Experience with HFTs

I bought a package deal of HFT's at the last RMAF in 2019.  They did a demo where they had the HFT's installed and then removed a couple of them and the sound stage collapsed.  They have made a positive impact on my system, with more depth, soundstage and instrument placement.  If I recall I have 16 in my room.

That's all? Are you sure you don't want to know why aftermarket power cords are necessary? Why doesn't the manufacturer just ship the amp with the best tubes? Why do we have to move speakers again anyway???!😂

Sorry, but that was a lot of questions. Nowhere near a record, but a lot. I've got a full review around here somewhere, and I heard of HFT from David Pritchard on here a couple years ago. There's pages and pages of positive feedback. 

In terms of design, construction, and how they work (the effect they produce) HFT are very similar to ECT and PHT. They all attach wherever with little dabs of Blue-Tack. They come with more than enough. Some guys like Pritchard use hot glue and say that is better. Don't know. Haven't tried.

They all work as advertised which is to say, awesome. Check out my system https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367 I use all this stuff, and a lot more. I know what costs what, and how big and what kind of benefit, all from actual experience.  

About the only thing I don't know is how much if any different these would be if introduced in a different order. In other words, and this is just something you will hear a lot but not something I believe, maybe these improvements are easy to hear because my system is so doggone highly resolving. I seriously doubt it. I am quite happy to say you can do these things in any order and the incremental improvement each time will still be there. In other words they are additive and independent. No one of them counters or works against the other, nor is any of the others required to gain the benefit of another. You can do them in any order. 

I say this because the same one who turned me onto HFT advised doing them in a certain order. Of course I did not. Deliberately. To test the idea. Didn't take long. You can do this stuff in any order.

You can even take one HFT Speaker Kit and split it between 2 speakers. That's what I did. To test it out. Then added the second kit.  

If you are starting from zero and looking to get the most bang for your limited audio dollar: 

1. Schumann generators. The last 2 I just got were $9.91 incl shipping. These brought me to ten. The last 2 seem to me just as big a deal as the first 2 were. These are so cheap I would get at least 4.

2. Nobsound springs. Not as good as Townshend but so cheap and so much better than anything else they are a must-have. They are not plug and play. It is a fair amount of work experimenting to get the right amount of springs. But the improvement for $30 is hard to beat.

3. Now we get into a whole slew of things that are all quite good but vary a lot in terms of cost. HFT, ECT and PHT are all extremely effective and well worth the cost. Ditto Blue and Orange Fuse. Ditto Cable Elevators. Ditto Townshend Pods and Podiums. But some of this stuff starts to depend more on the particulars of your situation. Like Cable Elevators really are effective but might not work in your room. Or springs are good but if you have the budget Pods are way better. 

If you have a room that is difficult to treat I think you will be shocked how much better it can be with several sets of HFT room and speaker kits. Not exactly cheap but highly effective.

I’ve over a dozen Synergistic Research HFT’s and agree with Goose and Millercarbon. They expand and lock in the soundstage. I simply. followed the instructions that came with them and then experimented a bit on my own. Very pleased with the results.
Alfred at Highend-Electronics found here at Audiogon can help you with more details and offers a free return policy.

I added quite a bit of SR to my system. From Orange Fuses to HFT’s, Powercell 8 UEF SE, Atmosphere IC’s and speaker cable. All made drastic improvements to my listening experience. I agree as stated the HFT’s help lock in the soundstage. I think I’m at level 2. I don’t have them on my Spatial M’3s but on the walls and ceiling. They come with blue tack so very easy to apply. I would really recommend SR Orange Fuses too.
+1 for Alfred

So you guys don’t use acoustic panels or bass traps and use the HFTs instead of them? What are ECT and PHT - are they alternatives to HFTs? It’s quite an alphabet soup.

I was skeptical about the Townshend pods but was blown away at the improvement in the sound. Is this along the same magnitude or more subtle?

Good point about the speaker company @millercarbon. And the amp company with power cords and tubes. I’m not a tube guy, but would not think of using a stock power cord. As a matter of fact, my phono stage didn’t even come with one.

