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
I have heard many good things about the tripoint Emperor from audiocrack that owns the Tara Labs Grandmaster Evolution cables through out his system, including the Grandmaster power cords, the emperor is a sensational grounding point for any given system!
Himiguel, Thanks for the invite. I'd love to have Tripoint Emperor to play with. is that like a $40K grounding system?
You should have fun at Norms, he has an excellent system.
Cheers Defrost
When I hear my DeFrost working it has some crackling and popping would it be less noisy if it were grounded 40k like.
Tom
Yes the Tripoint Emperor is sure to be amazing!! I was wrong about the guess on price it is actually $70,000. and a 6 month waiting period. Order yours today!! The Signature is $14000, Signature SE $21500 right now
(April price increase). I've heard these Tripoints do amazing things.
It's fun to look at the systems of folks who could afford the Emperor.
Million dollar systems it may be actual Emperors. The reviews I read have Glowing reports of amazement. I was told that the Tripoint systems sound better if you plug it into a High Fidelity UR magnetic power conditioner ($16,900) and even better adding Tripoints' best grounding cables ($5k to $10K each depending on length). Interesting. D - I want some!
"a fool is a man who know the price of everything and the value of nothing" Poor Richards Almanac
Audiolabyrinth, yes, I would love to hear Audiocrack's response were he to hear his system with HighFidelity cables.
Tbg. I think Rick has a $70K+ speaker cable that is all magnets. Maybe Audiocrack should try one of those?
I think Rick has a $70K+ speaker cable that is all magnets. Maybe Audiocrack should try one of those?
For $70K it should be made out crack, not magnets.
Swampwalker, I have heard it, but I was totally unaccustomed to the system. I really had the feeling that it was at best a prototype.
Hey, I'm just poking a little fun. $70K for speaker cables??? WTF??? You can say all you want about it being your money and your enjoyment, etc. All true. I think it's immoral. I freely admit that's about as subjective a conclusion as one can make, but I'm unshakeable in that position. As obviously some others equally convinced that they hear a difference (I have no idea), that it provides value (to them) and that is is morally acceptable.
I am old enough to remember when the only speaker cables and interconnects were the cheap, vinyl-coated lamp cord and I thought it was crazy to pay $1 per foot of thicker gauge Monster Cable. We have come a long way, baby :-).
TBG, now that is very funny indeed, I really laughed myself out of my chair for real when I read your post, very good sence of humor.
It's been a fun and interesting ride from lamp cord to High Fidelity UR Speaker cable. To go from throw away Ic's and power cords supplied with components to UR IC's and URR Power cords. Many many stops along the way from my DIY days and on into trying the latest and greatest cabling throughout the decades. High Fidelity has shown me magical things I could not have imagined. Hugely different and superior involvement in the music.
The single biggest improvement I've heard in 40 years of Audio. I love music even more than I did in 1975.
Hope your journeys have been fruitful and joyous! D
Keith are you the Father or The Son of Tara?? Or Both?? Maybe just the Spirit with no body? Tom
Hi Tom, you can say the same about many others on this thread,all I ws doing was complimenting Norm on a good laugh, thats all, enjoy the thread here.
03-08-15: Swampwalker
I think Rick has a $70K+ speaker cable that is all magnets. Maybe Audiocrack should try one of those?
For $70K it should be made out crack, not magnets.

03-09-15: Mapman
Hey its a high fidelity thread so the sky is the limit here.

03-09-15: Ddraudt
It's been a fun and interesting ride from lamp cord to High Fidelity UR Speaker cable. High Fidelity has shown me magical things I could not have imagined. I love music even more than I did in 1975.
Hope your journeys have been fruitful and joyous! D

