I have 6 total. 4 in the unused outlets of my HFC URH power conditioner and 1 each in unused outlets that feed the pc and my turntable (2 dedicated lines that are balanced power). I guess if I want more I need to add splitters. Each one definitely adds more of what HFC products do best. |
So at the risk of looking like the resident bozo again, I though I would ask the experts: how does one go about installing a splitter? Do you merely plug in a Y-adapter into an unused AC outlet in the AC outlet box, or does it require adding another AC outlet box to the AC line? I would imagine either to work but could envision reducing the effect using a Y-adapter due to the multiple connections involved. You could take this idea even further by using one of those cheap multiple plug outlets or even a power strip. Has anyone tried the splitter method and what were the results? Thank you. |
Phillipwu: I see your point about demagnification being an actual event but this issue has been brought up before on this forum and the takeway is that it is a non-issue. It would take many years before any minimal effect would take place and I guarantee that if you are like me and most normal audiophiles always looking for the next audio fix, your HFC cables will be long gone in favor of some new technology where we can hear a singer's tonsils vibrating like in real life. Witness all the "tweaks" on Audiogon, many of them patently absurd, if you don't believe that. There are also so many other factors in the sound of our system, I seriously doubt that I would notice any lessening of magnetic effect. Perhaps Rick Schultz has done some shelf life studies but having worked for a number of manufacturers, shelf life/expiration dates are largely arbitrary and put on products because they are forced to. I worked for a medical silicones company that put on their products arbitrary expiration dates, and when customers called to indicate their products had reached the expiration date, we charged them a fee to certify a later expiration date. We had no data to back it up and did nothing other than to relieve their concerns. I personally am not concerned about the loss of magnetic flux density of the HFC cables. |
Justubes2: What you are experiencing may just be break-in of the MC-0.5s, just like any other HFC product. With mine, I bought one and placed it in an unused AC outlet that also powers my HFC URH power conditioner. Initially, the increase in speed and detail were unreal, then the system sounded small and closed-in, then began a transformation into the usual expanding soundstage with great dynamics yet ease. I now have 7 of the MC-0.5s with 5 in the unused outlets of the power conditioner and there is a similar improvement when adding each one.
I still say the biggest improvement with these cables was when I added a single CT-1 interconnect. Adding more and moving up the line made an improvement each time but not as much each time as with the single CT-1. I would recommend getting one somewhere in your system and see what you think, probably at least as large as that of adding a magnetic waveguide. I now have 3 of the UR interconnects, U speaker cables, a URH power conditioner, a URH power cord to my phono stage, and 7 of the waveguides.
My experience is that the system will continue to benefit by adding more magnets, no matter what signal is subjected to the magnets.
Maybe Rick can develop a magnetic splitter. Or even a Pro version that costs $10K, lol. Or an E version of the MC-0.5. Or an electromagnet version of the cables. Maybe a magnetic hearing aid. The possibilities are endless. |
Calloway, were you listening to the Byrds? Sorry, couldn't resist. Sounds like a grounding issue or perhaps one of the magnetic waveguides is defective. Did you try removing one or more and/or moving them around? I have 7 of them total, 5 in the unused HFC URH power conditioner and 2 in unused AC outlets that feed the conditioner.