I will say I was not impressed with  on my amp and phono stage, only my turntable.

Pods under my amp and phono stage.

MC - would you share some before and after measurements for us so we can see the effect of the HFTs?

or if you don’t have any measurement gear, perhaps share the manufacturer’s measurements?

They must have some. The devices are deliberately shaped, so there must be either some engineering theory they used to shape them, or some trial and error prototypes with measurements, which they used to settle on the final design for manufacturing. 
Maybe one of the hundreds of purchasers have done their own measurements and might share them?

sokogear-

So you guys don’t use acoustic panels or bass traps and use the HFTs instead of them?

Don't know about others but with me it's not either/or it's both. https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367This room is far from perfect, there's lots more to do yet it sounds fabulous and the imaging is to die for and HFTs definitely contribute to that.

What are ECT and PHT - are they alternatives to HFTs? It’s quite an alphabet soup.

ECT, HFT and PHT are the same technology tuned or optimized to different uses. ECT work best on electronic components. Although if you study my system you will see them used on my tone arm. PHT are tiny versions tuned for cartridges and look at the close up you can see a Green Dream and a Black Beauty both used on the Koetsu, with another Green Dream on the arm tube.  

These things each have their own character and used together are awesome. A couple guys who took my advice on that had the same experience. They are so small and light they barely even register on VTF.

I was skeptical about the Townshend pods but was blown away at the improvement in the sound. Is this along the same magnitude or more subtle?

Tough question. Hard enough to compare two amps or two speakers let alone two completely different things like HFT and Pods. Especially since they are both sensitive and subject to the details of how they are used. HFT for example, I can hear a difference in moving just one as little as 1". One HFT on the back of my speaker in one location made the sound worse, moved 2" higher and it made it a lot better!  

The difference with Pods is not as great, but even with Pods they are springs and so you might hear much better results with 3 vs 4 (or the other way around) and might well hear a different sort of improvement with different components. Under my turntable for example there was little change in dynamics or extension but there was a nice improvement in tone with much more accurate timbre. But under my amp there was a huge improvement in dynamics and extension, the midrange and top end came alive, it was like a whole new amp! 

All that said, and assuming you are a guy like me willing to do what it takes to get the most out of each thing, they are all pretty close. Pods and Podiums will by and large probably make a bigger improvement than an equal amount spent on the Synergistic stuff. But it would probably be close enough that it would come down to the room or personal preference.  

These things are all worth your hard earned dough. I take a long term approach and so what I did was once I figured out SR was worth it then I watched and waited for deals like buy HFT get a fuse. Buy 2 HFT get one PHT. highend-electronics.com does this, maybe it's all SR dealers, I don't know. This is a small niche the people in it tend to be dedicated audiophiles and when I find good ones I support them. So call Betty or Alfred, see what they can do for you.

I have been using 20 HFT’s in my system since around June 2021. 20 of these buggers. That makes level 4.  I am enthralled! My sound stage has expanded and moved forward and in some instances is like I have headphones on. Sometimes I need to make sure my surround is not on. My bass is better. More separation of vocal And instruments. This all in 2 channel and no subs. EVERYTHING I throw at my system drops my jaw, regardless of source. 
Parasound P7
Parasound JC1
Oppo 205
Moon 280D
Dynaudio C4 Platinum.  

I use the HFT's with some bass corner traps, acoustic panels and diffusers.  You can view it on my virtual system.

I use a few in conjunction with other room treatments. After much experimentation I've settled on six being optimum for my room. I use three on each side of room, perhaps five feet behind listening chair, spread out evenly from top to bottom. I've also tried them at many different locations, didn't work for me. In location I have them add sense of greater spaciousness of room, when in fact my dedicated listening room is already fairly deep, that being 25' length, then opening into kitchen. I don't like them anywhere close to speakers, mids sound less natural, more tipped up. Also, don't like them centered anywhere in room, pulls soundstage unnaturally  forward. I prefer judicious use of these along with other diffusion products, in my case, RPG Skylines cut into quarters placed at first reflection points. More subtle than the HFT's here.

