No issues here and his products have made a significant improvement!
170 responses Add your response
I'd like anyone who had a negative transaction respond to the question posed by @ozzie .
Looks like Rick is using the same magnetic design in the new cables. And the very high price point. |
This is all started for example by @csmgolf who has no idea what they talking about and just make stuff up, repeating a forum post from another anon who made stuff up. Rick is the sort of person who does free upgrades for clients, he bends over backwards to help people out and does not deserve to have liars smear him. He closed Virtual Dynamics in the late 00’s due to the GFC and to relocate to the US to launch the new venture HFC. |
@ozzy Talk to his former employees he left high and dry. I did and everything was auctioned and proceeds went to the landlord. That is enough for me to stay away from this guy and his company. 3 strikes your out, he has two right now.
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I worked 42 years for a company that went bankrupt, lost my pension, healthcare etc. Am I bitter?... It doesn't seem right that any assets went to the creditors. However, the union employees did get some payout, but the salaried workers got nothing. When business failures occur, yes, the employees lose their jobs. Too bad the system doesn't help the workers, but it usually doesn't. ozzy |
Hi, I was one of those that lost out when HFC closed, but luckily only lost a smallish amount. I suspect Business closures can be brutal for all involved, and I was simply unlucky with purchase timing and laws that prioritise creditors first for debts owed :) I have since bought a few products from Rick on this site with no problems and great communication and would be happy to buy more as rick is a very responsive seller with great after sales care, even months after the sale. Whatever you think of the products and price (easy to not buy if you are a sceptic), I think you can trust a purchase on this site from the man himself which is what this is really about? So +1 for trust Also keen to hear any reviews on the Apparation cables!! |
The new Apparition xlr interconnects between my disc player and Pre amp crushed my older Transparent Reference XL xlr mm2 interconnect. So much that i order another one to replace the Transparent Reference XL mm2 interconnect between Pre amp and Amp. The much lighter carbon wave guides much easier to work with than the original metal ones. They do not pull the equipment off the shelf like the older metal ones did. When hanging off the back of a shelf. |
I have been busy, but managed to get a little time with the addition of Ricks Apparition XLR cable. Adding the second cable in the chain with the first was unbelievable good. Just a very good large 3D sound stage. Smoother clearer and very detailed. Note decay was very good. Seem to last much longer than before. The bass took longer to come around, but once it did, tighter punchier quicker and now deep much lower sounding. At this point i can find no negatives at all with the cables. |
lowrider57 These are the first of Ricks interconnect i have owned. Have a full loon of his power cords, plug ins, power conditioners loved what they did for my system. Have been pretty much a Transparent cable guy until now. the Transparent Reference XL XLR is a very good interconnect. Both XLR cables where calibrated for their equipment, they where plugged into by Transparent. Ricks new cables crushed them across the board in my system.
jayant Prices our posted on his listing here on Autogone |
I hope that this Rick dude pays back tranchautuan, especially now that he has it in writing that he owes (taking tranchautuan word for it). If not, sorry to say it like this, but if not I hope each and every one of you gets burned for the same amount of $s and then know what it’s like to walk a mile in his shoes and listen to you all crowing how great his products are. |
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Hi @jetter , Just to clarify, my topup money is 2850usd and 100usd transport vietnam to us,and my original HFC UR CT-1 RCA interconnect I purchased used around 2000usd, so total it around 4950usd I've contacted Rick. He said was the company president, although he just an employee. The event that HFC have massive discount, collect the money and shutdown don't related to him as that time he wasn't in the US anymore due to visa issue. Rick said he can't give me some thing for free, cuz he just starting on his own, and offer a discount for his product. I replied I can only spare max of 500usd for his new product and still waiting for his further reply, You guys please share if you have other infos. thanks you |
@tranchautuan I think you are getting the run around to be frank. From my understanding Rick was the owner of HFC and moved from the USA to Canada because of some sort of passport issues. Don't know all the circumstances but at this point I would NOT give Rick or this company any more money. Be careful and hope you can recoup some of your funds. |
thks @rsf507 I'm also aware of it. Let's see how this become. Haven't got any further respond from Rick. |
This is the first actual case of someone claiming they are owed money from HFC’s abrupt shutdown, and it was for a cable upgrade. If its legit I am sure Rick will come good on this. I too have the HFC CT-1 UR interconnects. I do not know how close they are in performance to the new Apparition or the HFC Helix cables, but they destroy every single competitor, like smash them to another planet. HFC is the only cable brand I came across that has a very distinct improvement vs the subtle improvement you normally get from cable upgrade. I also have the CT-1 UR digital cable (its the exact same cable as the interconnects but with an orange band - the magnetic tech requires transmission lines to function). Periodically I try various digital cables and none come close. |
Hi @agisthos , I'm sure i'm not the only one, you could see HFC facebook page, others may have quickly or lucky enough to get their money refunded, not me. I still have the invoice from HFC, I contact with Casey from HFC at that time. Sound-quality wise, I'm also still prefer Rick's inventions. Currently I still use his basic CT1 interconnect and speaker cables, and power cord from his fist company Virtual Dynamics. But the last and largest investment lost is too much on me. |
@tranchautuan I did check the facebook page and it seems there is two other people, one of which got their money back from VISA chargeback. So there is 2 people (including you) out of pocket. Not good at all, but this unfortunately can happen when a company abruptly closes. I realise its a huge amount of money. The new Apparition cable is 5k USD and is apparently a new design above what you were expected to get when you sent in the CT-1 UR. He claims it would have been 10k if it was sold through HFC. So if you can get a pair of this new Apparition for a small amount of money this would hopefully be fair. Keep us updated on what happens. |
@tranchautuan I would tell you NOT to send any funds for his new cables but ask to have his new cable shipped to you for a demo. If after a week or two they seem better than what you have then you decide. Simple and both parties are winners |
hi @agisthos , thanks for the advice, I still waiting for Rick's respond. @rsf507 I don't know if it likely to happen, since i'm not in the US. Vietnam don't have any HFC distributor, not to mention Rick alone. |
@tranchautuan doesn't matter where you live he has to ship the cables outside his own Country anyways. Offer to pay ONLY for shipping charges until you can hear the new cable to see if it's worth spending more money. Otherwise do not send more money with this company. You've already been burned once don't let it happen again. |
@raysmtb1 Every company develops new lines of products that they claim is better than the last. Why is it bad this time? You are just being irrational. |
@agisthos I am well aware of that but this guy is a chronic business starter/closer. He starts one and then closes it, he started the second one and then he closes it. This is his third shot at that I think. Most people keep just keep involving the original business through the years. This guy just locked the doors one day and nobody knows what’s up. |