Swampwalker and Mapman I think you guys figured it out. HFC cables have ingredients in them that make people(according to Ddraudt)see magic and fly sky high. I'm just saying. I hope thay don't get in trouble for that. Can't say we didn't warn them.
Ddraudt abd TBG and others I appreciate your sharing your views here. I hope you take my posts as some light hearthed fun. Since I can see every getting these cables at least I get to hear something about them.
First report I hear back about the HF CT-1 power cord is that it is impressive right away and gets better overnight. Looking forward to personal testing soon. I think making a lower cost power cord is a wise way to let people try the magnetic conduction technology. Even those who have said that HF is too much to even try.
I see we still have the same doubters. I used to think cables didn't make a difference. I'm way out of that camp. For those who wonder why folks have nothing better to do than come on to this thread and doubt what high fidelity does. Please you owe it to yourself. Take a listen. Decide for yourself. It's your money. It's your music. It does it for me. Whatever you do when you look at threads make sure that you get opinions from actual listeners. More reports coming soon. Lol. Everyone I quit talking so much and start listening more. Lol. High fidelity will always be a part of my system as much as everything else changes.
i will be getting 2 of the new HF CT-1 pcs to demo next week..will report back also..
I own the CT-1E interconnects, speaker wire and a CT-1 power cable. These are great cables. I wanted to take a moment and discuss another aspect of HF Cables, Customer Service. One of my interconnects developed a small problem. I contacted HF and they replaced my cable the same day. No muss, no fuss. I can't say enough about this kind of service. Thank to everyone at HF.
Ddraudt and Calloway. I own a CT-1 power cable (serial #1). Out of the box it was good. My bass response was slightly diminished. After about an hour or so it started to return, and it was tighter, faster and more distinct. I've had it for about 3 weeks, it's fantastic.
Ddraudt and Calloway. I own a CT-1 power cable (serial #1). Out of the box it was good. My bass response was slightly diminished. After about an hour or so it started to return, and it was tighter, faster and more distinct. I've had it for about 3 weeks, it's fantastic.
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i have put my demo of the CT-1 pc on hold for about 1 month as i have new Psvane WE845 tubes coming next week.it would be difficult to decide which new product was affecting the sound so i will put the tubes in first..
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Jmcgrgan2 a few. Shunyata venom3, various audioquest, Pangea ACs, analysis plus, straight wire's blue and black thunder and high diamond's p3.
The straight wire is in my bedroom system and I'm still using the high diamonds
Deweyiii: Did the CT-1 PC make an improvement in sonics on a similar level to that of other HF Cables such as interconnects or speaker cables? I am just wondering whether my next step is upgraded PC's or other cables. Thanks for posting your results here as I am sure many are interested in these new, entry-level PC's.
Deweyiii, where are you using the CT-1 pc? I have a CT-1 and a few other manufactures' pcs, but in a system that has all HFC URR pcs. I might have to remove all of the HFCs.
Deweyiii, Thanks for the report on the CT-1 power cord.
I'm still waiting to try them myself.
Lak, Thanks for the link to the video. I liked it.
Calvinj, How is your system these days? I've had great results with several
speaker related changes to my old speakers and am now ready to start
with my new prototype speakers. The improvements I've made ( Star Sound Sistrum Apprentice stands and a port extension ) will work on the new speakers. I will get them next week!!

I had a great visit to Norms Saturday. His system is Inspiringly Awesome sounding now!!
I was there for 7 hours where I enjoyed helping Norm and his friend Miguel compare many different items.
It was good to see that much of the stuff I have was still in the winners circle. (I.E. Full compliment of High Fidelity stuff)
Miguel is a very interesting man who, after decades of research and practice knows more about grounding
than anyone I’ve ever talked to. I was fortunate to witness grounding experiments that reviled superb improvements
in the life of the music (and all other positive audio descriptors.) I hope to implement some better grounding methods
to my system one day soon.
Cheers D
@ddraudt. In the middle of major changes. I will announce them in a week or so. I think I have arrived at my final remake of my system. I will still be using my high fidelity ic and power cord. I'm going to get it set up and give you fellas an update. I'm in a good place audio wise. I finally think I have caught the elusive audio ghost. Lol. Glad to hear you visited norm's. I had to miss both sessions with yall because of commitments at home or work. I'm still going to get to both places. I want to hear both systems. I have been on here much because of being busy at work.
Rlawry...the most notable change caused by the CT-1 pic was tighter, cleaner bass response. At least in my system.
Tbg I'm using my CT-1 between my wall and ps audio p-5. This was the suggested position by HF cables.
Ddraudt, I think you know that I was overwhelmed by the improvements I heard also. I was glad you were able to make it. Were it only true that other manufacturers to really devote research into improved grounding of their units, we all could hear what we heard here. Furthermore I suspect in eight weeks or so, we might hear much greater improvement.
Anyone compared HF to Nordost Valhalla/Odin? Seeking a comparison in sonic characteristic and not which one is superior.
Deweyiii, I'm going to try that from the wall to my HFC Waveguide power center tomorrow. It will be replacing a HFC URR pc.
Tbg,
That will be a very interesting test "I'm going to try that from the wall to my HFC Waveguide power center tomorrow. It will be replacing a HFC URR pc".
I look forward to reading about any differences you hear.
Tag...isn't the HFCS URR HFCs top of the line? I replaced a hi-diamond P-3 with mt ct-1.
03-17-15: Tbg
Deweyiii, I'm going to try that from the wall to my HFC Waveguide power center tomorrow. It will be replacing a HFC URR pc.
and the result is ... Any update on the experiment?
Knghifi, it is better than some of the other quality cables I've tried it against but will not replace my HFC URR pc. I'm still trying it against other in this location as well as in other parts of my system.
Knghifi, it is better than some of the other quality cables I've tried it against but will not replace my HFC URR pc. I'm still trying it against other in this location as well as in other parts of my system.
Tbg, thanks for the update. Been rolling PCs and was planning on an Ultimate for 1st HF but now might start with the new CT-1. Hmmm!
I was finally able to get a decent deal on a used pair of CT-1 interconnects. I have to say that I am very impressed with them. They are the best I have had in my system to this point. Describing what they do so well is difficult to put into words. They are incredibly detailed, but they maintain proper tone and harmonic integrity. No tipped up top end that is etched, or thin bass response. They are incredibly quiet as well. This allows you to hear into the recording venue and allows notes to fully and naturally decay. They make other cables I have tried, sound as if the recordings were done using gating in the mix. It is one of those things that you never realize is happening until hear a cable like the CT-1.