Was listening to a Windham Hill jazz LP of Andy Narell's The Hammer. This recording is unreal with the HFC stuff, dimensionality, dynamics, and bass. Great music and highly recommended. |
Hi, Ddraut, yes, I have been reading up on how to add more MC-0.5's and I like the idea of adding a MC 6 and 6 of the MC-0.5's. I will see what Norm has to say as his break in as well. Thanks. |
Hi, John: I agree with what you have found and personally like the more immediate, front-hall sound. There is no arguing in matters of taste, correct? However, in addition to replacing them in your system again, you might want to let them break in while in your system for a few weeks. I found them to have an initial effect of speed and transparency, then sound closed-in and flat for a while, then begin sounding big and immediate again but more relaxed. Again, each person has to decide whether they like this effect but these things, like all HFC products as you probably have found, go through transitions sonically. The nice thing I have found with HFC products is making even sonically dreadful recordings listenable, not to mention what they do for great recordings. |
denon1: The MC-0.5 does make a big difference immediately and I was amazed on how big the effect is. If this were how the sound were to be for eternity, I would gladly take it. However, as with most products, there is a break-in. Eventually the sound still takes many of the characteristics of the initial change, but IMO sounds even better with a bigger soundstage and more immediacy but greatly relaxed. If you want to diss what others are saying to prove your point, please leave me out of it. These products have made the biggest change I have heard in over 40 years of serious audio. John heard changes but personally doesn't like them, so no argument there. Many others like the effect. I seriously doubt the candor of the others who like it. And I was just suggesting a break-in while in the system--my experience is that the sound changes when moving these products in and out. I was merely trying to help as opposed to the negativity you just spewed.
BTW, have you tried these products, and if so, what did you find? |
That should have read that I seriously don't doubt the candor of those who like the changes. |
John, I would say my experience with the waveguides mirrors yours. Once broken in, the soundstage did seemingly get higher and wider but took some time to deepen. Another thing I noticed was instruments being more discrete in space, even deep bass imaging separately from midbass, or bass drums imaging separately from bass guitar. I start my rig from a cold start because, like you, I don't get that many chances to listen, and during an LP I can hear the soundstage growing and locking in dimensionally. It seems as if this curve moves upward each time I go through this routine, if you will. I do remember hearing a number of years ago a system at a local dealer with some very expensive Gryphon solid-state monoblocks and Artemis EOS speakers that had a very deep and layered soundstage that was way behind the plane of the speakers. When the dealer played an Opus 3 LP called Depth of Soundstage, you could hear instruments being played in the deep recesses of the soundstage, literally. I also heard a system with Apogee ribbons that had that deep soundstage and I thought it way cool. My current system is in a much smaller room and is more up-front and immediate than that Artemis system, so I could imagine that the use of HFC products would spoil that deep sonic perspective. For my system, the effect of the HFC products is to move me inside the soundstage and make everything more enveloping and immediate. I also hear a lot more differences in this aspect of recordings. I recently listened to an old Andy Narell recording of steel drums jazz and the soundstaging and dynamics were absolutely unreal. With a Greg Kihn Band recording this effect was considerably less but still there. Anyway, I am just going to let things break in for a while and see where they go. |
Abraxis, I apologize, at least for myself anyway, that you find us posters on this forum to be fanboys or shills for HFC. My intent has always been to post my personal experiences and I can assure you I have been a serious audiophile since before my college days over 40 years ago. I have had a multitude of speakers, electronics, cables, tweaks, room treatments, analog front ends, you name it. I always thought the limiting factors were with electronics but found myself at least partially wrong when I tried my first HFC cable. At one point I had about $80K of NBS cables but went to other cables prior to HFC. Like others here, I have paid way too much on HFC products, but when hearing what are almost certainly the biggest changes ever, it is hard not to keep pursuing the addition of these products to my system that keeps improving the sound ever more. I would have to consider myself being dishonest if I were compensated by convincing others to buy these products. I am in technical sales in the medical device industry and learned a long time ago not to operate this way.
My system consists of: Essence solid-state power amp, Essence tubed preamp, Manley Steelhead phono stage, SME 20/2 turntable with Graham Phantom arm and Lyra Titan i cartridge, Homemade speakers with Audio Nirvana 12" single drivers with alnico magnets, JL Audio F113 subwoofer, NOS tubes, KL Audio ultrasonic LP cleaner, and 8000 LP's. I also have a digital rig but rarely listen to it. For HFC products I have 3 pairs of UR interconnects, U speaker cables, a URH power conditioner on a dedicated 20A line, a URH power cable to the Manley (my amp and preamp have custom power cords with round military connector), and 7 of the MC-0.5's plugged into the wall and into unused conditioner outlets.
