Quote Originally Posted by Marco View Post
I'm surprised that you didn't go for the Furutech DIN, with the carbon-fibre shell insert. The reason I went for it, is because the IEC plugs on my power leads adopt the same principle, and I know how effective it is at controlling resonance - you can clearly hear the sonic benefits!
To be honest, I struggle with this. I have worked quite a lot with CF and it has a high stiffness to mass ratio - but it isn't inherently better at dealing with resonances than other materials (so much depends on the frequency and amplitude of the resonance one is seeking to modulate) - it is well damped, but so are other materials. In addition, I can't help but wonder how much mechanical resonance exists in a plug, or how standard plug bodies are inadequate in this regard. Note, I am not in any way denying that CF has useful qualities (I use it myself), but in this case I can't help but feel that it's purpose is to bring a bit of 'hi-tech bling' rather than any actual mechanical benefits (it does look pretty though). A plug is already pretty stiff and low mass and if I really wanted to stiffen it further I wouldn't add an insert of CF. I'm not saying this plugs don't sound better (perhaps they do), but I think this is more likely to be because of the metals used to conduct the signal, the plating used and the mechanical fit of the conducting pasts - not because they have a small tube of CF inserted into the outer shell (which adds little to the stiffness or damping of the actual conducting elements and is really no more than just a decorative shroud.