Jmcgrogan, please stop harshing my mellow!
thanks D |
HF prices, Thanks Friends for the interesting off topic discussion.
Back to High Fidelity, I just received a price list that includes the power
cables so I'd thought I'd let those interested know.
Power Cables
Ct-1 Ultimate $6,900 / 1 meter ,$675 additional 1/2 meter.
CT-1 Ultimate Reference $10,900, $675 add 1/2 meter.
photo's and reviews coming soon.
the music is playing and I'm having the most fun ever.
D |
Audiolabyrinth, I've started looking for isolators to try TGB's idea so I'd be interested in what you find also. I will be trying at least 3 very different ways to support waveguides in the coming months and, as most folks know, I like to expound on my discoveries.
Thanks
Dave |
I'm so excited when I hear my system now with UR digital and U speaker cables that I want to run out and drag folks in to listen, saying,"Do you believe this sound". partly because I'm having a hard time fathoming just how real it sounds. I play the system much more ofter and I'm loving it. In the coming weeks I will have Audio reviewers, designers,
builders, hi end audio store owners, musicians, audiophiles and others
over to listen. I'm so grateful a close friend of mine turned me on to High Fidelity Cables a year ago. They has brought music so real I must forget what I've learned about audio the previous 35 years and to start anew in this era of High Fidelity Magnetic Magic.
;-)
D |
Leicachamp, The CT-1 was years in development and for me a real eye opener in the potential of Magnetic conduction. The openness, effortlessness and natural sound showed me something wonderful
and exciting I had never experienced. Then I heard the 1E and it was a lot better. adding to my excitement and fun.
Having followed the progress closely, I've seen Rick get even more excited as he experimented with magnets 10 times stronger. Rare earth magnets are produced in limited quantity and are 10 x more expensive.
( i think they use magic meteorite dust)
Continuing to add more and bigger and more powerful, expensive
magnets have continued to advance the miraculous magnetic effects.
I liked Jack Roberts article, Dogogo feb 2014. in the end he rates all the cables he has heard in 3 decades from 0 to 100% .
HF UR 100%, HF U, 75%, HF E 60%, HF CT-1 50%,
ALL OTHR CABLES 0% - 40%.
Although I agree that all other cables I've tried in 30+ years are less than High Fidelity cables, my experience puts the Ultimate at least 4 times better than Enhanced, and the UR
10 to 100 times better than the Ultimate. YMMV
It appears no one is ordering CT-1 new anymore and they appear on Audiogon and other sites as audio friends are able to move up the line. I'm sure all the CT-1's made will be enjoyed for years to come and i believe if there were orders coming in they would be filled. D |
New HF articles on the way!
I hear Reviewers are working on new articles about the
HF Ultimate Reference products. the next new report on UR cables
and the first official report on the HF UR Magnetic Wave Guide Power Filter. I'm excited to read these when they appear.
D |
Yes, Rick has gone out of his way to be supportive and helpful. A good man who loves to laugh, has a great family and many friends..
He also happens to make the best audio gear I've ever experienced!
Thanks Rick U….Da….Man!! |
Nic10pin, I have found it fun to experiment with different materials and
methods for waveguide iso. A friend of mine makes isolation tables so I have tried 3 different size iso platforms with 2 types of feet.
Finite Element cerabase classics and Stillpoint Mini SS.
l like the larger base (which is 14' x 18' x 2.5") with stillpoints.
I also have damping blocks in top of the waveguides and some Rf If shielding around. This gives me the best sound so far.
Hopefully, soon I will be completely re arranging my equipment set up
and, at that time, i plan to experiment with raising my cables up by adding a pedestal stands under the iso tables. I may experiment with ceramic but isolated from the floor and the touching waveguides.
To me, ceramic by itself sounds like ceramic- cold and hard.
I believe that you could use different types of wood, ceramic coffee cups, ceramic risers, a speaker stand for a small speaker, lead filled wooden stand. IMO I would avoid too soft a material like carpet, cardboard, plastic OR too hard material like glass, granite, concrete blocks, steel, brick and never use orange clay flower pots (sound awful). I like the sound of Baltic Birch plywood.
