Paz307,
Your post is an example of why you have to try something in your system to really know what you`ll hear. My deep appreciation for the HF CT1 E and U version is due to the emotional involvement they provide in my system, superb! The sense of human soul and flesh on the bone presence is very compelling and I`m completely connected with the music. So for what ever reason there may be, our impressions are different. I`m glad you found a cable that suits your objectives, that`s the bottom line. |
Hello Hifial...thanks for your input. I am not realizing an issue with bass. I find the HF cables to be extremely reactive to the source material, especially in regard to the bottom end. No exaggeration or bloat. Unlike the Ct-1 ics's, though, the Enhanced speaker cable has brought down my gain by a noticeable and undesirable amount.
Comparisons of the HD 8 speaker cable to the HF is surprising, in that they have many similar attributes. The HF is more refined with better delineation, but the HD is quite good in both these areas. The slam and density, at least so far is more prominent with the HD. This makes listening easier and more relaxing for me with my system.
Maybe, the mix of HF ic's and HF speaker cable is proving to bring out the goods for my tastes.
I have not had anyone respond to the question of drop in gain. |
Siddh, I have had the CT-1E speaker cables in my system for about six months now. I must have about six hundred hours on them. I also have a set of CT-1 Jumpers so I can Bi-Wire. They have about three hundred hours.
I used the HiDiamond D7 Speaker Cables. However I used two sets so I could run from the two pairs of outputs on Veritas Mono blocks to the two pairs of inputs on my B&W 802D speakers. In the past on I ran two pairs of speakers instead of one pair and a Jumper it always sounded better with two.
The two pairs of D7 did a wonderful job and was one of the best I have had in my system. But the HFC are better in most ways and no less then equal in others.
I also have had the HD D2 XLR Interconnect and P3 Power cords. At one time I had a full HD loom.
I was not impressed by the D2 or the P3. They are competent, they just do not excel like the D7 did. And I had them in my system for over five hundred hours.
As to your concerns about the base. Wait for it, wait, wait, wait, there it is. It will come but the sound will also evolve over time so be patient.
You will get plenty of real, tight, lifelike sounding base vs an over abundance base, with bloat or loose base.
On some songs when it is in the recording and it calls for that deep moving base it is there in spades, as I feel the floor rumble and my pants legs wiggle. |
I would first like to start by saying that my reference for sound is not my home audio system but rather my reference is from playing musical instruments like the acoustic guitar and piano for the past 30 years. I also enjoy small intimate live jazz bands that I try to attend every month in Florida. In my opinion all great singers and musicians have the ability to suck you in to their performances by allowing you to be emotionally connected to them and in my system that is exactly what the HD cables do. The HF cables that I tested were fully broken in and did sound very good on my system but I definitely found that the HF cables lack some emotion compared to HD cables: some people would describe this sound as thin. As I said previously; it is really great to see cables that bring this great hobby to another level and in my system I just prefer the emotion of the HD cables over the HF cables. The break in on my HD cables was also very long but right out
of the box HD cables portray the emotion of the artist and venue. I do not want to say my home system sounds the exact same as a live performance but with the HD cables it is as close as I have heard it and no other cable that I have owned or tried has ever had the ability to do that to my system. |
I have seen the CT1 in black cardboard boxes and also wooden boxes. What is the current packaging for the CT1? |
I am using HF CT-1's. Made a more than noticeable improvement over previously used interconnects. Break-in was also considerably shorter. My biggest concern with the HF speaker cable is the loss of gain. Bass is more than plentiful. Occasionally, with approx. 60 hours of break-in, sound is flat and un-involving. Other times some of the best my system has offered. |
Bigkidz-
As far as I know, nothing has changed. Rick has added 3 models of further refinement and performance beyond the original CT-1(Enhanced, Ultimate and Ultimate Reference). In addition, as people are finally starting to listen to Rick and break them in for the duration he recommends, they are achieving much higher performance levels than when they originally put the cables into their systems.
There may or may not have been small running changes over the past several years as production evolved with the highest performance cables, but those would have been barely noticeable, if at all.
If you are talking about his earlier beta test cables, then yes, they have changed considerably for the better since then. That is the purpose of beta testing. Hope this helps. |
Fplanner2000, I think there was an initial HF interconnect and I think there have been changes to that design that took the cable from not only improving clarity and speed but to adding more of what I call the wood of instruments sound. SO I would like to know if anyone knows if this is true or what changed from the initial cable launch to the current version.
Thanks. |
Siddh, what ICs are you using? |
I don't understand your question. |
Also, have you tried the HD speaker cable? Which model and for how long? I was told by the distributor they also take 100's of hours to sound their best. |
Fplanner2000, have you experienced a loss of gain with the HF? The depth of staging with the HF-E speaker cable is of such that instruments come off quieter, encouraging me to increase the volume. Depending on the source material, occasionally I run out of gain. I did not experience this with the CT-1 ic's. |
Fplanner2000, How has the HF chagned since they were first introduced? |
Bigkidz-
Any perceived thinness in bass for the HF cables is due to not enough breakin of the cables. the musicality is there in spades, as is the bass, once the cables are properly broken in. It DOES TAKE PATIENCE.
