High Fidelity Cables -- A revelatory experience


While I was working on the introduction to the Merrill Teranis review thread at

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1436134781&openusid&zzGuidocorona&4&&

I must have head the High Fidelity CT-1 power cords on the back of my mind when I wrote:

“Sometimes we find audible magic by a serendipitous leap of faith which lets us overcome some aprioristic skepticism that otherwise prevented us from even auditioning an electronic component, a speaker, or a set of wires. On other occasions, a sudden hunch suggested we might have hit pay dirt from the very beginning, but more often than not, uncovering the magic that a component is capable of generating requires steadfast patience to allow the device to blossom through proper break-in.”

I freely admit that my discovery of Rick Schultz’s High Fidelity Cables was a serendipitous one. These wires which forced me to reach outside my technological comfort zone… A traditionalist in my own way, I have spent the last couple of decades seeking wire products that bring me closer to the joy of music by minimizing any magnetic effect and EM fields through a wide variety of design strategies, and by the application of ever purer forms of exotic Copper strands. And yes, while I have encountered more than a few disappointments on my quest, I have also become incredibly fond of less than a handful of renowned cable brands and designs that fit my sonic ideals of a goldilockian musicality, where extension does not mean humps in any particular frequency range, where neutrality means that rich harmonics reveal themselves throughout the spectrum, where micro detail is subtle and does not turn into o brittleness, and where authority is not a different word for bombastic. Finally, where I easily sink into my listening seat to enjoy music for hours, instead of tensing on the edge of my couch in a quasi fight-or-flight state of mind.

Hence my now abandoned skepticism that a line of cables which departs from the more typical engineering path, with EM fields and permanent magnetics becoming key components of the solution set, instead of being technical banes--ultimate causes of untold nasties to be vanquished and nullified, had any chance of sounding mildly acceptable to me, let alone inducing my newly found audible nirvana.

When my friend Harve Messlin (Fplanner2000) suggested giving Rick Schultz’s unorthodox creations a fair try, I remembered that Igor Stravinsky in his Poetic of Music reminds us that “By its fruit we judge the tree. Judge the tree by its fruit then, and do not meddle with the roots.” Thus, I took a dose of Stravinskian philosophical medicine, and so heeded Harve’s recommendation and decided to evaluate the High Fidelity CT-1 cables.

With hind-sight, I now feel that before my happy decision to try out Rick’s wires I might have resembled the zoo visitor in Stravinsky’s parable, who shakes his head in bewilderment when leaving the enclosure of a humped camel, and then exclaims: “It isn’t true!”

Of course, camels are very much "true" animals. They do not care a wit about our preconceptions: the unusual ruminants sport single humps in Africa and the Middle East, double humps in central Asia, and no humps at all in the dwarf South American species.

Likewise, the unusually-looking High Fidelity CT-1 power cords are not only real and finely constructed, but are progressively revealing themselves to be… Simply astounding performers.

When I opened each shipping carton, I discovered a CT-1 power cord locked inside a battle-ready valisette by an industrial-strength plastic tie. The US made thermoplastic custom case, filled with high density foam, is also kept shut by a pair of robust flip latches. I am quite confident that any High Fidelity CT-1 cable protected by its valisette, would handsomely survive even the angry ejection through the glass plate of a high-rise apartment window, inevitably followed by its high-G impact with the cement side-walk far below. Such highly incomprehensible action would most typically performed by a righteously indignant non-audiophrenic spouse, accompanied by: “What, $2,375 for a 1.5M power cord... You just got to be kidding… That’s almost as much as my divorce lawyer will cost YOU!”

Unlatching the CT-1 valisette reveals an unusually-constructed yet elegant power cord: three independent, and slender silvery cables--one for positive, one for negative, and one for ground--emerge from the black Delrin shell of the massive custom connector at each end of the cord. A gleaming wire mesh supports the conductivity of the magnetized solid conductor core of each flexible cable. Conductors are fastened to a cylindrical structure of powerful syntherized neodymium permanent magnets which buried into the connector shell at each end of the PC. Conversely, in ICs, the mesh does not carry current. Instead, the mesh is electrically floated, and acts as a Faraday isolationg cage for the solid core conductor.

In the next instalments of this review, I will discuss a bit more the “Magnetic Conductivity” technology underlying High Fidelity Cables products, and then chronicle my listening of these wires, starting with the CT-1 power cord and the CT-1 digital cable--An experience that continues to be… Quite revelatory, as I progressively apply them to my system: Esoteric X-01 player, Rowland Aeris DAC, the charming Merrill Teranis stereo amp under review, and my massive Rowland M925 monoblocks fed into Vienna Acoustics Die Muzik speakrs.

Meantime, you will find more information on all High Fidelity products on Rick Schultz’s web site:

http://www.highfidelitycables.com

With a discussion of the High Fidelity unique technology at:
http://www.highfidelitycables.com/technology.html

Hi Fidelity Cables
901 N McDonald Street
STE 502
McKinney, Texas 75069
USA

Web: http://www.highfidelitycables.com
Email: info@highfidelitycables.com
Phone: 214-614-7111
Toll free: 1-844-348-6292
guidocorona
Thank you Roxy and Albert, I write the way I hear it. Fact is that I am excruciatingly picky about sound and music... Liking High Fidelity wires was completely unexpected. Certainly taught me something about keeping an open mind.

The next instalment might end up being a little... Drier than the intro section.

G.
Saw and heard them at CES Newport Beach, very nice indeed. But at $10,000 plus for their top power cords just to much for the common working man. Maybe in another life time its good to dream.
Hi Pete, you are right... The top of the line High Fidelity cables are painfully pricy. What I am trying out is the base CT-1 series, which lists approximately 0.16% of those uber-cables.