I can only imagine what the upper level cables sound like. I am looking to get my hands on a used set of CT-1 speaker cables to find out how they compliment the interconnects. I would love to compare them with what I currently own, which is the MG Audio Planus 3. The MG cables are excellent in their own right. Depending on how that works out, I would consider moving up to the enhanced cables for both speaker and interconnects. Realistically, I understand that I would likely never be able to go higher up the line than that, but I am thinking that I would love to get to even that point.
@Knghifi, similar to you , I have been playing with PCs and given all the positive feedback herein, I finally decided to start with a purchase of a HFC URR. I expected it to be similar to other top of the line power cords I have had, the best of which were acting similar to a power conditioner, ie creating the proverbial blacker blacks and thus making the music stand out in contrast. Thus, my initial disappointment when I placed the HFC URR on my integrated amp and found that I was not achieving the profound improvements described for this power cord compared to the PC I had previously been using. Don't get me wrong, it was not worse but I expected much more given the increased cost. After about a month or two, I was seriously considering selling this PC but in the interim decided to move it to the Oppo 105 I have in my system. At that point, I realy didn't focus on it but after another month or two, I realized that the dynamic contrasts, leading edges and trailing notes, as well as soundstage had improved. I do not know if this is because I first started with only a powercord versus interconnects or speaker cables or because I had a preconceived notion that this powercord should act like other very good pcs I have had and create a power conditioner type effect. The HFC URR is a truly unique PC in the effect it creates. The best I can describe it, it doesn't clean the sound but somehow focuses on the music. As you can see, I, too, have drunk the koolaid. I'm now saving up to get HF interconnects and then speaker cables, assuming that a full loom will create an even greater benefit, as others have described here. Have fun with the ride; just remember,as others have said, unlike other cables that need some time to break in, these need months to break your system in.
Spar, just received several Shunyata Sigma Analog PCs and it's excellent. It's a Nordost Valhalla, which I like a lot, and Shunyata Alpha turbocharged. I'm contemplating ordering 2 Sigma HCs next.

I heard from several had similar experience where HF didn't live up to the WOW factor with all $$ they spent. I have not yet decided going for an Ultimate PC.
@cmsgolf. I first apologize for going off on you a couple of months ago. I hope all is well with your system and it sounds great. I'm glad you got to try the ct1. I have the ct1 ultimates and I'm never selling them. I have changed my whole system but I will not change that. The interconnects are special. The allow a smooth airy treble in my system and a upper midrange that is truly special. It also provides tight, agile and deep bass in my system. I hope that you try the others. I think that the ultimates are the sweet spot. Enjoy. @ddraudt@tbg@lak I just got my speakers in. I have the Gato fm6 from Denmark. I have a friend who has them and they are really special. Best treble I have heard so far. I usually take another route from close friends but in this case I had to have them. I will announce other subtractions and additions soon. I will have a tube integrated and probably keep the resonessence dac or get a disc player that doubles as a dac later in the year. I will not change my interconnects though. The ct1 ultimates that Rick Schultz made me are absolutely superb. The magnetism along with his design is just flat out the best I've heard to date! I know I haven't posted in a while but when you hear the speed,clarity and realism it hooks you. Enjoy everyone.
@Calvinj, congratulations on the arrival of the Gato fm-6 speakers. I'll bet they sound great, and will improve with break in. What finish did you get?
I'll have a HF CT-1 power cord and a Shunyata Sigma HC power cord for comparison, hopefully later this week or early next week.