Hidiamond Cables, Do these reveal the live show?


Just wondering if the people that own any of these simply amazing HiDiamond cables can explain the characteristics and why/how they seem to create the live experience like no other cable has. THX in advance for sharing your thoughts....
128x128bacardi
Revealing the live show is asking a lot from cables. If your system is capable of the live music sound, then the right cables can allow it to show up in the end result.
Transparency in IC's and SC's are a must to let the dynamics and attack come through. PC's are a science in it's self. The right PC can have a very pos. effect on livelyiness and attack. I don't use HD cables, I can't comment on them. But I have experimented with other brands enough to know that cabling can only allow what your equipment is capable of to come through.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Bacardi,
I think how they do it is the result of their research into making cables. What they do is unique so the sonic results are unique -- and very special. They certainly do reveal the live show in my system -- in spades -- like no other cables I have ever owned.
I currently have a pair of hi diamonds from my reel to reel deck and for the last week have bounced back and forth trying the xlr2 and D7 single ended cables between my Mcintosh c2300 and two mc275 power amps. In the end I have decided on the D7 single ended. Neither the pre or amps are truly balanced and it is a short run. The D7's have truly opened up my system. I run king sound prince ii full range planars.
The sound stage has improved greatly over what I had and detail has had a significant improvement. For the first time I can really place the instruments where they belong. Things like a deteriorating cymbal crash are now simply amazing.
I agree with Sabai's comments on this one. I believe the performance of any cable is based on the engineering and manufacturing techniques behind it. In the case of the HiDiamond, looking at their website gives some insight into their unique designs and what appear to me to be a more advanced metallurgy of their cables.

I believe I mentioned in a previous thread that I feel their connectors are superior as well. I've had extensive experience with WBT, Siltech, Cardas etc. and the HiDiamond are the best and most secure connectors I have used.
I recently purchased a HiDiamond Power3 PC and the Digital Reference AES/EBU (not on the NA distributors website).
This is the first PC I have put in my system, in any position, that seems to have it all and more. Most PC's are a game of trade-offs. The Power3 on my DAC brought out the musical emotion in a way that I find hard to explain.
It is still breaking in but so far the detail is amazing. But it is a different sort of detail --not analytical at all, it is pure musical texture. And has the most thorough and complete soundstage I have heard from my system.
I look forward to adding more!
The Digi XLR, I have not dove into yet. I want to get completely familiar with the PC first as I burn-in the digi....

To answer your question: I listen to a lot of live recorded rock and roll and am hearing the venue like never before.
I don't know how HD cables create a live event but it must be 100% pure copper, graphite and manufacturing techniques.

These cables just gets out of the way with no boost or highlights in the crucial midrange. This results in a sound that is open, full with outstanding soundstaging, extending beyond the boundaries of the speakers.

It's without question that HD cables are flat out musical...

Wig
Zmanastronomy,
You stated "that cabling can only allow what your equipment is capable of to come through." Of course, you're absolutely correct. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Jriggy,
You stated, "And has the most thorough and complete soundstage I have heard from my system." This is what I find stunning in my system now that the HiDiamonds are in place, the continuity within the sound stage.

Tubesandhorns,
I checked the HiDiamond website in Italy. They actually make their own cables at their Italian factory and they process the copper to a level of purity where no other cable company can compare. HiDiamond is a very well-researched and sophisticated product. The results that so many of us are hearing are no accident.
The purest produced copper for cables in the world is Furukawa's PCOCC (FACT). BTW, what happened to all the old Hidiamond threads?
Does anyone know how they compare to Elrod PC's.
I'm using Elrod's and can echo what is being said about the HD PC's with my Elrod's.
I'm all for trying new PC's, but I would like to hear from someone that has compared the two.
Does HD have a 30 day return. If so I would love to try a PC. If they best the Elrod, they would be something special.
I would like to add, since I have a complete loom of HD Cables (except for the Speaker cables) I believe the overall volume has increased.
That is, the settings on my Pass Labs Preamp are now lower than I used to use before the HD cables. I'm attributing this to the cleaner signal being transmitted.

Has anyone else noticed that the volume level has increased once the HD cables have been added?
Owners and reviewers of the KCI Silkwood plus cables are equally impressed and enthusiastic - at almost half the price the KCIs sound very attractive - anybody compared Hd and KCI ?
These HiDiamond cables sound interesting. Is there a 30 day offered on them ?
I use Elrod PC's and love them. Can anyone tell me how the HD's compare ? Thank you.
@Ozzy, I have noticed my overall volume level has increased. Attributing to the cleaner signal for sure. I really noticed it on my subwoofer, almost 10db's more...Of all the cables owned I never had this experience with the volume increase at all....
Can owners/distributor answer: Is there a trial period/or alternatively any place in the Northeast USA to audition them? (I am in Connecticut)
Jriggy,
I have had HiDiamond P3 PCs and D8 Speakers for about six months. I agree with your comments "... the detail is amazing. But it is a different sort of detail --not analytical at all, it is pure musical texture. And has the most thorough and complete soundstage I have heard from my system." It really is hard to describe. The soundstage has depth and richness - you might say it is more dense. There is more depth and detail AND more emotion. They reveal so much more of the music and the artist. The improvement is amazing - almost shocking - even before they break in.
Clyde_crashcup; at about 450-500 hours you will really hear the HD8 speaker wire sparkle.
Has anyone tried the Synergistic research speaker cells on any HD7 or HD8 speaker wire and what were your results in detail. Thx in advance.
Bacardi,
I have the SR speaker cells and will be adding the SR interconnect cells soon. I run them with the HD8 speaker wires. But my system is not typical because I run a lot of speaker elements in series with the HD8 wires:

Integrated amp > ASI liveline > Bybee speaker filters > Cardas Golden Cross > SR speaker cells > HD8 > Bybee Golden Goddess speaker bullets > Joseph Audio Pulsar monitors. Have I missed anything?

The results with the SR speakers cells are an enhanced refinement of all sonic parameters. But the cells are only one of many, many increments in my system. I would not expect miracles from them -- in spite of the marketing hype. What I can say is that they are one positive step in the right direction -- but only one step.

Unless you are getting a trade from SR or a dealer I would advise you to be patient till they come up on the after market. In my opinion the retail price of the cells is way over the top for what they deliver. Pound for pound you will get much better value if you buy used Bybee products. This is all IMO -- and from my personal experience with many SR and Bybee products.
I just ordered D7 speaker cables, how did your D8 sound when you first installed them and during the burn in period?
When I installed my D8 speaker cable I had an immediate increase in detail, soundstage, resolution, and more information came through my speakers. As hours passed everything became acurately layed back and never forward. The soundstage gained depth and width well outside my speakers with amazing pinpoint imaging. Im not at the 500 hour mark yet but probably around 350-400. I am still hearing sounds and instruments I never heard before.
Bacardi,
I had the very same experience when I installed the D8 in my system. All sonic parameters improved dramatically. The whole musical experience took a quantum leap forward.
Thanks for the description. Sounds similar to what I experienced with my D7 interconnects...
I think I am at my full break-in(500 hours) as I noticed while after a few days, especially my D9 interconnects had just bloomed from recent listening. Almost like an amazing glitter came from my front wall that literally caught my attention. It was like hearing glass shatter and tinkle on the ground as I got goosebumps down my back..WOW..These D9's are simply amazing.....
Is this for real or are you putting us on? Glass shatter and tinkle on the ground? Unbelievable. Too bad nobody answers my and Zmanastronomy's questions about a trial period or comparisons to other cables, so we can hear for ourselves what is clearly to the owners of this cable a mystical out-of-body experience......
Sb10,

It is possible that no one has answered regarding trial periods because it has been asked and answered a couple times. Although, those threads are gone due to unnecessary drama --threads full of accusations and paranoia... Im sure a few of the HD owners, Including myself, would like to avoid that happening again --so I can have a place to hear more about them, as well as comment on further once the cables I have purchased are fully broken-in (slow process on my part these days).
Maybe just shoot WorldWideWholesale(s?) an email and ask directly. They are the NA distributors of HiDiamond and can answer when and where you may be able to find them in your area, or help you with a purchase...

As far as comparisons... Do a search for this brand here and you will see a few brands people have used before settling on the HD's.
Personally, I do not feel I have tried enough PC's to commented further. But the HD PC I have has fit wonderfully into a mix of Wywires, TWL and Sablon. When I can though, I will begin to replace... Although, there are others that have replaced MUCH more expensive cords than I have.

The Power3 is the first 'no trade-offs' PC I have had in my system. I love it and want more.

I hope this helps you some.
Jriggy,
I just put a Power 3 PC into the Tesla Plex SE that is the beginning of my complex front end -- isolation transformer > power regenerator > 2 power conditioners. The results are amazing. There is no going back.
I have been reading this thread on HIDimond cables and wanted to give may opinion on the HIDimond XLR 3 cables which I have owned for slightly over 500 hours. My system consist of a Burmester transport,Berkely dac, Pass Labs mono blocks and various higher end cables that I have tried over the past 30 years. I will not mention the other cable manufacturers because I do not want to anger any other person and to be honest my other cables are very good.

My thoughts on the HIDimond XLR 3 right out of the box or in this case the velvet bag was verey good but as with all cables I wanted to see if the HD cables changed significantly and trust me they did change. I had always felt my electronics was very good, maybe not the best but very good and with 2 XLR 3 cables in may system everything improved. The first thing I noticed as the cables broke in was the voice of the singer on the HD cables was much more clear without being analytical and in fact became more emotional then I had ever heard previously on my system. I have found that on certain songs as the artist is portraying strong emotion it becomes very involving to the point that I forgot I was listening to my system and I felt as though I was at a live concert. We always talk about soundstage or 3 dimensional but what I am talking about is the artist pouring their heart out will standing directly in front of you. I also noticed that all my CD's had became more detailed but again without sounding analytical in anyway. The cymbals shimmer longer, the singers notes hang for what seems like minutes rather than a split second and the intent of the song is now much more complete. Songs that I couldn't stand before are now enjoyable; it's almost like I never heard that song properly before.The bass also has more presence without being in your face and it is as though the bass has better timing.