Do you know Tsushima1, Roger from London? |
Tom, Thanks. Audiolabyrinth, Thanks.
Great to learn even more ideas on this.
Tweakaholics Unite!!
Dave |
Theaudiotweak, about non ferrous knife edge- How about a ceramic knife blade!!!
about airborne vibration, I have seen using weight (mostly lead)
on power and signal cables for some time with Wonderful results.
One need put the right amount weight, of the right type, in the right places. Achieving that produces exceptional low noise, air, bass, dynamics, detail and listening fun.
I have 2 five pound lead filled wood blocks on my CT-1 U Speaker waveguides. as well as the Mini's and platforms mentioned by Tbg |
Thanks Tom, interesting ideas that remind me of my approach and teaches me more. I have used hundreds of freezer zip lock bags over 3 decades in weights from a few ounces to 50 pounds. I have found only one size and one type of lead shot works well and the rest do not. Hint; if you haven't tried #6 chilled, you haven't heard lead at its best. I have tried a number of materials as well. the choice is endless so I haven't tried them all. Do you have any specific items to try?
At times, with lead, I must place another material between the lead and the item to be damped to prevent overdamping. I listen very carefully to Not lose"air", "space" and hi fq. detail.
I still use 11 VPI bricks also for weight and to pull magnetic fields away from circuitry.
Example: Inside my amp I have 3 vpi bricks, 4 lead filled wooden blocks, 5 tiny slivers of wood, a dozen squares of plywood, 15 various
size bags of lead, some Rf If shielding and maybe more i have forgotten about. The amp sits on layers of isolation devices.
With virtually every component in the amp damped, shielded and isolated, sound I hear is wonderful to my ears. (and other ears as well)
best system I've ever heard. So, pretty good then;-)
I love experimenting but about parameters, The human mind can think up more things to try than a human can do in a lifetime.
My never-ending list just gets bigger with time. That is why sharing is
vital. Thanks everyone.
P.S. I could use 4 more VPI Bricks if anyone knows of some for sale.
Dave |
Tbg, I agree that the processes and never ending parameters are frustrating at times and as I age, the heavy lifting gets harder.
What lifts my spirits about tests is my successes, which come weekly,
and allow me to peer further into the presentation. Each success has me feeling good about discovering something new and I can imagine my self as a cutting edge pioneer for a moment. Another really fun thing for me is that, any improvements I make these days reveal music, images, presentations that I've never heard anywhere before and could not have known were possible. Revelations!
I say that the hugest upgrade in my system ever is Ricks HF inventions. Thanks again Rick and Thanks ALL for participating in this
thread.
Dave |
Tom, further thoughts on damping.. You may see by my last post that I have experimented with different size and types of the same material to find the right one. Took trying a lot of different lead shot to find the correct size and the correct % of antimony additive in the lead to sound best. I also use lead bars. I have worked with many metals, woods and mixes of materials. inside bags and inside wooden blocks of different woods. I have even found one static shielding bag that sounds better than plastic bags in some applications. I've never gotten steel shot or sand to sound good and brass has always sounded brassy but there are thousands of other sizes, shapes, amounts of materials I have used, or haven't, that I could try if I live forever. I also have spent years working on every part of my power
system, years on room acoustics, years on speaker and component mods. I test new components, tweaks, cables, power inlets and outlets, filters, shielding devices and I build a lot of power cords.
I do a lot of listening to music also so time for damping tests is limited. 20 years ago I realized that I would never run out of things to try. I am about to try… HF UR cables, new wire for my 7 power cords,
more Stillpoints, bell bronze heat sinks, a few new CD's, a better set of speakers, some different size iso platforms, advanced equipment rack tuning, a new amp and to find a lot of money to continue my audio madness. I'm thrilled to be busy with my audio dream.
Enjoy the Music
Dave |
I've enjoyed resent posts. Thanks for all of your inputs. I can say I have experimented with components designed for resonance tuning and have used some damping to improve their sound to my ears. Recording Studio folks and "Big Dawg" audio people have been impressed also so not just my ears.. I wish I could hear more of your systems and you could hear mine, music speaks louder than words..
