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
Calloway, Yes I have 2 duplex outlets to the wall. One Pro pc and 5 MC-0.5s plugged in there with the help of a 3 way splitter. My power distribution box has 3 HF power cords pugged in with one 0.5 In each of the outlets that each of the power cords are plugged into. equalling 8 MC-0.5s at this time. I hope to get 6 more. I would suggest you experiment with plugging your .5s one into each outlet with one pc in each outlet and see what that sounds like.
Warbling sound, I had a sound I describe as that once, I had to restart my DSD system to make it stop. was due to a misalignment between server and hard drive.
In my system the sound is moving from layered sound stage to 3 dimensional! The Bass is the most outstanding It has ever been! The mids are so real, amazing. the symbols move in air like Ive never heard, the brass wow! And to hear the piano sound so real is astonishing!
I am finding that adding more after a initial 4 mc-0.5, there is more refinement, smoothness and realness.
The thing is, bass also goes deeper and with more impact, It does however, seem to start shifting the midrange bass fullness and vocals (clearer) but also starts leaning out. Not that it sounds lean, but its cleaning up this region maybe a tad much.
I still find it sounds awesome and having more improvements still. This could be system dependent,but for you guys especially those using the cables as well. Is this a trait of the cables - very neutral and balanced sounding, so midrange is not all all warm but still very clear and neutral?
Hello benjie I have the MC-6 Hemisphere. Plugged into it is my pre amp, SACD/CD player, my TV and sat. box along with 2 MC O.5s. If your MC-6 is full of Mc O.5 you would have that plugged into the same wall plug as another MC-6 that could have your equipment plugged into or just one power cord to a single piece of equipment. This technology seam to benefit the whole wall plug and any thing attached. It seams the more magnets on the line makes better music so far. Enjoy Pete
Hi tbg How did you get 7 MC o.5 plugged into your MC-6? Best i can tell they only hold 6 MC O.5s? are you using a splitter there to? Is your MC-6 a Hemisphere or just the MC-6? About how many hours do you have on it? Thanks Pete
68pete, I am glad that you mentioned the breakin on the MC-6. I found that initially it sounded better than the next day. Being one Dave's "crazy" friends I now have eleven MC-0.5s and seven of them in the MC-6. I am still finding good and bad days. But the demonstration I heard with MC-0.5 installed one at a time and in remote areas and then closer to my system. Each drew out more detail, more precise location of performers relative to each other and as you mention more defined and deep.
We often talk about a holographic image. Well that is what you get, save that it is too real to be a holograph. They are selling like hot cakes.
Hi lak I have the upgrade model Hemisphere break in is long. Right out of the case it sounded good. But with about 10 to 15 hours on it it got dark and a little smaller sounding closed in. (The sound was still very clean sounding) I am not sure exactly about the 50 hour mark it started to open up again slowly got better. I felt it was going in spurts of changing for the better then level off some for a while then increase for the better. I have a little over 100 hours on mine and its still changing. When i talked to Rick he told me the MC O6 Hemisphere was very different than the MC O6 not only upgrade plugs but trickle down technology from their top of line conditioner. I not know if this answered your question. You might try contacting Rick at HF he is good at responding to questions good luck. Enjoy Pete
68pete or anyone else; In your opinion, how many hours are required to break in of the MC-6 Power Distributor (the original one, not upgraded). Thanks...
Hi ddraudt I have the MC 6 Hemisphere with 2 MC O.5 plugged into it. Alone with my pre amp, sacd/cd player the tv and sat. box MC 6 Hemisphere has a long break in time. Adding the 2 MC O.5 improved it even more, but not as much as adding the MC O.5 to the power line of the amp. Enjoy Pete
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.
ddraudt..do you have 2 of the MC-0.5s situated directly next to 2 or more of the HF pcs..?..say in a quad outlet complex..?when i tried placing 2 of the MC-0.5s in the left outlet, in a quad, with 2 of the HF pcs in the rt outlet of the quad..i heard a warbling sound..
