High Fidelity Cables CT-1designed by Rick Schultz

Calvinj,

You stated, "I knew it had to be something when there was no comment about the sound at all." My comments were all about the sound and how much the sound is worth. A pair of speaker cables is worth $7,500? You must be joking. I mean, we're talking about 2 wires with some neodymium magnets. We are not talking about nuclear physics. You can make your own stunning speaker wires, Ozzy and I and others have done it, for less than $200 including the magnets.

This is about venting about the outrageous prices some cable makers put on their cables -- including Synergistic Research, Gabriel Gold, Tara, Nordost and High Fidelity, among others. There are folks who can afford to throw money at any audio product without batting an eyelash. And there are others who cannot. It's as simple as that.

Why in the world would anyone even think of spending $7,500 on a pair of speaker wires if they could make their own for less than $200 and have $7,300 left over in their audio budget?

In June of this year Jack Roberts of Dagogo wrote a review of the High Fidelity Cable CT-1 Ultimate Reference Rhodium Plus Power Cord.

Here is his conclusion: "I don’t think I have written a power cord review and not talked about how dead quite or black the background is. That’s because these power cords simply made my system sound better in every way. Maybe the one way to sum up this review is to let you know that the High Fidelity Cable power cords allowed my system to have an uncanny sense of realism that was a revelation to this reviewer."

This is worth $12,900 for one power cord? You got to be joking.

Tbg,

You may be right. But I believe there is a mystique around cables and cable makers that needs to be dispelled. Ozzy put it very well when he said there is just so much BS in the cable business. If you believe everything you read on the Forum and in reviews, there are more geniuses in the high-end audio business than there are in Mensa. Sorry, I don't buy it. That mentality simply fills a need for myth-making and cultism.

What I am talking about is the price/performance ratio. I have known for years that neodymium magnets can elevate the performance of cables. But I also know from my own experience that any audiophile can make his own stunning cables for a pittance -- meaning no more than $200 or $300 -- including the magical neodymium magnets that usually run no more than 50 cents apiece. This makes the astronomical prices demanded for "high end" cables with lesser SQ, and in many cases inferior SQ, nothing short of laughable.

Of course, those with enough money to throw at the matter do not care a whit about price/performance. They want to come home at night, put their feet up, and enjoy the music. For them performance is all that matters -- not price or value. They have no interest in making their own cables. They simply let someone else address the problem and pay them for their work. On the other hand, there are others who try to get the best value for their hard-earned dollars but are drawn into the high-end hoopla and spend way more than they need to spend for stunning sound. They have no idea they can make their own high-performance cables for a song.

By the way, my comments are equally directed at a long list of cable makers including Synergistic Research, Cardas, Gabriel Gold, High Fidelity, ASI Liveline, Tara and Nordost, among many others.

Hey fellas, here we go again. I wonder why they would come to this thread when there a hundreds of places they could go comment. Maybe, it's sounds better than what they have. Maybe, they don't understand why high fidelity owners are so loyal to the brand. The sound is completely mind blowing. That's why the prices get paid. Compared to the other high end cable makers his most expensive cord is a third or a fourth of the price of the competitors. For all I know the nay Sayers maybe the competitors themselves. For all the readers of this thread. You don't need anyone to tell you what you should be paying or what it's worth to you. Try them for yourselves. Contact high fidelity. Contact The Cable Co. They have a loan program. Put a small deposit down get them in and try them for yourself. You be the judge. Once you hear them in your system you won't want to send them back. Happy listening. It's not the flavor of the month. It's actually the purest form of gourmet vanilla or chocolate you have ever tasted. Pure sound delivered In its purest form. I know it's important for folks to criticize so keep it coming. Those that are criticizing. Have you heard high fidelity. Tell us how they sound. Tell us what they do and don't do. Have you heard the top of the line. Have you heard them at all? Do you want to hear them. All of us other audiophiles are really not that smart. We really don't hear what we think we hear. Thank you for correcting us and telling us that we can't tell the difference. Wow I thought I was really enjoying the sound of my system but I understand we are not smart enough to tell the difference. Thanks for telling us that we should go to radio shack and do just as good there. Oh radio shack sells wire? High fidelity is not a wire I don't think I can get it at radio shack. Too bad because there is one three blocks from here. Lol. Thanks for telling us how foolish we are. We are imagining what we hear. We really don't hear the difference. Lol. So all the people who have posted what they have actually heard in high fidelity have really good imaginations. Hey everybody, we are not that smart and our ears have failed us!!!

Sabai, I know of several very good sounding speaker wires that cost $25,045. $22,000 dollars and $35,000. Two of the three have substantial shielding, much vibration control, and sophisticated metallurgy. One is a minimalist approach. This is basically an artistic approach to cabling, much like Gallup and other noted pollsters use. In contrast, academic survey researchers use careful random samples where we can be pretty confident that the sample is close to what the population is. High Fidelity, by contrast, is more scientific in maximizing the influence of magnets.

I seriously doubt that a DIY guy can challenge these efforts. Most of the manufacturers have evolved from DIYers. I have been through perhaps as many as fifty different cables, including some that I made myself out of speaker wires made into power cords and welding cables that I made into speaker wires that looked and sounded the same as a Minnesota manufacturer's early speaker wires.

Maybe mankind cannot make the "perfect" interconnect, power cord, or speaker wire, and maybe we never will be able to do so, but trial and error are what we now must rely on.