I personally am not aware of any shills on this forum and hope there are not. No one has steered me wrong yet. |
Benjie: Here is what I have found. First, in my system the signal cables made a bigger difference than power cables. IC>speaker cables>power cables. And the closer to the source, the bigger the difference. The MC-0.5s made a difference similar to upgrading a level of cables each time I added one but they are still breaking in, so I am not sure of their final effect. I would imagine there to be a point of diminishing returns on HFC products but I haven't reached it yet. Going up the line on signal cables seemed to accelerate the further up the line I went, at least to UR products, but others who have been lucky enough to hear URH and Pro signal cables say the change in sonics is even greater, as they should be with the accelerating prices. I also heard a great effect in adding my URH power conditioner. So I have found like the others that it seems the more the magnets, the better the sound, although their position also affects the effectiveness of the sonic improvements as I mentioned earlier. I would venture that if you have experienced big improvements in your systems and like the effects, you will, like me, probably run out of money before reaching the point where the products stop improving the sound. |
As far as expanding AC outlets, I was noticing on the Audio Advisor website some Audioquest 3 outlet power cord adapters for $34.95 each. This adapter appears to be more robust than cheap power strips. It fits on the end of a 15 amp power cord that could then be plugged into an AC outlet, providing 3 AC ports that could each hold a MC-0.5 magnetic waveguide. Seems like an inexpensive way to hold a couple of extra waveguides. I may give this route a go as I have some decent extra power cords around to fit the AQ adapter. |
hifial, thanks. Looks like a cheap alternative although not really sure why the power cord/AQ adapter wouldn't work. Guess I will try what has been already tried first. |
I bought one of those YellowJacket AC splitters ($15 at my local hardware store) with the 2 ft cable and expanding one outlet to three. After disconnecting the single MC-0.5 magnetic waveguide that I previously had in the only unused AC outlet that is in parallel with the outlet that powers my HFC URH power conditioner, I plugged into it the splitter. I then stole 2 waveguides from the unused outlets of the power conditioner to fill the other 2 expansion slots in the splitter, along with the waveguide I disconnected. This made a huge difference in the magic midrange that HFC products improve, i.e. huge soundstage, more immediacy, transparency, speed, dynamics, detail, tactility, ease. So two conclusions: the use of a cabled splitter works as others here have posted, and the MC-0.5 makes a much greater difference upstream of the power conditioner than downstream.
So I was wondering: Has anyone daisy-chained splitters? I was thinking of using a splitter in the parallel AC outlet, into which I would plug in three more splitters of some configuration, giving a total of 9 outlets into which to place MC-0.5s. For the math wizzes out there, each added level would increase by a factor of 3 (i.e. cube) available AC outlets. I suppose there is a limit to this idea but wondering whether anyone else has thought of this or tried it. |
My wife says I am not trainable but every once in a while I shock her. I can just see her rolling her eyes as I tell her what I paid for audio cable containing magnets. The audiophile nightmare: coming home from a business trip and my wife tells me she sold all of my audio equipment for what I told her I paid for it. |
Hi, Dave: I actually have two of these lighted 12 gauge power block cords that convert from one AC connector to three using a 2 foot cord. One is a YellowJacket #2882 by Coleman Cable, which has a fan-shaped connection block, and the other is a UtiliTech Pro #0067995 that has a flat connection block. I plugged the UtiliTech into the AC outlet upstream of my power conditioner and the YellowJacket into one of the 3 ports, so I now have a total of 5 of the MC-0.5s plugged into the 2 power blocks. It seems these make a bigger difference here than plugging the waveguides into the unused AC outlets on the conditioner. So it may be that the waveguides are required to magnetize the cords but at least they are short.
