My CT-1 interconnects arrived today. My initial impressions are that they are great looking, well built and come in a nice case. I'll let them play for a couple of days before sharing listening impressions as I know their magnetic influences takes a couple of days to build up.
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
3,655 responses Add your response
GL mac48025 After ~30 hours, 4 MC-0.5's are settling nicely. No darkness or hardness following day after break in with TVs for 100 hours. All I can say is WOW! It's like turbo charger kicked in and everything explodes in all direction. Sound stage expanded in all directions, trailing notes lingers and lingers ..., more decay, improved separation between lyrics, more air ... so far all positives. Going from 2 to 6 is more dramatic than initial 2. How many do you have 68pete?? I can't imagine SQ adding another 22. Yikes! Is there a law of diminishing returns to this madness? I'm going to add 2 new PCs from wall to Weizhis Wed so going to enjoy my system for a while before adding more MC-0.5s. Highly Recommended! |
Hi knghifi Happy to hear your new MC O5s are working out great for you. AT 28 i have not hit the wall of no diminishing returns. At 13 on my amp power line and another 15 on the line that feeds my front end, there has been no disappointment yet. I believe that at last years Newport Audio show Rick had 24 on one power line. There is no cure for the madness and i will be adding more later. Enjoy Pete |
New review of HFC's Trinity Helix headphone module. Pretty much my experience as well: https://audiobacon.net/2017/03/16/high-fidelity-cables-trinity-helix-review/ |
My CT-1 IC update after three days. Thankfully I knew it was going to take some time for these IC's to establish their magnetic effect as they were rather pedestrian the first two days. Not bad, but certainly no better than the Cerious GE IC's they replaced. Well, that really changed starting last night. I was only half listening as I was playing the Cowboy Junkies. I love how this cd is miked and recorded and the CT-1 was revealing everything in its full glory. The cymbals sounded more natural with longer decay than ever, that's what initially caught my attention. I started really listening and was struck by how natural Margo's voice sounded. The guitars seemed to be in the room. A blacker background allowed more details to emerge. While imaging isn't super important to me I was enjoying the separation of the musicians in a way I had not heard before. At the end of the cd when the performers put their instruments down and are talking I was able to discern words and background sounds much more clearly than ever. I doubt that the cables have inserted their full effect into my system yet but they are already something special. Thanks to all those that advocated a High Fidelity IC/ Cerious GE SC combination......its stellar. Lastly, the Cerious GE IC's are very good but in conjunction with the GE speake cables are a bit too laid back for my liking. The CT-1's add some sparkle and detail without any harsh artifacts. |
Mac48025, Hi Mac - sounds like you are having fun with High Fidelity stuff!! On the MC-0.5s. To me they sounded better at the wall then in any power distribution box. I have a dozen at the wall for one dedicated line using 3 way splitters. I add 4 at a time and each time I liked the improvement of veils lifted and more life entering. Thanks for describing you experiences!! Cheers D |
Hi Pete. I got 4 more in today, I live in Texas so they only take one day to arrive. Now that they have more in stock. I have 16 now. I'm glad I got more. I have all 16 at the wall where my system plugs in. It's quite a feat to strain relief all those filters and 3 way splitters. It is a dedicated 10AWG line with special breakers and connections. I am using only one line (of 4) right now. First day going from 12 to 16 MC-0.5s.. I heard myself exclaim Wow! a number of times during the first listening session. I got more than I expected for a first day with new filters and new splitters. Though lacking refinement at first, it was instantly more lifelike. That makes me happy. The sound improved as the day went on but I have witnessed splitters and filters to taking 100 hours or more to settle so more to come. I'll report next week. Yes is my recommendation on HFC power cords... I remember being Shocked to hear how huge an improvement my first magnetic power cord was. It seemed impossible that a single power cord could transform my entire system, lifting it to an entirely other level of performance. It was an Ultimate power cord. I have upgraded power cords many time and have been thrilled by the improvements every time. I have 2 Pro and 2 URH power cords now. It is interesting to me how great the MC-0.5s work, even with the top of the line HFC stuff. The RCA magnetic extenders work very well on my Pro interconnect. I hope that they have more of those in stock soon. I say that the MC-0.5 and RCA adaptors are the biggest bang for the buck of the magnetic stuff. I am extremely happy with all my High Fidelity cords, cables and filters and will not let go of ANY of them except to upgrade. If you hear them you will want them. Cheers D |
