High Fidelity Cables CT-1designed by Rick Schultz

It does give one reason to pause, it is almost like Rick himself has a pen name here. Dip your toes in another thread or two Dave, pretend that you are a real audiophile and not simply a HFC shill, that may help your credibility.

I've stayed out of this but I must speak to that comment. I know Rick personally, he lives just a short drive from me and we have spent many hours together over dinner, music and discussion of high end audio.

I would bet money the text you are discussing is not him. I know his writing style from conversation and countless email messages we've traded. Also, it does not fit his personality. He's as direct as a train and would not bend the truth to get a word in for himself.

I agree. I know both David and Rick and both have been in my home. Neither is a shill for the other but I think Dave like me have just been throughly at first shocked by Rick's products and then amazed that he can improve on them.

Also, I'm neither Rick nor David.

I also collect watches , I have seen , over the last 15 years , the price point of some very nice pieces , like Patek Calatravas , rise from around $10K to almost 25K , for what is basically the same watch with some minor movement improvements plus a slightly larger , more cosmo case . My personal opinion ( everyone has one ) is that when you really interested in a particular pursuit/pastime/hobby , is that you can lose perspective of the effect of diminishing returns vs real world essential items , for me , the CT1E is the sweet spot in the range , and the sound of most hifi related items can be improved by a couple of glasses of good quality single malt , for me , the most cost effective upgrade of all ......

Ddraudt - How can you call me a friend if I am so negative and boring? But thanks, for the title.

No, my writings here have not been negative. If anything, they have been logical with questions of merit. But the only responses back are the same each time: if you don't own or care to audition the HF cables, you should not be in this thread.

As an engineer of 30+ years in both the electronics HW and SW worlds, i know of no engineer who's ideas or products downright put all the "competition" in second or third or whatever place. I do not question Ricks ability. I only point out that the 3 or 4 dominant writers here can't seem to imagine that other products are also candidates for consideration as top performers…..except the next model from Rick.

ARC has been notorious over the years with all the MK2 updates and then the next product that absolutely blows away the previous design. And my own experiences with ARC products over the years showed this to not at all be the case. But this was going on in 2-3 year increments. With the HF cables, this "greatest cable on the planet" is changing every few months. That was my point of the $100k PC is on the horizon if this "evolution" does not stop. This is not negative at all……it is a valid point. And I do not care if you pay $100k for PC's. More power to you, no pun intended. But don't get on my case that I am negative or boring for pointing this out or commenting a new cable design that time and time again results in the greatest audio orgasm of all time.

Rather than the same responses again and agin here, "wow, this latest HF cable is like nothing I have experienced before", take a little time and tell us what are the observations made to come to such a conclusion. Give us specific details such as you hear a third guitarist that before was not "present", or piano delineation is like never before, increased ambiance or harmonic overtones, greater dynamic contrast…..anything, just anything to educate people here what $8900 for an IC or $15k for a PC is bringing to the scene. But I don't see any such comments…just the same ol' things, "wow, wow, wow". Yawn indeed.

When I have written here of cable auditions, tube rolling experiences, preamp shootouts, etc., I go through such detail. And a lot of people reply here or send me many emails for further comments. The bottom line is that this thread totally lacks this kind of detail and sharing. It's just 3 or 4 guys patting each other on the back and sitting at the camp fire singing Kumbaya.

I will put something in perspective. I was a video and audiophile at one time. When i was into video I bought an outrageously expensive television at the time. It was the best in the market and it's picture and performance was amazing. 5 years later I'm still happy and I think I can get another 5 out if it without losing a lot. That television was the pioneer elite. I still own it today. I don't desire another television now and I won't for a while. High fidelity ultimate reference cables are that audio thing for me. It's next level and I think I can truly be happy with its performance for a very long time. If you get it and keep it for a long time. Then you enjoy it and it's worth it !!!