[iMongoose]

Hi everyone!
 
I thought I'd share the news that in 2012 Rick Schultz (of the former Canadian cable manufacturer Virtual Dynamics) is back in production under a new company name High Fidelity Cables. The new operation is set in Plano, Texas USA.
 
Fresh start for Rick, no beard this time.
 
Currently Rick produces one type of interconnect cable in multiple Analog/Digital variants. This time the cables are very thin, unlike Virtual Dynamics cables of old. The cables are using the patent pending Magnetic Conduction Technology that Magnetic Innovations LLC invented and licensed to Rick's High Fidelity Cables.
 
The very basic model of CT-1 Interconnect RCA's by Rick Shultz will cost you 1600$ US for 1m (3 feet) of cable with termination. TOTL Enhanced Phono CT-1 will set you back 2800$ US for 1m (3ft) of cable with termination. 
 
Virtual Dynamics as a company went bust in 2009. I always thought this was because of their bad management and marketing that pushed customers to their competitors. However in a 2012 interview Rick says its because of the Recession they closed shop.
 
I remember reading all 52 pages of this thread about Virtual Dynamics here on Head-Fi back then. I might give it another read because I remember it being funny and a successful consumer awareness riot. 
 
 
Has anyone bought Rick's new slim interconnects yet and what are you impressions about them. I'm in the market of buying new ICs for my DAC> Desktop Amp so I'm shopping around.
 
 
 
*I have no affiliation with Rick Schultz, High Fidelity Cables or Magnetic Innovations LLC.

 

[iMongoose]

I stumbled upon additional info. I found out who holds the patent for the CT-1 interconnect cable technology licensed to High Fidelity Cables. 
 
Apparently it is Schultz David Rick as you can clearly see here at Patentbuddy.com:
http://www.patentbuddy.com/Inventor/Schultz-Ricky-David/14185470;jsessionid=810622A936D59E790B9A1BF903BFD0B1
http://www.patentbuddy.com/Company/Profile/MAGNETIC-INNOVATIONS-LLC/1959120
 
Rick Schultz is also owner of Magnetic Innovations LLC:
http://www.corporationwiki.com/Unknown/Unknown/magnetic-innovations-llc/68650363.aspx and on the CT-1 cable jacket it clearly says Under License Magnetic Innovations LLC.
 
Since I am interested in potentially buying the High Fidelity CT-1 Phono cable that costs 2800$ US, I went on to check what its made of at the patent page. US Patent Application No: 2012/0021,618 - Magnetically Enhanced Electrical Signal Conduction Apparatus and Methods:
http://www.patentbuddy.com/Patent/20120021618;jsessionid=810622A936D59E790B9A1BF903BFD0B1
 
As I can notice on the drawing and claim description this is a normal RCA plug but it has a magnetic pin instead of regular. I remember this was called "Speed of light" technology at Virtual Dynamics, or something like that. 
 
So in Rick's new cable CT-1 the innovation is in the plug, not the cable. Other potential buyers of the CT-1 might find my research insightful and useful, I hope.
 
I'm still thinking should I buy a new Apple MacBook Pro - Core i7 - 17" for 1900$ US or High Fidelity CT-1 Phono cable for 2800$ US.  Hmmm.
 
BTW I bought a Van den Hul d102 Mk III for the DAC as a temporary solution.
 
Any owners of the new CT-1 please stand up. I need your feedback.

 

[gooky]

I have a pair, and I like them a lot. I'm pretty big on Virtual Dynamics though. Some words off the top of my head; spacious, non-fatiguing, and detailed. I haven't tried tons of cables, but I hope that helps. Interesting that all these different companies are directly related to Rick though. Fishy.

 

[iMongoose]

gooky thx for the info.
 
Well usualy all the marketing yap and "innovation" is always bunch of snake oil marketing with high end, not just with Ricks companies. Nothing new there. I checked his new operations to see if he is making the cables or just rebadging premade ones. Apparently he is making them, so that's done.
 
I'm more curious about the CT-1 how its different and/or better than others in that price range. 2800$ ain't a small investment even for a studio (I run a small recording studio). 
 
I'm making a digital library for a client from his personal vinyl collection, and I get these projects more often. Clients are audiophiles and investigative about my gear, so I need high performance cables. Does the magnetic pin make a tremendous audible difference? Whats this magnetic pin actually doing to the signal? Anyone with EE knowledge is welcomed to explain a bit. 
 
12,800 Hi-Res recordings are at stake.
 
Thx!

 

[Jerseyboy]

I currently have a pair of CT-1 Ultimate RCA interconnects on trial and I have to say they are an exceptional cable with all the characteristics mentioned by gooky.
 
However, I am also a fan of Jack Bybee's products having a set of Golden Goddess interconnect bullets as well as some ByBee interconnect "tails". 
 
Over the last week or so I have been A/B testing (via a Woo Audio WES/Stax 009 combo) between the Bybee bullets (with Fusion Audio Romance 2 cables) and the CT-1, and perhaps surprisingly, they both produce a sound with extremely similar qualities. So much so, that if you already use Bybee products you may well feel that switching to the CT-1 does not produce the kind of improvement you need to justify the additional investment  (USD4,900 per metre for the "Ultimate" version).
 
I am not a "tekky" and it may well be that the technology adopted in each case is totally different, but the outcome is certainly along the same lines. Maybe they have both sought to achieve the same thing but through different means.
 
My view is that if you haven't previously heard the ByBee bullets you will be extremely impressed by the CT-1s - if you have, less so. However there is no doubt in my mind that both routes produce a quality of sound well beyond the majority of hi-end interconnects around and I, for one, would certainly always use one or the other in my primary rig.