..which is fine. Let's just let the facts, as best those can be determined, speak for themselves
High Fidelity Cables CT-1designed by Rick Schultz
In December 2011,I wrote that High Fidelity cables led by cable designer Rick Schultz was putting together a new cable.The cable came to market as CT-1.The CT-1 has FINALLY made it into my system!I had obtained a version of the prototype that Rick had been working on.It blew my previous reference Genesis by Virtual Dynamics.I thought I had finally found my end with this cable.This prototype delivered to my ears "Nirvana".Could I be at the end of my quest for the ultimate sound?
No. I received two pairs of CT-1 to replace my prototypes.They went into the system this past Friday.Unable to dedicate time until Sunday listening,I stole a few moments,ducking away from company with anticipation.My guest could tell even with the music set for"ambiance"something was intriguing and I was in for a treat!
The experience:
First off,CT-1 was very user friendly.Installation was simple;the cable is very nice and light.The female RCA fit beautifully unlike any I had found in other cable.It was secure and reliable.It seemed much thought was dedicated to developing a designer fit to an aesthetically stunning RCA connector.Install entailed a few wiggles to ensure what seemed like a compression fit on my RCA.
It was 2-3 hrs. for the 1st step of break in to be complete.At that point I had something different!Today,although they only have 10-12 hrs. on them,I can`t put into words how much my system has transformed.Believe me,I loved my prototypes.However....there is simply no comparision.
The clarity and sound is so natural.
The soundstage is like nothing I ever heard.Resoulution is breathtaking and inner detail is simply hard to believe possible.
The sound has transended and now it simply does not seem as thought I have speakers.
My system is musicians playing music.
I am told with time they will improve and I trust that as it was revealed with the prototypes.I wanted to share my thoughts with you that now.
Unequivocally,a testament to High Fidelity,as the name declares.
High Fidelity Cables for me,the last word on it,after 12 hours!
Truly Amazing
Al
No. I received two pairs of CT-1 to replace my prototypes.They went into the system this past Friday.Unable to dedicate time until Sunday listening,I stole a few moments,ducking away from company with anticipation.My guest could tell even with the music set for"ambiance"something was intriguing and I was in for a treat!
The experience:
First off,CT-1 was very user friendly.Installation was simple;the cable is very nice and light.The female RCA fit beautifully unlike any I had found in other cable.It was secure and reliable.It seemed much thought was dedicated to developing a designer fit to an aesthetically stunning RCA connector.Install entailed a few wiggles to ensure what seemed like a compression fit on my RCA.
It was 2-3 hrs. for the 1st step of break in to be complete.At that point I had something different!Today,although they only have 10-12 hrs. on them,I can`t put into words how much my system has transformed.Believe me,I loved my prototypes.However....there is simply no comparision.
The clarity and sound is so natural.
The soundstage is like nothing I ever heard.Resoulution is breathtaking and inner detail is simply hard to believe possible.
The sound has transended and now it simply does not seem as thought I have speakers.
My system is musicians playing music.
I am told with time they will improve and I trust that as it was revealed with the prototypes.I wanted to share my thoughts with you that now.
Unequivocally,a testament to High Fidelity,as the name declares.
High Fidelity Cables for me,the last word on it,after 12 hours!
Truly Amazing
Al
Showing 50 responses by mapman
Enough time spent on this topic for me. A unique product here but lots of smoke and mirrors and an price tag to go along with it. Unique using a mu metal like conductor and magnets to do its thing. Both are commodity materials and can be had for not much if one does the homework. So the big price tag as these things go would seem to based on perceived end performance more so than materials. How well do they stack up against the competition? I have no clue. No one product, particularly wires would seem to have cornered the market on good sound to-date. I could use the same adjectives to describe the sound with my modest in comparison wires, so one has to take superlative words with a grain or two of salt always. I know of one case outside this thread where a highly respected agoner has indicated that they did not care for the HF wires in their quite SOTA system. So there you go. THe verdict is not universal love always for those who have heard. Then there is Ddraudt who claims to sell used wires in order to fund new ones. It could be that dd gets the wires from the maker for little or no cost and then sells them for a discounted price (from list as per HF website). Too many shady areas around here still after all this discussion IMHO. These thing may be the best thing since swiss cheese but at this point I have pretty much lost interest for all the reasons above. If HF keeps churning these things out I suspect they will find their rightful market value over time, maybe even for a price I would consider someday. We'll see. |
TBG, IF you have some good new info, don't let anyone stop you. Certainly not me. Please include some details useful to people who might be interested including what sounds better or different, what you are comparing it to when you say it is an improvement, where you got it from, and how much you paid. Thanks. |
As has been the case with pretty much all the recent shills on this thread, TBG, I didn't expect you would actually answer. But I tried anyway. So thanks for that useless information. I truly am glad it all sounds so much better to everyone though in any case but that is pretty useless information as well. People try new things and report quantum leaps all the time. Doesn't make it true or not. Just nothing new there that anyone could bank on. Expensive audio toys should and ususally do all sound really good. WHich ones sound best always seems to be a matter of opinion. |
I was graciously offered the opportunity to try a pair of the iics on loan. I declined for various reasons though I would have liked to hear. Maybe someday. I'm sure I would have liked them as a loaner. But there is no way I would pay the asking price to own no matter what. So I did not see much point. Actions, like buying speak louder than words. |
Not to mention the fancy boxes they come in and note promoting the designer inside. Who needs fancy boxes for wires anyway? I guess it makes it easier come time to resell. I see these up for sale regularly here on agon these days for only a fraction of what you would pay retail off teh vendors site. What a deal! |