I have been using 20 HFT’s in my system since around June 2021. 20 of these buggers. That makes level 4.  I am enthralled! My sound stage has expanded and moved forward and in some instances is like I have headphones on. Sometimes I need to make sure my surround is not on. My bass is better. More separation of vocal And instruments. This all in 2 channel and no subs. EVERYTHING I throw at my system drops my jaw, regardless of source.

20 is about where I'm at. Two speaker kits plus however many room. This is after years of experimenting with various panels and tube traps. HFT are far more effective than those old school treatments. Plan on adding some diffusers some day but for now I am like you, swimming in it. 

The recommended placement program works great, but within those recommendations they are surprisingly responsive to positioning. Mine were put up in pairs and sometimes one at a time, with each one being moved slightly an inch or three and always noticed a change sometimes surprisingly big. One on the back of my old Talon Khorus speakers went from great to awful by moving a mere 2"!   

The champeen of HFT is David Pritchard, who used to be a quite active poster. He had dozens in his listening room, all over his mom's place, and even in his car!

39. Probably overkill, but that's how I roll.

I used to have so many HFT’s, probably 30+ and many more of my DIY creations.

Until I found the Stillpoints Aperture ll’s. They make the room sound so much more real, the HFT’s sound fake when compared. Though a lot more money, I now have 8 of them. And, I also have 20" ASC tube traps in the 4 corners.

I sold off all of my HFT’s.

ozzy

I have 18 HFT's.  Two are missing or fell off and are lost.   My wife hates them and everyone that comes to our house tries to take them off the walls.  I can say that I have not followed the exact guidelines due to the room structure.  I probably have 11 on the ceiling beams.  I am not putting them on my speakers...sorry, I do not want even a smudge of putty on them.  I am also in the process of adding Vicoustic Cinema round absorption panels.  I have the Townshend podiums and Shuman Resonators.  

In my case, the Shuman Resonators have no impact on my music or sleeping habits.  Townshend Podiums a slight improvement in the soundstage.  HFT's - can't really say they help or hurt.  Please don't say I did not follow the exact placement locations as instructed by SR.  Someone would have to prove to me scientifically that those locations are the only place they can be.  Now, if the HFT's came in white, then I might be able to follow the guidelines.  Fuses are a definite impact on my music.  At this point I have so many tweaks I don't know which ones work and which ones don't.  

I lost one, the housekeeper says the Kirby “ ate it “. I did notice that ever since our electrical bill is lower, refrigerator runs colder, etc…

Seriously, better than an RPG diffuser ?

I use 8 HFT’s in my room.
At some point, I’ll probably add another set.
They’re expensive, but they do what they say they do.
I also use acoustic treatments.

Actually, I heard greater effect with HFT vs. RPG diffuser. What I don't like about HFT close to speaker is it alters tonality/timbre far more than RPG. Synergistic admits as much since they offer another HFT thingie they claim warmer sounding. Also, HFT have excessive reflective effect for me, bounce sound waves around room in excessively uncontrolled manner vs. RPG, RPG  has slight absorptive effect. Plus, I cut the RPG's into fours and spread them around my room, one large one near speakers allows unnatural effect for me as well. I do like the HFT behind my listening position, not affecting tonality/timbre here nearly as much, not close to speakers. And I did try multiples of the six HFT I presently use, many different positions, did not care for effect anywhere else.
What I've found over many years of experimenting with room treatments is there is a point where you can have too much. I've been there, done that, backed off to point of too little, back up to just right. I personally try to get by with minimal amount, artificial manipulation of sound staging and imaging just sounds artificial to me. I want proper ratio of width, height and depth, most importantly I want decays and attacks to sound like they sound in real life. Some amount of natural room sound is best for me.

I started out with a Level 2 installation of UEF's. A log of bang for the buck and you can move 'em around to custom tune. It gave me a baseline that was listenable in a difficult room while I figured out the rest of it--bass traps, dispersion panels, etc.Highly recommended.