G.
Guidocorona...starting at the beginning of Rick's cables allows you to fully appreciate how great they are. you will,if/when you continue up the ladder,find that at each level there is another surprise waiting for you.each rung you climb contains more of the same greatness,,just more of it.you don't have to get to the top to find the level that allows you to finally find the musical enjoyment that you previously thought impossible.it's about the music not the jewelry.
"Hi Pete, you are right... The top of the line High Fidelity cables are painfully pricy. What I am trying out is the base CT-1 series, which lists approximately 0.16% of those uber-cables."

Once hooked....
"you don't have to get to the top to find the level that allows you to finally find the musical enjoyment that you previously thought impossible."

Given all the very good stuff already out there, I have to wonder if one found it previously impossible, in particular after trying many things over many years perhaps, if any wire alone will turn out to be the cure?

Maybe. Of course many find musical enjoyment possible via much more earthy means. You gotta try that first to know, unless of course money is no object. Its all about different strokes for different folks I suppose.

I'm just a poor working shmoe with few connections. I gotta suffer with mere $3 digit wires it seems.
Mapman, I suffer from DAC (Degenerative Audiophrenic Chorea).... 'Tis a sad story. See:

http://positive-feedback.com/Issue46/audiophrenia.htm
Guido, yeah that sounds like me at Capital Audio Fest.

I worked at Tech Hifi in college. I was like a kid in a candy store. Except I got to sample all the candy for free.
I searched high and low for interconnects, speaker cables and power cords that I really liked. At this point in time I still really like the sound of HFC. I do have to admit and I totally agree that they are painfully expensive ;-(!
The good news is they seem to come up used here fairly frequently and can apparently be had for a lot less than new. Supply and demand I suppose.
Does any one know,do the magnets decay with time? Do they have a certain shelf life so to speak?
Hi Pete, HFC uses syntherized Neodimium magnets in their connectors, rather than the more common ferric variety... I have had some Neodimium magnets at home for the last 30 years... They remained essentially unchanged. I would not worry about HFC magnets loosing their power over the years. G.
The magnets used hold a permanent charge unless you heat them up past 170F so I have read in other published sources.. I once tried to demagnetize some neo magnets for a special purpose and cooked at 500F for 30 minutes and they still seemed to hold their full charge. I had to come up with a different work around. Tom
Hmmmm... Tom, IMO if room conditions warmed up any HFC neodymium magnets to 500F for more than 30 minutes in anyone's system, magnetic loss might be the least of the user's concerns. An anti-audiophile neighbor might have gotten real tired of 'em loud noises, and done som'pm real good 'nd final like 'bout 'em. peace disturbers *grins!*

G.
With all the buzz, bought 2 High Fidelity CT-1 PCs. Arrived last Thur and trying them in different locations. The other PCs are Shunyata Sigma and Nordost Valhalla. I'll post my thoughts after more hours with them.
Fabulous... Do keep us posted. Are your Valhalla PCs the original series, or are they Valhalla 2? G.
Are your Valhalla PCs the original series,
Valhalla I ... so orig.

What's interesting is I found a combination of Valhalla and Shunyata Sigma to sound the best vs a loom of one.
“Sometimes we find audible magic by a serendipitous leap of faith which lets us overcome some aprioristic skepticism that otherwise prevented us from even auditioning an electronic component, a speaker, or a set of wires."

Cheap at any price. 'audible magic', that is. Or perhaps any sort of magic, for that matter.
I too love Rick's High Fidelity cables-

It's too bad that a friend who bought some used, is having issues w/ his speaker cables- His used ICs are great-

He is not happy, as Rick HAS NOT answered either his emails or phone calls for the last several weeks !

I understand Rick was at the CAS recently, however that's NO excuse...
Hi Greenpurple, what were the specific problems that your friend experienced with HFC speaker wires?

G.
GP-

Lighten up. Its not Rick's job to answer every phone call and/or e-mail he gets immediately. He also has a life. Your buddy has also not put a nickel into Rick's pockets, buying Rick's cables used. Probably doesn't really matter to Rick, because that's the kind of guy he is. However, I get annoyed when I see this air of "expectation" or "entitlement" created by someone who hasn't even purchased the product new from the person he expects support from.

Rick has been at shows and has a service department to handle "issues" - whether Rick communicates directly or not is up to Rick, certainly not your friend nor you nor I. Rick's office and service department phones work. I suggest your friend seek a solution from whoever sold him the used speaker cables. Another option is to ask for assistance on this forum. Many of us with lots of High Fidelity experience, such as Guido (above) would be happy to assist if we can.

Taking a cheap shot at Rick, especially on behalf of someone else, is just asking for trouble, especially on THIS forum. It just makes people NOT want to help......
I believe all of us climbing the "Penrose stairs" in audio

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penrose_stairs
Green_purple - have you got Rick's email right? He always replies his email. At least I never have got a problem in the past and I do exvhange a lot correspondence with him.

let me know and I will forward another email if you wish.
Hi Knghifi: What's your conclusion of the High Fidelity CT-1PCs vs your Valhalla/Shunyata combo?
I have also found the Nordost, V2 in this case to go extemely well with cables which are the the warmer and fuller presentation.

The V2 are said to be slightly warmer, but still find them on towards the neutral and opening sounding side which doesnt have any stand out characteristics or flaws. So this allows a it to take on more weight from a fuller cable upstream or down.
Old thread, but since then i have found High Fidelity Cables to be outstanding across the board.