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ozzy, thanks. I can't use those multi-way plugs since it would block another AC outlet in my 4-outlet box (quadplex). However, there are some others I might try including an angled multi-way plug and even one of those 5-outlet adapters shaped like a starfish that I could plug into the power block. |
Yes, I did take 4 MC-0.5s from the unused AC outlets in my HFC URH power conditioner and place them into a YellowJacket power block that is connected to an unused AC outlet parallel to the conditioner: 2 each into the powerblock itself, and 3 in a right-angled AC adapter that goes from one to three AC outlets (I had taken one from the AC wall outlet to make 5 total). And I can confirm that the closer to the wall, the better the magnetic effect, and that these waveguides work their magic better upstream of the power conditioner than in the unused AC conditioner outlets. Music was simply mesmerizing with the dimensionality and immediacy improvements wrought by these things. |
There are numerous reviews on HFC products: the internet, publications, user reviews. The Stereophile review by Art Dudley seems flawed at best: there is no indication he allowed the adapters to break in and he has a penchant for vintage gear. And Stereophile is on the internet. But who cares, anyway? Whether someone else hears what I hear with these products, and there are many who report so, is of no consequence to me. |
audiolabyrinth: you have completely missed my original intentions. First, you infer that the Art Dudley Stereophile review is the first "professional" as well as accurate real-world review of HFC cables, when obviously this is false. There are hundreds of user, internet, and professional publication reviews that almost all disagree with Mr. Dudley's findings. I, for one, don't hold any one review as the end-all truth, especially if it is in the vast minority. I have been reading Stereophile regularly for 26 years and Mr. Dudley has eclectic tastes in music and gear, so perhaps the HFC products do not improve the sound of this type of vintage gear, my main intent in raising the issue. He also gave no indication that he followed the advice given on most of the 3000+ posts on this thread: HFC products require significant break-in time to sound their best, something corroborated by my own experience. Or he simply did not like the changes wrought by HFC magnetic adapters--no arguing in matters of taste, no? So, yes, I am questioning his review, for what I feel are pertinent reasons. Personally I have no problem with your posts on this forum but it comes across as if you wish to disparage these cables admired by so many with little or no indication of your personal experience with them, and appear to have ulterior motives such as hijacking the thread with superfluous statements as evidenced in your multiple posts above. |
audiolabryinth: No amount of posts guarantees superiority of thought, i.e. quantity does not guarantee quality. Nor is any one review the gospel truth. There is no arguing in matters of taste, correct? Do you remember the Stereophile review of the infamous Light Cables where the reviewer proclaimed them a sonic revolution, where subsequent tests indicated they were essentially massive harmonic distortion generators? This issue then went quietly away, obviously due to well-deserved embarrassment. I for one would greatly prefer that you stick to the intent of this thread and discuss HFC cables. Personally I do not need reviews to tell me the sonic virtues of products.
Benjie: I also have wondered about the use of degaussing of systems. When I demagnetize my phono cartridge I disconnect the HFC URH cables at the turntable end and insert some nonmagnetic interconnects to it and my phono demagnetizer, then re-introducing the HFC cables after demagnetizing. Not sure about degaussing the entire system since the intent IS to magnetize your system, and whenever I disconnect HFC products the sonic levels diminish until the system re-magnetizes. If you decide to use degaussing methods I would not think that it would have any permanent effect on the magnets used in HFC products, but I also think it would have little effect on demagnetizing the system as well. Maybe someone else could weigh in here. |
There are two general types of posters on most online forums: those who are interested in advancing current knowledge, and those who undermine current knowledge with ulterior selfish motives. When the latter types begin dominating forums is when I stop wasting my time reading them and move on to something more refreshing. The nice thing about this thread is that most people seem genuinely interested in advancing the knowledge of these state-of-the-art products, from which I have benefited greatly. Thanks to all of your for this. |
I have an Essence power amp and preamp that use a power cord with a custom round military connector, so I cannot use an HFC power cord with these. They use a power cord with electronics and are called power bridges, which I plug into my HFC URH power conditioner. |
