I will be getting the Hidiamond 8 speaker cables for a trial. The Diamond 8 is about 30-50% less than the base line HF CT-1. With the Hidiamond its the end of the road, with HF its the bottom of the ladder.
So it will a battle between one companies top of line speaker cable vs another's bottom of the range. |
I do not mean that HF ic is better SC, for my system, when I have all HF full loom, I felt like myself keep waiting to see how each instrument will perform , how heavy the bass slam will be, its really draw attention which is very nice. Once I put HD cable full loom in , it's a completely different feeling , I felt like my attention is just listen to music, yes u can say HD is warmer. But when I add HD sc into my whole HF ic system ,I got better result. When I put HF sc into my system with full HD cable ,I prefer HD full loom. When I add HF ic into full HD system ,I like it better. That is why now I've one ct1u ic between my pre-power with HD 8 sc and HD xlr3 from cd-pre, from phono to pre is HF ct1e .with all HD p4 power cords.
I'd to conclude that for my taste, I prefer HD sc over HF ct1 sc. But for RCA ,I prefer any HF ic over HD d9. But I prefer HD Xlr 3 over ct1e when I compare them side by side from my cd . |
Well i got the Hidiamond 8 Speaker Cables. In terms of perceived value the Hidiamond wins hands down. The cables weigh a ton and are very very well made. For the price you get a lot of cable for your money.
Sound wise i give the HD the edge over the CT 1. As others have mentioned the HD cables just sounds so dam musical. It has a very dense sound and a lot of weight on notes. You tend to forget about he details, even though they are there if yo u wish to spot light it.
The CT 1 cables do really wow you when you first insert them in. The precision of the voices and instruments is amazing. But everytime i listen to them i am in awe instead of listening to the music. Its kind of spectacular, but one does not get lost in the music.
I too find having HF ic with the HD speaker cables to be a great match.
I have to admit, the fact that the HD 8 cables are the top of their line, while the HF CT-1 is their base model, does influence my opinion. It also helps relaxes one mind knowing that there is no ladder to climb up the Hidiamond ladder. I am already on top!!!!!!
I have not decided which cable i will be keeping. i have 14 day trial on the HD cable. But most likely i will keep the HD 8 cable and use the savings to upgrade my HF Ct-1 to the CT-1 ultimate
Hope my mini review helps. |
Leicachamp...i believe that if/when you compare a CT-1E / U with the HD8 you will quickly realize that the HF cables are superior..i could be wrong but , as you mentioned, you are comparing the entry level HF cable with the top of the line HD cable.that the CT-1 is in the same ballpark as the HD 8 should tell you something..try a CT-1E and you will understand. |
@Leicachamp.
I have the HD8 speaker cable and it needs alot of breaking in. I would say a good 200+ hours and it jumps up in stages. I think once it breaks in fully you will see that it is twice the cable you think it is now..... |
@Leicachamp. I haven't heard the HF cables but I think the Hidiamond HD8 being a third of the price of the HF is a great price per performance deal. They do compete with some of the top-notch and top-priced cables out there. They really are stunning once they break-in 100%. |
Hi Bacardi
The cables i have are dealer demos. I suppose they would have a couple of hundred hrs on them. And yes the value of the HD cable is very good. Half of what the entry CT 1 cables. I would envisage the the CT 1e to be better but it will be over 4 times the price of the HD 8. If i only require very short lengths of speaker cables i would be able to jump on the CT1e for HD do not make short length speaker cables. |
Actually the HD 9 speaker cable is their top of the line. |
@Bander, the hd9 is there top Interconnect. The hd8 is there top speaker cable...... |
Decided to keep the SC 8 cables. My dealer confirmed that the pair I have has only got 100 hrs on them, so am looking forward to them improving!