Hello ddraudt High Fidelity just made it much harder to choose. On their Face Book Page they show some pictures of speaker cable adaptors. Not much info on them. I hope they make them for both speaker end and amp end of the speaker cable. I use several pair of their speaker jumpers and it looks like you could add them on the jumpers to. Hope they have more info on them soon. Let us know how the new MC O% sound once fully broken in. Enjoy Pete |
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? |
Hi Mr britt. a very specific question. In my experience, plugging into the wall outlet had a greater effect than into a power filter. I have 2 duplex outlets connected together with the same wire so electrically they are the same point and physically their is about 6 inches of wire between. So 6 inches downstream from where the system is plugged in. I built a short cord to a 3rd duplex outlet which plugs into one of the outlets at the wall. This to make it easier to plug in 16 MC-0.5s at one spot. 12 inches downstream. I have heard the MC-0.5s make an improvement in power boxes and even plugged into outlets NOT connected to the system but in the same room. in both cases the effect was less that at the wall outlet of the system. hope that helps. Cheers D |
Pete, Thanks for the heads up on the speaker adaptors on Facebook. They are not out yet, but they will sell in sets of 4, so adaptors for both ends. Different adaptors for each end so we need to look closely during set up... FYI Magnetic power cords effect the system differently than signal cords. Similar in that they both are a huge upgrade in sound. Different in that they effect different areas of the system. The greatest improvement is in having both. |
I am grateful for High Fidelity Cables, not because I own the cables, although I have demo'd them. Mostly, seeing their price tags a few years ago and the numbers of people who I generally respect who have bought them made me realize how seemingly crazy this hobby can get. I have worked successfully in finance for 25 years, so I can easily afford these cables, but I originally come from a blue collar family and just could not bring myself to fork over HFC-like money for cables and power cords. HFC finally led me to realize that this hobby has unhealthy, addictive characteristics and I have happily just enjoyed the music for the last three years or so, changing nothing about my setup (except switching to a computer-based source, mostly to improve convenience without sacrificing sound quality. ) I have HFC and this thread to thank for that. I am not trying to be snarky or dismissive of others -- I just trace the change in my own behavior to the rise of the popularity of HFC. And I realize there are far worse hobbies than being an audiophile, so I am not trying to dismiss anyone for staying fully involved in this one. |
@mcondon agreed. though i have not worked the last 13 years, so i can't afford much! kidding, as i'm a stay at home dad and my wife makes decent money, but growing up working class made me look at some of these cable prices and decide instantly to go the DIY route. which has been incredibly satisfying. no judgement on $$$ cable buyers. or almost anyone, really. i just have my own set of values.. |
mcondon and todd, IT was the HFC cable that started me spending more on audio. I grew up with little and saved everything my whole life. Once I saved enough to buy a second house, and as I approach 70, I decided to try to loosen my grip on money and enjoy what is left of my life. My wild spending has given me the most magical sound I could have never imagined possible, Daily awe and amazement. I like the statement "being fully involved in audio". I did enjoy the DIY stuff for decades. This is a totally different world. I hope all enjoy their music. D PS I often answer question privately for those who don't wish to post. |
@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! |
Hi misterbritt You can use a 3 to 1 splitter and plug them all into the 20 amp outlet that your power conditioner is plugged into. You can even stack the splitters onto of each other to add more MC O5s. I have 13 on my power line that feeds my conditioner all in the same outlet. What power conditioner are you useing? Enjoy Pete |
Hi All Here's my report on going from 12 to 16 MC-0.5s at the wall. After 5 days the improvement is splendid! 3D imaging like I'd never imagine. Everything I play sounds so much more live more involving. Makes me want to play EVERYTHING. I am engulfed in the soundstage. I started a familiar track and everyone in the room went Wow at the same time... quiet enough to lift more vales, even were no vales were detected. ultimate rich detail with effortless delivery and a "like being there" experience. Cheers D |
@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. |