Everyone is entitled to their opinions. That's pretty much the whole story here. Wires that cost more than the price of a semester's tuition at some colleges are bound to be controversial. It would seem to go with the turf. Its strange to me that even the biggest fans won't acknowledge that. BTW I am not jealous, not that it matters. I could easily afford these wires if I thought them worth the money, but I don't so there. There is no wire that I would think worth it. That's just me. YMMV. |
So just for arguments sake, I use DNM Reson ICs exclusively in my system. Price I have paid ranges from $50 up to $200 each. I would say these make the same kind of differences to the same extent in my system as do the HF wires in others. If you look at them, there is not much to them. A very minimalist design. I pay the asking price which I deem reasonable for the benefits incurred. THe HF wires might be better. Don't know. But the sound I have currently meets my goals that I have established by listening to many systems at all price ranges over the years, some with very high end wires like the HF. Live music events of various types over teh years serve as my other reference. Some day maybe I will try a HF wire. As I indicated initally in this thread, I do find the design to be different and intriguing. I just can't justify the cost at present. Its true the only way to know is to try. I;d recommend trying the DNMs as well. One might save a few $$$s to invest in their system or music elsewhere. Or not. You never can tell.... |
"Mapman, I totally disagree with your statement, "The ultimate sound is not the only thing that matters in the world, even in these parts." TBG, you might be right. It seems to be the only thing that matters to you. You would think integrity and ethics would matter as well, especially when large sums of money are involved? Go figure! |
Th troll says: nice useful posts from lak and Rl. Thanks! The only problem with DNMs I have is that they are not shielded. I use them from my phono step-up transformer to pre-amp as well as from digital source to preamp and pre-amp to amp. I added mu-metal shielding around my step-up transformer to help address noise issues. Not unique to the DNMs there but they are particularly susceptible. SO some additional tweaking might be needed more so with any unshielded wire to help control noise, especially with low level phono gear. Otherwise, I love those little guys to death. |
Here's what a google search on high fidelity cables turns up on the technology from the vendor's website. The accounting DD cites would seem to have some discrepancies, for example the website mentions exposing the wire to magnetic fields as part of the manufacturing process and there being magnets in the connectors, but nothing about magnets at strategic intervals inside the ICs. "Inside our interconnects, we strategically place a series of magnets of varying sizes and strengths, placed around a solid core metal conductor at strategic intervals in a north-south/north-south configuration." SO I'm not sure where DD gets his info or if he is even relating it correctly, but that would seem to be a major difference. |
Tbg, Why do you oppose peoples right to challenge what at least appears to be in question? All DD has to do is say he is not financially affiliated with the maker when asked. HE has decided to not do that repeatedly when asked. If he is, obviously his enthusiasm might be biased and others might not share it. It just does not look good, whatever the truth. Unfortunately, perceptions often matter as much if not more than reality. So it is important to address peoples perceptions, especially if negative for whatever reason. The ultimate sound is not the only thing that matters in the world, even in these parts. |
As I stated up front in my first post, the relationship between electricity and magnetism is well documented so I have no doubt changes to one will affect the other. HEnce My interest in the design concept behind the product. The questions will be of course the magnitude of the effect and the nature of the effect in terms of how it changes the sound in addition to merely the magnitude of the change. The value proposition is a pure individual judgement call. Does the vendor offer any money back guarantees with the product? That's all that is needed to address any risk that a prospective buyer might incur dropping thousands into any product with promise where results may vary or not be totally assured up front. Saying you can't judge it without trying it sounds like a cheap sales ploy otherwise. Most people cannot try it without risk otherwise. If one merely acknowledges and addresses the risks (Present with any expensive endeavor) rather than mere shilling on the perceived benefits) credibility would go way up I would expect. |
Why can't David speak for himself on this? I'm not the only one bothered by him. The only explanation would be he has something to hide. All I care about is if he is a dealer selling the product and profiting from it. If you can't understand or accept why that matters, then there is nothing I can say that will help. |
Nice. Let us know when they stop sounding good. At least that will be some news. You sound like a freakin broken record. Can't you just enjoy your system like everyone else and stop telling us about it? Or at least tell us about something else contributing. We know you like your freakin wires already. |
DD, If I were you be considering putting a DSP unit in the mix, at least for your digital source material. Any wire that a signal is transmitted over can only transform what is fed into it. It cannot create something out of nothing. A Digital Signal processing device might be able to deliver an effect similar to the HF wires you like so much, but is more flexible/tunable/adjustable in many ways and for much lower cost. For an analog source, I suppose only analog devices make sense, like a particular wire, makes sense, but for digital the world is your oyster with DSP, assuming a decent source to start with. Garbage in/garbage out they say. |
The real world prices are coming down. I saw one here for $600 the other day. Just a little lower and it might start looking more like a reasonable deal for a wire that uses inexpensive common commodity materials like mu metal and magnets rather than a cash cow for the distributors. But frankly I'd still rather have the DSP than overpriced magnets,mu metal or acid trips. :^) Its true. Sorry. Hopefully there is some room here to talk solutions and not just shilling for specific products by the chosen few. |
TBg, you don't have to agree with me or vice versa. I don't expect that any two people would do things exactly the same way. That's what makes the world go around. I'm just pointing out the alternatives for the benefit of anyone who might care. Plus I may be helping to keep this thread's ratings up with some fresh ideas besides buy more HF because its a world of its own. You guys should thank me for that I think. :^) When the market for these products matures, people might be all over this stuff. You never know. |