Btw does anyone know what those black cylinders are for? They look like they are just cosmetics. Would like to remove them on one end because they are too big to fit under my furniture. |
Leicachamp, they will improve a lot. They may sound a little grainy and smothered-like but at around 200-250 they will soften up and sound very lush and open. You will be amazed what they will sound like when fully opened up. The black cylinders I believe are tensioners for the split positive and negative but contact your dealer to confirm this. Glad you went with the HD 8. Enjoy...... |
"under your furniture"... that is definitely not part of the audiophile approved set-up procedure!
They really should be supported above the floor and away from base boards and power cables. |
Very interesting reading, just when I thought I read all the forum articles on this topic I stumble across another :-)! |
The Hidiamond D9 interconnect is not Hidiamond's top of the line cable according to the pfd document from worldwidewholesales. They list a cable called signal ultimate for $5,600 @ 1 meter. I noticed that cable on the Italian version of the Hidiamond website a couple of years ago; however, that cable longer exists currently on the Hidiamond website.
When I purchased my D9 ICs, I asked the seller if he found a cable that he liked better. He told me that the only reason he purchased the D9 ICs was to hear what the hype was all about. He uses a full loom (iirc) of Jorma Design - Prime cables. The ICs and SC are $10k and $12k respectively.
I asked a different seller why he was getting rid his D9 ICs. The reason: he likes JPS Labs Aluminata ICs better than the D9s. The Aluminata ICs cost $3,149 for a pair @ 3/4 meter in length.
There will always be a cable that you like more than your current ones.
I'm curious to know how the Jorma Prime and Aluminta stand up against each other and the High fidelity cables. |
Im not in this discussion since begining but cant wait to share my happiness with other agoners about my HFC CT-1u cable. Im recently bought a demo pair of RCA HF CT-1 ultimate Interconnect to replace the position of a pair of Transparent Reference MM1 from CDP to preamp, still using Transparent Reference cables from preamp to monoblock and speaker cables, wow, what a magic improvement it made !. CT-1U improved the sound magically like I have a totally new system, brough me lot of suprise day by day when I listening to old CDs, some I even though in past was not good recorded but now become vey high quality. The CT-1U cable is very detailed but not at all analytical, totally balanced through out all level, sweet mid, strongest and solid bass I ever heard from my system but never too much, soundstage is just fantastic like 3D, my wife said no need to go theatre anymore bcs we have an in-house one already, especially when you hear the big orchestra playing. The cable had revealed lot of hiden capabilities of the system that I thought dont exist, especially those with tannoy speakers. What a great cable ! However I think combination of HCF and Transparent cables will be better than using one brand alone. Each brand can benefit the other with their strengths. My system including Tannoy Canterbury SE and st-100, MBL Cdp, Audio Note preamp and 300B mono power amp. |
It would be nice to have an accessory that adds magnetic conduction to any cable similar to Bybee Golden Goddess speaker bullets. |
Per Rick Schultz of HFC, magnetic conduction requires a different cable. I hope there are alternatives. These HFC cables / tubes are simple too expensive to cut it open to satisfy my curiosity.
The HFC CT1U are definitely in a different league (I have the digital version) but the steep price is worth mulling over, esp when you can spent a couple grand to upgrade your power conditioning or isolation that have their merits.
The more I compare HD D8 with the HFC CT1E speaker cables, the more I like the D8, it sounds more "robust" and textured in my main system. |
Jazz, my interpretation of your description of the D8 cables is that you are describing tonality.
Please describe the way the Hidiamond speaker cables portray the soundstage compared to the High Fidelity cables. Also, state how many hours each cable has been played. |
C_avila1, having had around 300 hours on both SC, I find the HD D8 cables have a slightly deeper soundstage in my main system compared to the HFC CT1E. In the beginning, the CT1E was favored because it seems more airy and liquid but later I favored the more natural sounding texture of the D8 so end up using the mix of CT1U as digital, CT1E as IC as D8 as SC. |
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Have any of you used the HiDiamond phono cables? Thanks. |