Pete, I have a 3 way splitter that sounded good after 3 to 5 days and have seen friends use the one you describe with a power cord in the middle but, like you, I don't like plugging my Pro power cord into an adapter. My first choice was to add a second outlet to the wall, which I did but soon ran out of plug space, Second, I plugged 3 of the .5s into my distribution box. Great but ran out of plugs. 3rd I used 3 more in a $3 splitter and it sounds great ( after the splitter broke in ). With 8 the Bass is amazing, I have more power and veils have been lifted! more interesting is the layering in the soundstage, the air, the emotion and involvement. I heard from a friend today who has 11 of the .5s with HFC's MC 6 to plug 6 into. He said it is like standing 2 ft from a live performer and the the Bass is the best he has ever heard. I may try the MC6 or build my own splitters out of good stuff. I could add 6 more by getting 3 more splitters from LOWES. And Yes, I know a guy who has tried 18 of them and raved about the sound... so I am not even as crazy as they. ;-) D
Ozzy, thanks for your concern. I'm involved with the radical fringe of audio called "no limits audio" so I'm crazier that the normal audio crazy that effects most of us here. At this moment, my system sounds more amazing that any I've heard IMHO and I am getting a new amp and an upgraded source soon. I have my eye on a pro speaker cable too. I have a never ending set of parameters to try and many projects I have not started yet like an overall grounding upgrade and even more room treatments. I spend most of my days listening to music and communicating with my crazy audio friends, giving and getting suggestions and advice.
Have been listening now 4 hours. Just add 2 more MC O.5 for total of 3 on my dedicated line that feeds my amp. The 3 MC O.5 are all plugged into a 3 to 1 splitter plug. With the amp plugged into the socket right below it. The sound is very very good across the board. The soundstage has not got any bigger, but it does only have 4 hours on it. The 3 way splitter makes a "T" with one pointing right, one pointing left, both parallel to the rear wall and the third stick straight from the wall. I thought about plugging the power cord from the amp in to the center plug on the splitter. Then put the 3rd MC O.5 right below, but i have never liked adapters on my power cords. Has any one tried it that way? If you do that way you could put 5 MC O.5 on one line. I still have 2 MC O.5 to in stall later in the week, want to here the 2 i add today for a couple of days. This will bring my total of MC O.5 to 8 when i in stall the last 2. So far more MC O.5 has made much better music in my system. Enjoy Pete
I heard a suggestion about getting an MC6 and 6 MC-0.5s and using that to add 6 more .5s to the system. Something I hope to try. As well as other ways to add more. Because?? It is a huge thrill for me to make my audio sound more real! Any slight improvement at this point takes me to sonic places I've never traveled. The MC-0.5s are no small improvement in my system and 20 of them is still a small fraction of one Pro IC. The Pro IC is out of this world amazing and I very highly recommend them. But for the non uber rich, where the choice is between an interconnect and a car, The MC-0.5s are the biggest bang for the buck I've EVER heard. for me 8 is not enough. Cheers D
justubes2, I hear much improvement with the .5s like described by others. I my system adding 6,7,8 was similar to going up a cable level. I think that, after you go past controlling the obvious sonic changes with MC-0.5s or a better HFC cable... the added increase does sound like more shape and spaced and naturalness with more real, emotive and effortless.
Rick and crew are right on top of it. My 6 MC O.5 arrived today. So i plugged 2 of them into the unused outlets of my Hemisphere. A fair amount of increase in base right out of the case. Not bloated or in your face base. Very tight and natural sounding. It got better across the board just richer sounding but base was most noticeable. The other 4 MC O.5 i will add a little later Monday or Tuesday. I need to go by some splinter or cheater plugs to add them to my dedicated line and the other line i use that is not dedicated. If they sound as good as i hope(i think they will) i will purchase 4 more to add to the back of my PSaudio P10. But that may not happen until next month. Enjoy Pete
Funny, maybe adding the the 5th gave me exactly what you described, no further unreal improvements you described when new and it mellows out , to me seems more natural and starts to sound more relaxed. Eitherway, it does sound good too, but not certain which sound I prefer. It probably tend toward the exiciting sound character you describe when they are first inserted.
Guess I have to let them run more and see what happens to the sound.
So does the improvements continue after run in at the same incremetal rate as the 1st few mc0.5s added.
The URH rrp is wow high!
My cables are around the plain U, but got at a good discount, so they should still be very decent. so on the fence of even trying, the top models might be too high unless I could be certain thay made such a tremendous unreal improvement and had a chance to compare with the likes of other mega priced cable before considering the investment.
