Neotech NC-P313 vs. Furutech FI-28 Plugs

Yes, I was actually originally looking at the FI-15, but you said to stay away from the clam shell design, since it is easy to break. 

The Sonarquest plugs replaced Wattgate, and I can safely say the Wattgate is GARBAGE. 

One of the things that attracted me to the IeGo was the Wattgate-type clamp. It is both a blessing and curse. It makes it very easy to terminate the plug, but it also can be hard to know if the plug is tight, which can lead to it loosening. That being said, I like not having to maneuver the wire around the screw in the screw-type connectors. 

The IeGo connectors are 55/pair for the unplated copper. That's hard to beat. Shipping is $20, from Taiwan though, so I am debating buying those and seeing how they are. 

The Neotech seems like it may be my first choice, as for the money they are hard to beat. To get the high end Furutech seems outrageously expensive, to me at least. 

The Cardas clamshell is very fragile and not well manufactured.  It's almost like "you touch it and it breaks".

The Furutech FI-15 clamshell is actually very durable.  I have actually switched one of these FI-15 between about 5 or 6 different cables before one of the edges actually broke.  A good way to handle it is to have the bottom clamshell completely down while you tighten the clamp screws on the top with the top clamshell open.  The bottom clamshell actually helps hold the unit while you tighten the screws (and then vice versa with the top clamshell).

I don't like the Wattgate clamps as much.  Once you use the Furutech clamps, you will find that it's actually a very good design.  It operates in a similar way to the Wattgate clamps, but it is definitely superior.  You unscrew the clamp and it opens up a space in the hole.  The Furutech clamp actually forces the wire into a curve so that you have more contact surface to the plug conductors.

The IeGo connectors are definitely low cost, but just remember, you get what you pay for.

That is good to know! I didn't know the Furutech used a design similar to Wattgate. I really like the ease of use of the Wattgate, but the design is very fragile. 

You are right about "you get what you pay for." I just got burned buying screw-type XLR plugs from China. They were complete garbage. The screws were either stripped or stuck in the holes. They must have been tapped incorrectly. 3-8 plugs were completely useless and it cost so much to ship back. 

I will likely go for either the Neotech or the Furutech. It makes me twitch spending almost $1500 for plugs from Furutech haha. I need 6 plugs. The Neotech sounds like the better deal, overall. Whatever brand I go with I will likely go with Rhodium as apparently it sounds more neutral. 

You felt the Rhodium was the more neutral performer?

Furutech/Neotech design is similar in the sense that turning the screw will lower a clamp and close the hole.  However, the actual design and parts are much different.  You can get a much tighter and stronger clamp on the wire with the Furutech/Neotech.

Furutech FI-15 plus (R) rhodium plugs are $55 USD each (I usually order them from Hi-Fi Heavan, but you can get them multiple places).

The Neotech Gold-plated plugs are normally $80 each retail, but Sonic Craft currently sells them for $64.

Neotech Rhodium are $100 retail, but Sonic Craft sells for $80 each.

I don't know that I would say rhodium is the most "neutral" because "neutral" is so subjective to someone's opinion of what "neutral" really is.  I will say that Rhodium give you the most resolution and it is very revealing ( it can be revealing of bad electronics).  Gold plated is more forgiving and will give a warmer and possibly more engaging sound, but will hide flaws in electronics and hide detail in the sound.

On the other hand, only rhodium will allow you to get the most out of a very high end piece.  For example, I have compared two DAC, one low cost and the a very expensive discrete high end DAC.  With basic power cords / interconnects, you really could not tell any difference between the two.  However, once you get in some Furutech rhodium XLR with OCC copper solid-core wire and it becomes apparent that the low cost DAC just cannot compete with the sound quality of the expensive one.

For the XLR connectors, the Xhadow XLR connectors are the only ones I know of that use screw-type clamps on the wire instead of soldered.  They are well made and the screws work good.  However, they are silver-plated and I don't like anything silver-plated, lol.  (with the exception of Nordost HDMI and digital cables).

Funny you mentioned the Xhadow XLR. I actually bought them after buying the cheap plugs from AliExpress. The cheap plugs were EIZZ. There is also another legitimate company that makes screw type XLR Plugs- ETI. The Xhadow XLR are really amazing! I was worried about the silver plating, because it has a tendency to sound bright and strident, but much to my amazement, they did not sound that way. 

One of the reasons I got the Sonarquest plugs, was that it was unplated, and therefore removed that variable from the equation. As I said before, they sound amazing. I am also surprised that a power plug can make that much of a difference, and I am even more surprised hearing people say that the PLATING on a power plug makes a difference! However, I do believe it, because I have heard it myself, after being very skeptical. The Sonarquest plugs were an experiment to see if I heard a difference between power plugs, and at $11/each, if I didn't hear a difference, it's not like I threw away a ton of money.