I have not yet reached a limit on MC-0.5 Waveguides when plugging them into an unused outlet which also feeds my HFC URH power conditioner. At one point I had just one waveguide plugged into this port and 5 plugged into the power conditioner outlets, but found that they are more effective in parallel with the conditioner than when plugged into the conditioner outlets. I now use a 2 ft long power block, into which I have a starfish-shaped 5 outlet splitter, into which I have a 1-to-3 angled outlet splitter, for a total of 7 waveguides. When I first tried this the music initially sounded "small" and un-dynamic but quickly expanded after a few minutes' use. I will probably add some more 1-to-3 angled splitters and more waveguides to the starfish splitter. |
With all of the recent talk about the MC-0.5s and their great effect for the money, which I agree with, I forgot how much of an improvement it makes jumping up a level of cables. I just sold my U speaker cables to apply toward a purchase of UR speaker cables, and the improvement is startling. Big, immediate, and dynamic. So as usual, you get what you pay for. I can only imagine what the Pro cables sound like. In the meantime, more MC-0.5s here I go. |
The nice thing, as usual, with HFC stuff is that even crappy recordings sound great. Having your rig sound good on the great recordings is easy. Doing this with ridiculously bad recordings is a much tougher act. I am even thinking of getting out that totally asinine recording of Bruce Springsteen Born To Run. If HFC products can overwhelm that hideously overdubbed execrable recording I will be impressed indeed. Many recent recordings also come to mind that feature about 3 dB of dynamic range. |
Benjie: Thanks for the information on your system and travails of using power conditioners. I have never had luck with them on power amps, even the very nice PS Audio jobs as they do seem to rob the system of dynamics and immediacy. I currently use an HFC URH power conditioner that does all the things you mentioned: tactility, dynamics, and immediacy. I find myself listening to jazz albums more than ever and hearing things I have never heard before. I also have a full loom of URH signal cables and upgrading the speaker cables from U to UR was an amazing improvement, so I think that with the riddance of the conventional power conditioner in your system you will continue to hear improvements. Now to figure out how to get URH and Pro signal cables......
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brownie1946: Dang, I have been on this forum just so that I could use the word loom for the first time since I quit my high school job as loom weaver in a cotton mill. |
Yep, HFC prices are not for the weak and faint-hearted. Once you hear what they can do you will of course think they are worth it. The XLR's I believe have 3 signal conductors so that might explain the price increase over unbalanced cables.
On another note, has anyone tried adding the magnetic adapters to their HFC cables, either upstream or downstream? Just wondering whether it makes a worthwhile difference. |
Ddraudt, with the changes I heard in my system when upgrading from Ultimate to Ultimate Reference speaker cables, I can only imagine going from UR to Pro. Probably a good thing I can't afford them as my wife would never get me out of the listening room. Let us know how the sound changes as they break in. I find HFC products to initially sound lean, quick, airy, and detailed to slowly become warmer, more immediate and dimensional with a great sense of ease and improved bass. |
I read the article, thanks Romazicon, and it supports exactly what I have found in adding MC-0.5s to my system. While adding them to the unused outlets of my URH power conditioner improves the sound, it makes a bigger difference when adding them to an unused wall outlet that also feeds the conditioner. I now have 7 of them paralleled into that unused wall outlet using Home Depot AC splitters and plan to get some more shortly. I just decided that with all of the HFC upgrades that I wanted to let them break in to see how far it goes before adding anything else, and I have not been disappointed. |
Has anyone seen and/or tried the Surreal Acoustic Lens shown on the HFC website? What is this thingabob doodad? It looks as if it attaches to the dustcap or phase plug of a speaker driver but a paucity of other information. I wonder how it would affect my single drivers. Maybe I will give Rick a call next week to discuss it. Thanks. |
I use HFC Ultimate Reference cables from my turntable to my phono stage since my turntable has DIN-to-RCA connectors and my Steelhead phono stage has RCA inputs. Rick Schultz told me early on that all of the cables are of identical build (at any level) and only differ in connectors, so I am guessing that the phono cables would have the same effect as the regular RCA-terminated versions. I thought the cables at this position had the greatest effect in sonic improvement. |