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.
1 by 1 till about 4, effect was a gain across the board in all hifi aspects and the sound totally transformed! It was like 2 levels up, it was bigger than an upgrade of cables to the next level at twice the cost. One of the value for the money tweaks.
Adding more, didnt increase those aspects and further, I didnt feel my sytem needed any more clarity and detail.
The 5th onwards just changed the sound in a more natural way, no further improvements or as large impact in those aspects I had described when hitting the 3rd and 4th piece.
There is more changes going on definately with 6th piece, improvements not as dramatic and need to evaluate more.
I am maxed with spare outlets currently
4 pieces hit the sweet spot for me and could be happy at that point.
Hello justubes2 How are you using the mc 0.5 in your system? When you say the sound changed when you add more to a different sound what did you mean? What kind of break in time do you have on them? Thanks Pete
I found adding them, until reaching 4 mc-0.5's the resolution, bass, dynamic, detail, focus drastically improved, thereafter, adding more starts changing the sound in a different direction - opening the sound and becomes more natural.
I seem to also like what i feel is the minimum, 3-4 units for me, adding more is nice as well but seems to change differently. I'll give it more burn in to evaluate further.
Is there an optimal amount to use? i'm not too sure by the comments that adding them infinitely leads to greater improvement each time, limited to cost alone?
Their higher range which has more advance magnetic technology cost quite a fair bit and as i see it, the entry level cables magnetic technology appeareas to be very similar to adding the mc-0.5.
So adding a few will still be below the cost of the entry series cables and totally worth it.
I absolutely agree, whilst any upgraded fuse would usually show an improvement.
For me, the latest hype on fuses is way below what you get with these adaptors, for about the same money as the 5 fuses, 3 mc0.5 made a way larger change than those.
Each mc0.5 show a clearer improvement and the 3rd just started to transform the sound. I have a few more mc0.5s to add but need some adaptors which I need madeup.
As I ascertain, way more value and milage over those fuses, which are overpriced for what improvement they do, so a nay for me.
Recommend these mc-0.5 very highly!
As a non hfc cable user, minimun of 3 in one circuit is where things really change!
I have been using heavy duty splitters with Silibant 22, and at least 3 days break-in. perhaps there are audiophile splitters out there that would sound better???
knghifi, MAD.... you bet! ;-) 8 of the MC-0.5s sound so much better than 4 that I am considering 12. Better how you my ask! Well... everything is much better... extended both top and bottom, but not only extended but smoother more natural highs and lower, tighter, crisper faster Bass. More natural overall with much better defined soundstage, more depth and width and solid image, quieter more fine detail, more involving, more musical, more effortless. The Magic abounds! No words do it justice. I've been told by audio elite that my systems sound is rare and one seldom experienced in life, so to make it this much better is a real thrill. YMMV depending on how MAD your system is. Enjoy the Music! D
68pete, I am experiment with simple plug in splitters. I found a 3 outlet splitter at Lowes that i am trying that is from "Protect Source". it is green and it's shape allows me to use without blocking nearby outlets. The splitter itself sounded awful for 3 days break-in. Bright and edgy. But it sound better today. I saw Rick use an old orange 3 way plugging 2 .5s in either side and the power cord into the end. it sounded great! but I am crazy about outlets and wires so I have thoughts of building my own splitter. perhaps Master Rick should build a splitter for $500.
Just ordered 6 more MC 0.5 to bring my total to 8 will report later next week on how they work. Going to give the 3 way cheater plug a try and try adding to the unused sockets on my Hemisphere 6. Does any one know will any 3 way cheater plug work on a 20 amp line? Enjoy Pete
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.
hello to HFC products users, i read an science article from the internet, it quotes that magnets loses its magnetism over time (longer for natural rare earth minerals). Even at room temperature, the atoms in the magnetic objects vibrate rapidly. Occasionally, these vibrations cause atoms to fall out of alignment with the rest of the object in the magnetic domain. Normally this process is slow, taking years to be noticeable. any physicist would like to add further opinions? and any "shelf life" for HFC products as their cables are subject to electrical signals on & off when we switch on & switch off our audio gears...
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.
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.
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