Hi lak I think it would depend on the power strip and the power cord. Some power strips add more noise to the power. The power cord would have to be very short,19 inches or less. With the 2 different 3 to 1 splitters i use i can get 13 MC O5s in a short amount of space, less than a 19 inch power cord length. The splitters are cheap compared to a good power strip and a good short power cord. The splitters work well giving me great sound upgrade across the board. If its working well and not broke no need for a change. The more MC O5s in a shorter distance seams to work well for me. Hello misterbritt I use to use a PSaudio P10 and found for me the more MC O5s That where plugged into the same wall plug as the P10 worked best and when plugged into the open sockets of the P10. It just did not sound as good. Later i add a MC 6 Hemisphere, That was plugged into the P10and after a long break in of the Hemisphere. That sounded pretty good, then i removed the P10 from the loop completely and the sound just took off to a much more enjoyable sound with more detail and much wider sound stage. enjoy Pete |
@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. |
Pro series speaker cables finally arrived yesterday. They have replaced a set of CT-1U speaker cables. Despite Pro Series RCA interconnects and Pro Series power chord already in the system, and even without full break-in, this is probably the largest SQ jump yet that my system has seen. Very difficult to wipe the smile off my face :). |
I received two of the mc-05’s today. My first HF product. Began experimenting with my video setup first by plugging one into the wall socket my Surgex is plugged into and the other into the Surgex itself on the same receptacle the plasma tv is plugged into. Noticed an improvement in clarity and definition after about 5-10 minutes. But got even better results when I took out the wall mc-05 and put it in the Surgex into the same receptacle the blu ray player is plugged into. It did take 5-10 minutes for it to take effect after unplugging from the wall into the Surgex. Haven’t begun playing around yet with my two channel setup but it seems people are letting their mc-05’s burn in for 100 hours or so before noticing good improvements in their audio. Are there ill effects of plugging and unplugging these mc-05’s in different places in the audio setup or is it best to plug them in one spot and let them do their thing for several days? |
Hello t_ramey Have found they are at their best when plugged in and left alone one spot was better. Each time you move them it will take a little time to settle in where you moved them to. I do not believe moving them around hurts them in any way. Just takes longer for them to get into your sound or video system. enjoy Pete |
I initially bought two of the mc 05’s and played around with them on my video setup and noticed picture quality improved after several minutes. I kept one at the outlet for my video and put the other at the outlet for my stereo. Things did sound a little subdued and laid back at first and kinda hazy but after 4 or 5 days things really opened up and vocals especially were sounding crisp and clear and a little forward, which I like. I got 4 more mc 05’s on Wednesday this week and placed one in each of the two remaining outlets in the room that’s on the same circuit and put the extra two on the stereo outlet with a 3-1 prong so now now there’s 3 there. Everything kinda took a step back initially but after two days it’s sounding better and hoping by Sunday or Monday it gets even better. To those that have several of these, what’s the ongoing benefit? Does the sound become more and more natural after each set is added? |
t_ramey The sound for me became much much more natural, extremely clear with no harshness at all. Background voices and instruments became much more noticeable. Base became much tighter and focused no bloat. The darkness between notes if you will was dark and detailed.Things in the background seam to float more in space with detail and clarity. Voices became fuller and richer sounding. Acoustic guitar string sounded much richer cleaner defined. I just add 4 more MC O5s for a total of 32 in my system and love the influence they have over my system.(the last 4 are still breaking in, but i could tell in a positive way that they had been added) enjoy Pete |
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Hello aniwolfe I could not really say. They work well for me and they are not to expensive compared to some tweaks.You can add them as you can afford it. The performance for the price is the best i have found. Easy to install or change if the need presents it. Its works with all my gear. Yes if i could afford it and find away to fit them all in i would have 68 of them. Enjoy Pete |
t_ramey You asked what the improvement was like adding many MC-0.5s... I think 68pete s' description of the improvements was spot on! It well described the improvements in my system. I would add that horns are more natural, more detailed, more suspended in air with space around them, more lifelike, more effortless. I think 16 is a good number for one circuit, but I still want to hear 20. 24. Pete has 2 circuits and I wonder if he has 16 on each? 68pete- how are you MC-0.5s configured? |
I agree that MC-0.5s are one of the biggest bang for the buck of any audio improvement, so when i have extra money and want more vales lifted for a more live sound, I get more of them. I also think the RCA adaptors are a great improvement for the money. I've heard tell that some have doubled the RCA adaptors for even more improvement. RCA added to PRO interconnects made much more music. Noticeable price difference between Pro IC and RCA adaptors. ;-) D |
