.
Acoustic Revive Power Reference TripleC NCF AC power cord and RPT-6 Absolute.
Power Reference TripleC NCF AC power cord plugged into the RPT-6 Absolute.
Power Reference TripleC NCF AC power cord.
Ok, that's it for now.
In Part 3 of this post I'll be describing the Acoustic Revive RAS-14-TripleC, and perhaps get into some first impressions from listening to the combination of the Acoustic Revive Power Reference TripleC NCF AC power cord with the RPT-6 Absolute.
As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!
