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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
alpass

Showing 12 responses by misterbritt

misterbritt
22 posts
 
And back to this new process or treatment some of you guys are talking about, please. How does that work? Do you schedule an appointment to have them refurbished and send them to their office in Texas? Does High Fidelity charge for this service? How much? What's the estimated turnaround time, please?

misterbritt
22 posts
 
Excellent. Thank you, ddraudt.

Just curious on a related note, has anyone taken advantage of their trade-up program? My understanding -- and this is actually my question -- is that they will give the owner full original retail price credit against an upgrade. Is that correct? Anyone done that? 

misterbritt
22 posts
 
@ddraudt Let me see if I'm following you. You started with a pair of bananas and one was defective. You are returning those and replacing them with spades. Is that the scenario, please?
misterbritt
22 posts
 
Two unrelated questions. How did you break a banana? And do you use a HFC power conditioner in your system? I have at least looked at every thread on this post, but if that was discussed I don’t recall it, or any meaningful discussion of HFC’s power conditioners -- with the exception of the MC-0.5s.

On a related note, do you run your amps straight from the wall or through a conditioner?

I’m having some Reveal items made and I’m curious about the banana versus spade on the speaker cables; and I’m also curious about whether it makes sense to have some especially long Reveal power cords made in order to use my current non-HFC conditioning system.

I will say that in my discussion with HFC when I was cobbling together my order (which I detailed on another thread here, the one dedicated to the Reveal line -- you know, the cheap seats -- ha), that I was informed that the totemic power order of HFC’s magic is: Power, then ICs, then speaker cables, then jumpers. I didn’t really ask if by "power" they meant power conditioners first, then power cords. But I was clearly informed that HFC considers power the number one priority. I was wondering what your thoughts and experience are along these lines, please.

misterbritt
22 posts
 
Hi guys. Thanks for the posts. Yes, it is helpful to me to see what you all are doing. 
misterbritt
22 posts
 
There is a separate and dedicated thread called: High fidelity REVEAL interconnects. There is a smattering of discussion from a couple of early adaptors there. I don't think HFC is in regular production of the Reveal line yet.   
misterbritt
22 posts
 
@knghifi I believe that shorter cable runs are more desirable in RCA signal cable, especially phono and speaker. In balanced signal cable I think it is much less so. For instance, I am having HFC make me some 7 meter long balanced Reveal signal cables and I asked them about bang for the buck by adding an additional wave guide and they talked me out of it but said it could be done. They just thought the investment could be better spent elsewhere.

Which brings us to power cables. Yes, I was informed additional wave guides could also be added to power cables. They did not push back from the idea of making a very long run of power cables with regard to compromising the quality of the signal. Indeed, my impression was that a longer power cable run was no problem, but again, a longer RCA (as opposed to balanced) signal cable, as well as speaker cables, could be problematic.

In conclusion, I believe they will indeed add wave guides to RCA signal cables, speaker cables and power cables. I was quoted a price for the additional wave guides but I think it more appropriate for you to give them a call because I am not comfortable quoting custom pricing here. Also, my discussion of pricing was simply for the Reveal line. Call them, they’ll discuss it.

misterbritt
22 posts
 
@knghifi Very good on the update. I spoke to them about a month ago so your response is more recent.

Per your second paragraph, my understanding is that the Reveal line does not have magnetic conduction (connections) at the ends. We're in agreement on that. But also one can see that the wave guides are of a different design from the CT-1s and up. I don’t know about the difference specifically, but they are visually different in their egg shape. In fact, I have a pair of Reveal 1.5M speaker cables but I cannot install them logistically until the long run of balance IC is installed.

Per your third paragraph, I think the materials inside the wave guides are better as you go from CT-1 up the line. I think it is more than just the size of the wave guides. Per a review from 6moons:

"High Fidelity Cables declare that their enhanced version [they were reviewing the CT-1 versus the CT-1 Enhanced] sports a different conductive alloy for higher ferromagnetic permeability and hence increased levels of magnetic conduction and performance."
misterbritt
22 posts
 
Re: MC-0.5s. I have four of these coming my way. I have a single dedicated 20 amp line with three duplexes (sockets) on it. I am only using one duplex, which is sequentially the third of three, the last one, which feeds my (non-HFC) power conditioner. To clarify my understanding ... is the best place to put them any where "upstream" of the power conditioner? I recall reading several contributors here indicating they prefer them at the wall socket rather than in their power conditioner. Am I to understand that the MC-05s should be placed on the line before or "upstream" of the power conditioner? Or is the single best placement at the actual wall socket that feeds the power conditioner?
misterbritt
22 posts
 
@ddraudt Thanks for your reply. I got the four MC-0.5s today. I plugged one directly in to the outlet that powers my conditioner system (but not in to the conditioner itself). The other three are on the same dedicated 20 amp line, but are all upstream of the power conditioner. Let me see how this works. There is really no way to put them downstream of the power conditioner and be on the dedicated 20 amp line.

Does it take a few days for the MC-0.5s to burn in? I've only listened to one side of one LP but so far so good! 
misterbritt
22 posts
 
@68pete I’m using the Shunyata Triton V2 and Typhon combo for conditioner(s). Right now due to logistics the four MC-0.5s I have are all on the single dedicated 20 amp line that powers my system. However, they are all but one upstream upstream of the power conditioner. There's just no way to put them downstream of the outlet into which the power conditioner is plugged in. Do you think that makes a difference? I've only had them one day so I don't really have an opinion about any improvement. But so far so good.
misterbritt
22 posts
 
@68pete Sounds good. There's a lot to consider. I'm going to let the four MC-0.5s I just got yesterday do their thing and burn-in, etc., the way way I have it. With just four I don't really need a power strip or splitter for now. If I elect to add more I will pursue that. The only benefit that I can imagine of using a power strip or splitter at this time is that it would enable me to plug all four of the MC-0.5's into the same exact outlet that is being used with a single power cord for my conditioner(s). So I guess my only concern at this time is whether there is some loss of effectiveness having three of the four MC-0.5s plugged in upstream of that outlet, albeit on the same dedicated 20 amp line. 
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