Anyone live within 250 miles of Austin?
I've not heard a system I like better than mine. If I did, I'd wanna git me some. I have heard much general philosophy on resonance tuning here but not much detail on things to try myself. I believe that it takes a combo of tuning and damping to get it all. I can be open minded and my system is not finished (never finished), so I'm happy to try something new. I HAVE tried a lot of things already. ;-) Enjoy Dave |
Audiolabyrinth, Tbg, Thanks for sharing things that did not work. I had a close friend who had an over damped room with heavy curtains, tube traps with heavy cloth, absorptive material on other walls ext. it lacked some life which I did not like although it had many other great qualities.
I shutter to imagine electronic room stabilizers, hate the idea and work to keep my signal path pure and simple. I've heard lead sound awful and tube traps sound awful and vibration transfer + vibration damping sound awful. I've heard many products I did not like that others hear did. I believe we each perceive sound differently and prefer our choice of sonic clues. That's cool, folks are different, that is why they make Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry!
In my room, the walls ceiling and floor are bare to offer life. the tube
traps are actually my own redesign, much better and very finely tuned. The combo of damping materials I choose and the applications
are very specific. I would never have a coffee table in the way of the music or a high back chair to listen from. but that's just me.
Gotta go, have folks coming over to listen. ENJOY
Dave |
My High Fidelity Cables- Ultimate Reference Speaker Cables are just about here!!! I'm So excited to get them after hearing the effects of Ultimate Reference digital cable and UR magnetic power filter. UR speaker cables will give me a full loom of Ultimate Reference. The Ultimate Speaker cables I'm using now are mind blowing and they've helped redefine the words amazing, lifelike, natural, real, and detailed.
I've already heard how huge the improvement is between Ultimate and Ultimate Reference so I know it will be worlds better, but since every improvement I make theses days puts me into "never heard anything so wonderful anywhere", I have no reference to compare.
Also, all the descriptors have already been used to describe lessor products so even eloquent phrasing will fall far short of adequate for
painting an accurate picture of High Fidelity Cable's superiority.
You just Gotta hear this revolution to know what is possible.
Hope your enjoying the music!
I know I am!!
Dave
|
Silemus, First welcome! I think the Cable Company still has a loaner program for High Fidelity cables but I don't know where you live.
An interesting note about these cables, They are not cables in the traditional sense of word. They operate on different principals and pass
signal and power so much more successfully (and naturally) that they can't be compared to cords or cables from the past. Hearing HF cables is a novel and wonderful experience of something More, something better than we had all heard before. Within the 20+ reviews and 675 posts on this thread, there are many great words describing this new phenomena of magnetic conduction and it's sonic superiority.
The Sound of HF cables is even better that words can say. |
Jmcgrogan2, John, I would have to agree with Tbg, Calloway and Charles1dad that these cables are very special, not like any other cables ever. But that claim has been made many times before as you eluded to. 18 months ago, before I heard High Fidelity Cables, I was in the same place as many. I've heard almost every fancy cable and special new designs in 3 decades. A friend told me about them and I started reading
articles and blogs and technical info on the design idea. I was impressed by reports on this NEW way of signal and power transmission and thought it might be a serious game changer. I was still NOT prepared
for how much better they sounded (by a large margin)(in every aspect) than anything I heard in my 30+ years of testing.
I'm sure You and Silemus will love them once you do get around to hearing them.
Enjoy the music!! |
I'm relieved that I wasn't the only one who got the wind knocked out of
over the misplaced post. Wouldn't it be great if there could be a comparison between the two. I tend to think that we would be comparing a new wire technology with something beyond wire.
BTW, Rick has developed a new super cable without wire just magnets all the way thru. The cost would make UR look like a bargain and a speaker cable would be more than my first house but the sound is an education into what wire is doing wrong. |
Audiolabyrinth, Ok please send me a set of Tara's from you store and I will try them. ;-)
Just because I was polite about a comparison the other day does not mean I wish to continue a Tara discussion on this thread. |
Calvinj, Thanks for your report.