I am inpatient as the next guy, but stuck with it for several hundred hours. My HF cables have really opened up and far surpass what the HD ics and speaker cables were able to bring to my system. The cables are much better than I expected them to be.
One cautionary note - the HF cables are not "tuning devices" - they will very organically reflect your components and bring out their capability better than any other cables I have tried, including HD. |
In reading about these two cable manufacturers, some of the comments were interesting. The HF cable seems to offer more clarity but seems to lack in comparison the emotion. I think I understand this description but I want to clarify by asking does piano, stand-up bass, large drums and horns have the correct tone, bite and what I call wood around the sound? IMO, I prefer the wood around the instruments sound and do not want lose that for what some describe as clarity or what has been described as natural sounding. If the speed of the cable takes that away then IMO the cable has a sound to it. Yes the cable that provides the more wood tone/sound also has a sound, but it is one that I prefer.
So if someone can clarify which of the cables provide the sound that I prefer (maybe you don't prefer) so that I can make my decision about which cable to try first in my system.
Thanks for your replies and Happy Listening. |
Hi Paz307,
I have found the High Fidelity, not so much analytical, as detailed and a bit thin. It's all there...just a little less dense. The body has been getting beefier with time. How long did you trial the HF's?
|
After swearing I would not be trying anymore cables I did try the High Fidelity RCA interconnects CT1 E and this was my conclusion.
I think sound can be very system dependent and when I compared the High Fidelity cable to the exact same priced HiDiamond cable, the HiDiamond cables were much better in my system. In my system the micro detail was much more life like with a sense of air that is not there with any other cable I have tried. The HiDiamond cables sound more analogue to me, will the HF cables sounded more analytical which for some people that is exactly what they prefer. The great thing is there really is no right or wrong but instead what works best in our own system. The HiDiamond D8 speaker cables give me that last octave and real energy but to be honest I have not ever heard the High Fidelity speaker cables only their RCA interconnects. The game changer for me is when I combined all HiDiamond cables with the HiDiamond P4 power cables which is not available currently by HF. I like that HiDiamond is not testing their technology but rather has perfected their technology. I
think what is most important is that there are now real game changer cable manufacturers available for people that enjoy taking their system
to the next level |
I have not heard the Hidiamond ic's, but do have both the Hidiamond 8 and High Fidelity Enhanced speaker cables. As I touched on in the HF thread, although my system was very satifying musically, interest in the HF cable was piqued by the number of comments in mag reviews, Audiogon threads, and a conversation with Rick Schultz, especially in creating a full loom. Interconnects are CT-1's, power cords HD 3's. The HD cable has approx. 200 hours on them, not yet fully broken in per the distributor. He suggests 100's, and possibly 1000 hours before they perform at their best.
The HF's have less than 60 hours, also well below the recommended break-in, but I am compelled to offer some noticeable observations. Break-in of both cables has been slow-going, and therefore, unpleasant. I run a tube amp necessitating shut down at end of listening sessions. Limited to three to five hours each evening, obtaining 500 hundred hours will take well over 4 months.
The Hidiamonds' stand-out, I believe, is in the density of mid to deep bass, making the music very involving. I notice no lack of detail or body. Listening is never fatiguing.
As pleasing as the HD's are the High Fidelity's, I find, offer a clearer, more open presentation. I don't know if it is due to less distortion, but the immediacy, timbre, instrument location, decay, depth and width of staging and imaging, delineation, bass response; and consequently, a rightness is what I hear. The full loom HF cables, in comparison seem to add nothing to the source material. What the limitations of my analog rig and speakers bring to each recording is transparent in ways I am unaccustomed to. With well recorded pressings, instruments, voices, background sounds, applause are more convincing. The bass is very quick and deep, but not quite as visceral. The bass is far from anemic. I still experience a growl from the woofer, but with less exaggeration. It proposes possible added distortions with my previously owned cables. The ceramic mid-range driver of the Avalon has more often than not left the mid-frequency a bit dry, but this cable offers a very palateable contribution to voices, horns and strings.
I am anticipating the changes yet to come from the HF, and although I am pleasantly impressed with what they are already doing I from time to time yearn for the deep, emotional involvement, which has been slightly thinned out. No fireworks and no artificial tuning. As, Rick has more than once suggested, I need to be patient as the system evolves.
Admittedly, this does not address the ic comparison, but may offer some insight from a fan of both cables. |
Cables are very subjective. If you read through the 2 latest threads on these 2 brands, both mention the other and there is a lot of comparing and contrasting.
For my system, I found the High Fidelity speaker cables and rca's work the best (highest level) whereas the balanced Hi Diamond and power cords work the best (also highest level). I get better sound out of the High Fidelity rca's than the Hi Diamond 3 XLRs. The difference is greatest at the highest level in my system - its not even close. Characteristics such as speed, openness, clarity, micro and macro details and a "you are there" palpability are important to me and that is where the High Fidelity's excel. Just my opinion. |
Well in my case I am using balanced cables and the hifidelity only comes in rca.After being so impressed with power HIDiamond power cords I wanted to use the rest of the line. Also the cost of these two lines is expensive to just compare since there are no trial periods. |
These 2 brands are the most talked about cables on Audiogon. Yet it seems no one has directly compared the 2 brands!!! |
