High Fidelity Cables CT-1 and CT-1E Speaker Cables Review

Midrange and Treble

The way these cables seemed to allow more information to flow into my system was  magical in the midrange and top end.  I have never heard such lifelike air, such silence, and such beautiful cymbals.  My system seemed to have a more expanded top end with the High Fidelity Cables.

Bass

This may be the area that is the hardest to put into words. With these cables the bass of my system was the quickest and tightest I have experienced.  Like in real life, drums bloom when struck in certain ways and don’t when struck in other ways.  A standup bass can sound oh-so-fast and yet let you hear tons of decay and air.  The same I said about top end was true of the bass extension, and my system seemed to play more, deeper, and better bass than before.

Changing to the CT-1E Speaker Cable

The first physical aspect I noticed on the CT-1E speaker cable was the addition of a small cylinder in the line of each of the four runs of speaker cables.  This housed even more of Rick’s patented “Magnetically Enhanced Electrical Signal Conduction Apparatus and Methods.”  It also means the cables take longer to break in.  During the first 30 to 40 hours they sound more closed down and had a diminished soundstage.  Then, for the next 30 to 40 hours they got a little bright, but by 100 hours mine came into their own and continued to improve a little for another 100 hours or so.

The CT-1E speaker cables remind me of what I have said so many times about Shindo preamps.  In describing the difference between their preamps as you move up the line, I said, “It’s hard to describe but you simply get more. They are definitely cut from the same cloth, but you just get more.”  Well, this is without a doubt an apt description of what you get as you move from the CT-1 to CT-E cables.

There is another thing that I have written about Shindo preamps, I’ve said “buy a Shindo preamp and buy whichever one of them you can afford.”  I haven’t heard the CT-1 Ultimates in my system yet, but so far the same can be said for the High Fidelity Cables.

Conclusion

Two words come to mind as I conclude my review of the High Fidelity CT-1 and CT-1E speaker cables.  The first word I have already used: More.  There was more music with these cables.  I’m not a technical person, so I can’t tell you if the magnets used in these cable did actually allow more music to flow into my speakers, but something did.  Let me tell you once you hear all this information I can’t imagine someone being willing to give it up.

The second word is synergy.  As good as the CT-1s or CT-1Es sounded in my system the sound did not become as whole and complete until I added the speaker cable.  In fact, I feel that it would probably be best to complete a system with CT-1 before you move up to the E.  I just feel you get the most when your system sees the magnetic conduction technology all the way through the signal path than having one more expensive High Fidelity Cable mixed in with other technology.

I truly feel that this cable technology is a game changer and at this point there have been a good many other people who have come to this conclusion.  It’s very seldom that something comes along which allows your system to perform close to its complete potential.  The High Fidelity Cables system is a remarkable example.