In you post you mentioned hoping to try HF UR Cables. I really hope you get to.
I find it difficult to quantify the improvements as you move up the line of High Fidelity products because the higher tiers are not just a huge improvement. It's more like a whole new world is reviled. It's like a glimpse at the impossible. Like the known world was black and white
and the Ultimate Reference reveals a vivid colorful universe too lifelike to comprehend. For me to say that the UR is somewhere between 10 and 100 times better then the Ultimates indicates that the Ultimate Reference made a miraculous transformation of my system beyond anything I have ever heard on any system anywhere! |
Gentlemen, It seems like our thread has been invaded with a few people trying to cause trouble and i am not sure how to reach the monitors.
Jmcgrogan2, Why do you think it's ok to post what others have said on other posts just to give someone a hard time? How is that discussing High Fidelity cables??
High Fidelity cables are wonderful, intriguing, game changing ect.
I hope all who wish to post here will be respectful of others and keep on topic. |
Bill, Thanks so much for your report. I look forward to hearing more from you over time.
Dave |
Bill, Thanks so much for your report. I look forward to hearing more from you over time.
Dave |
Jmcgrogan2, perhaps you are not aware that you are still Not posting on topic. this thread is not about creating drama, hidden agendas, or why you won't buy High Fidelity cables. I plan on speaking with the monitors about this, Jcalvin, your posts are also being looked at also.
I realize you guys are posting only to get a responses so i will be responding to monitors about you from this point on.
enjoy the music
D |
Leicachamp, Thanks for your report. As you say the CT-1 is the base model. Ct-1 is great!!! but only vaguely hints at the miraculous image, solidity, naturalness, air, dynamics
and the "like you are there" presentation the Ultimate brings. I look forward to hearing your impressions of the ultimate.
Audiolab, I'd love to hear you impressions of HF please.
that's why we come here.
I've never enjoyed music more. hope that is true for all of you!!
Dave |
Tbg, Thanks for your post. Shockingly Superior. Excellent 2 word description of the difference between HF Ultimate and Ultimate Reference.
An audiophile visited yesterday. One who has been to every US audio show many times. They said the best systems they've heard over the years was ones with uber expensive tube amps and my system was every bit as good as the best systems ever and they could not hear ANY faults. I can imagine what it will sound like with my new UR Speaker cables |
Hurray!- Haza!- Whoopee! I just heard that my long and anxiously awaited HF-Ultimate Reference Speaker Cables are to ship Monday!!!
I've been wanting them for at least the last 5 or 6 pages.
When I went from Ultimate to UR on my digital cable, it was, As Tbg said, "Shockingly Superior". Worlds better in every way. My experience with High Fidelity Products has me expecting to be totally shocked all over again. ENJOY!!! Dave |
Entheuasiam- strong excitement about something : a strong feeling of active interest in something that you like.
Sweet music is playing thru my Ultimate Reference speaker cables 24/7 and I'm really enjoying music more all the time. They have about 270 hours on them now. They have gotten wonderfully more liquid and effortless.
The superb soundstage and increased tonal quality surprises. As a matter of fact, everything that was surprising about the Ultimate cables is even MORE surprising with the Ultimate Reference cables.
SO VERY REAL SOUNDING!!! At the risk of repeating myself- WOW!!!
;-), D |
Tonereef, Nice post on head-fi, Thanks. The Ultimate Reference are
truly superior and will delight you even more as the get hundreds of hours on them.
Good listening!
Dave |
Tbg, Thanks for your post. Shockingly Superior. Excellent 2 word description of the difference between HF Ultimate and Ultimate Reference.
An audiophile visited yesterday. One who has been to every US audio show many times. They said the best systems they've heard over the years was ones with uber expensive tube amps and my system was every bit as good as the best systems ever and they could not hear ANY faults. I can't imagine what my system will sound like when my new UR Speaker cables finally arrive.
Happy listening to all… Dave |
Tbg, that's wonderful news!! …….I want some.
Funny What HF products do.
Most product comparisons end in an "aha" moment where one is way better than the other. Improvements in High Fidelity stuff brings
disbelief, amazement and awe because HF designs allow music to be heard in a new way. Much more real than I/we imagined possible. So realistic that it confounds the brain for a time. Too wonderful to be comprehended.
you said, "more to come but not here". A curious statement.
If not here, where? if not now, when would be my question?
Thanks Norm,
Enjoy the music- Dave |
Tbg, You said a few weeks back the your UR speaker cables were "shockingly superior" after a month of break in.
Was that shocking superior to the Ultimates?
or shockingly superior to everything you've heard?
If you care to share you wisdom and experience.
Thanks Dave |
400 hours on the Ultimate Reference Speaker cables and more surprises. The most surprising improvements this week are the Bass,
the soundstage and the air around instruments and vocals. All three were aspects of the sound were already phenomenal with the Ultimate speaker cable and even more so with UR's insertion. With playing time these aspects reach uncharted vistas of wonderful. Such fun being awed every listening session.
Question- at night I have my system playing ultra low and I wonder how much that counts? does volume 1 out of a possible 80 steps, (so low that you would have to put you ear right next to the driver to hear), help break in the magnetic cables? or does it have to be louder?
Finding- The UR cables are much more refined than the U so the UR's
require more refined tuning for optimum function. If your into that tweaking thing.
Sweet music for all
D |
Tbg, Thanks for the reply.
I too am continually amazed by Ricks Audio brainchild,
The HFC line.
During our regular scheduled weekend listening party, I/we were again amazed. Incredible how my old audiophile friends and I, after 35 years of working and playing with, and listening very closely to audio, are made like children again. Each week we seem to travel into uncharted territory with High Fidelity magic.
My HFC Ultimate Reference speaker cable continues to open new and awesome vistas as they achieve more hours of play.
Listening a lot more and enjoying music more than ever these days.
Thanks for all the fun Rick. |
CalvinJ, happy you got to hear that HFC combo. I SO much want to hear the HF power cables with my HF cables and HFC-UR Magnetic power conditioner. Hard to imagine how it could sound better than it does now but it always seems to with a new HF piece. I await a new amp as my old one can't keep up with the High Fidelity Cable goodies.
Enjoy the Music
D |
I agree, it takes some good fortune to find designers/builders with all the right qualities. As well as a lot of work, research, and trying a lotta items and auditioning peoples work for the "fortune" to happen.
The guy's I work with all have a drive to find the ultimate realism possible and are willing to go to absurd lengths to achieve this, like myself. This type of research ends up costing me $10,000+ on things that did not work, and much more on items that were soon superseded. Most audio folks I know have a closet, drawers, boxes and even rooms full of their audio castoffs.
For me, the High Fidelity cables have been the wildest ride with the most awesome, spectacular results in realism. Rick cooks it better than my grandma. ;-) |
Calvinj, Yes, custom audio is next level stuff. I think this direction is only for a small group of dedicated audio addicts. Most folks just plug stuff in and listen to music. I love playing with my system. Being creative, using my lifetime of experience, Spending lots of time trying endless possibilities and parameters, working with teams of people on audio projects, researching new technology, beta testing and prototype development.
I spend an alarming percentage of my meager income on Audio as a "no holds barred", "perfection at any cost" products are expensive.
The results…Astonishing!! due largely to that mom & pop, hand built
products company called High Fidelity Cables. |
Jafox, hello, I'm pleased for you that you are satisfied with your sound.
That is a happy place and you should stay there if you can. As i mentioned in my post,"I think this direction is only for a small group of dedicated audio addicts. ". I think being dissatisfied is what brings about change in the world. Some of us find delicious joy is seeking the holy grail of audio, however elusive. Lucky for you, all you have to do is never try any new audio devices,( especially High Fidelity Cables ) and you can be satisfied for a lifetime. |
Tom, good one!
It was back in the mid 1980's the a group of friends and I, called "the Thorp Audio Group", were spending 6 months designing and building the ultimate power source for our ultimate audio system.
That system was great but a pale, pale shadow of todays system with amazing HFC Magnetic cable magic. We were all dong research, my guess is that friend Stan had more knowledge of the internal workings of thermal breakers and/or found some writing on the subject. I still use the mag breakers today even though I have HFC's UR- WGPC power conditioner which creates a whole new, wonderful world in audio playback. |
Audiolabyrinth, Thanks for the bit off topic question. simply put, Thermal breakers use heat to trip breakers, heat caused by the power running thru high resistance wire, so your power must run thru a high resistance wire… not good!, slows dynamic punch, robs detail, adds noise.
A magnetic/hydraulic breaker uses a surge in magnetic field to throw the breaker. NO HIGH RESISTANCE WIRE = Better sound. I've been using them for 30 years without issue.
One small problem (or two) There is no electrical code for mag breakers so they are not legal, and, they do not fit in a home electrical breaker box. I do my own house wiring and live without rules. The mag breakers are small and can fit inside the case of a thermal breaker. I haven't bought one in many years but they are maybe $20 each. the one I liked the sound best is from Carling Technologies
part # BA1-B0-22-630-121-C Enjoy! |
Calloway, That is great!! I've been anxious to try the HFC power cords for a while now. I may get to hear them on a friends system this weekend and have hopes of hearing some at my house soon.
Please let us know about your experience.
I agree with Norm that if you don't have the money, don't listen to them. The high end of HFC products are so transformative that removing them is crushing.
Cheers Dave |
Calloway, Thanks! Good initial report. I look forward to your next installment. I recall how amazing my first listen to HF UR MWPC
power conditioner. It made as monumental an improvement to the sound as their UR signal cables. Sounds like you're having fun!! |
HF URR power cords, 3 audiophile friend and I traveled to Norms to listen to his system with HF Ultimate Reference Rhodium power cords.
WoW! Awsome!! Norm's system was the best we ever heard it by far.
We made THE big guy work changing power cords in and out to discover more detail than we imagined possible with the URR. The most amazingly realistic piano reproduction I've ever heard with more bass, dynamics, control, and lifelike sound with all music.
Thanks Norm
Thanks Rick |
I just heard that we can try HF Ultimate power cords thru the loaner program at the Cable Co. For those of you who have heard High Fidelity Cables, the power cords are as big an improvement or even more. |
Himiguel, Yes the Koda K-10 and Troy were in the system.
I was hearing the current system with and without magnetic power cords and with HF pcs the piano was much much better.
Koda was great but I am way to lazy to get a pre without remote volume
as I'm always changing volume.
Norm and I talk about years past where we both, at some time, installed a motor and belt to volume knob of preamps without remote control.
either that or a long stick ;-) |
Calloway, Thanks for the report! sounds like you having fun!
Rick said that the reason the HF pcs make a bigger improvement than the HF cables it that there is much more power to be controlled in power cords than in cables.
I agree with you, and I too am surprised when a system seems to do everything right can be so drastically improved upon.
That is great fun for me!!
ENJOY!!! |
Calloway, Tbg, I agree! I've had great systems for decades but nothing,
Absolutely Nothing so astonishingly lifelike as with my HF UR setup.
Not just worlds better but unfathomable, and awe inspiring.
Wonderful surprises in every aspect of music reproduction.
I've not heard the Kraken by Stage III but even their Minatour was too hard to bend to connect to my system so i could not use them.
Once I get a HF URR power cord I will try to borrow a Kraken and to find a place where it will fit in order to compare. |
Calloway, Tbg, Thanks for descriptions of HF power cable's effect on the musical presentation. I want a bunch of them!!
Rick's High Fidelity products have challenged and altered my understanding of playback possibilities the last few years.
In my attempt to climb that mountain to perfection, HFC has been my Sherpa. |
Tbg, Fragile yes! To get amazing, everything has to be just right.
Rick's HF cables, cords and filters create such improved clarity, detail, dynamics and delicacy that tweaks require either: finer tuning - redesign - or elimination.
The finest tune sounds almost exactly the same as the sound close to that mark.. However, the Finest tune causes more goosebumps.
Elusive . Subjective. Fun! |