My thoughts are simple: I believe the HIDimond Cables are having less of an effect on my system then my super expensive previous cables. To say I am happy would be a mild understatement. I have just ordered new HD 3 power cords and a digital reference AES cable and I will give you my thoughts in a few months. I would say I have owned most of the higher end well know brand and for me this is the best cable I have heard by a very large margin.
Paz307,
I agree with everything you have said about HiDiamond cables. I have a full HiDiamond loom having switched over from Synergistic Research. The HiDiamonds have been a game-changer for me. There is nothing like them that I have ever found in high end audio. The feelings of naturalness and realness that they produce are not duplicated by Synergistic Research, ASI Liveline, Nordost, Cardas or any other high end cables I have ever owned or auditioned.

I still have some SR products that I run in my system in series with other cables but they are not the core of my system anymore. HiDiamond has taken their place.
Springbok,
Bacardi's words may be a tad dramatic but I can say they capture the essence of my reaction to my HD interconnects. The experience after swapping in these cables was astonishing, listening now after break in, I never could have imagined. The strongest word I'm willing to use is magical.

jon
I'm still loving all of my HiDiamond Cables. The only ones I have not tried yet is the speaker cables.
Ok. I was metaphorically speaking. Common guys/gals. I've had an experience with glass shattering and that's what I was comparing it to. I do believe walking into the room, turning the system on and playing a song that literally gave me the experience with delicacy which gave me the above resemblance. That's all....lol....another instance.....

The movie Battle Los Angeles, the scene where the military were coming out of the house and the aliens were hidden beyond the smoke, the sonic details and effects were like you were there as the cameraman. The aliens start firing streams of electrical charges and the clarity ,ultra detail and dynamics were simply incredible. Basically the best movie for dynamics, soundstage, and knock you off your seat suspense that I've watched so far with these cables in my system.....These cables get you so involved with what is happening on screen in a movie, or with a band playing music that everything else just disappears.....
Ozzy,
I have the top HD speaker cables. They were a real game-changer for my system. I would not be without them.
Bacardi,
You hit the nail on the head. "These cables get you so involved ... that everything else just disappears." I have never experienced this level of involvement and naturalness with any other cables.
will be adding my last 2 HD3 pcs tonight after 2 days cooking on my Audiodharma Pro cooker..that will make 5 in all with one Elrod Statement Gold on my PS Audio P-10.should be interesting..
I may be swicting from Synergistic Research cables to HiDiamond cables. Synergistic is way too expensive for me and all those upgrades. It starting not to be worth it for me anymore.

Can you guys give me some encourangement in making the leap??? ;-)

And I may be saying goodbuy to Synergistic Research forever. LOL!
i will be putting the last 2 HD3 pcs in my system tonight after cooking them for 2 days. this will give me 5 along with 1-Elrod Statement Gold pc...will report back..
The initial 2 HD Power 3 sounded bad 1st 60 hours. Bass was boomy/loose, image wandering, flat soundstage and I was getting worried. I never experienced cables changing so much during break-in. After 60 hours, everything stablized and sound clearing up but I can hear it's still needs further breaking in.

I bought 2 more for my mono amps and was preparing for bad sound but it sounded very very good out of the box. Not sure if problem was poor synergy with my TRL/FIM PCs or just needs a full loom.

These cables work well with both low and high current components. Sound is detailed where I can decipher lyrics that were smeared in the past, I can hear deeper into the music, fast with good dynamics and sound stage further back then I prefer. Tone and texture are ok but hope it will improve with further breaking in.
Joeyboynj, I too owned all of the previous top of the line Synergistic Research cables. That is, Apex interconnects, Apex speaker cables, Hologram A & D, Telsa 2 & 3 and Precision power cables.

And I had all of the Galieo mini couplers and the first generation Powercell SE.

It was all very good equipment, but the HiDiamond are better simple as that. Better and without all of the mini coupler wires! And the best thing is, at a lower price!
@Joeyboynj, you may very well say goodbye as I have done. I have kept my Powercell 10 SE, 3 TeslaPlexes and 2 Galileo dual mpc's. I have recently bought a Tranquility Base and Basik which are both amazing pieces.

I think you should try this. Buy a HD Power3 and replace it with your S.R Hologram A or D. Sell the one and buy 3 more Power 3's with the money. Sell the next then move onto the speaker and interconnects. You will see how the HiDiamond league will damper the S.R stuff. It is truly amazing topnotch quality. JUST DO IT!!!!! YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!!!!
Bacardi, I would like to ask you for some feedback on some of your Synergistic stuff. I have the Powercell 10 SE MK II and I am thinking of getting a Galileo MPC dual lead for it. Can you describe the improvement of the standard MPC? I am also considering a Tranquility. Can describe the difference between the Basik and the Base. I could get a Basik know but if the difference is worth the extra money I would be willing to wait.
I find the MK II Powercell to be one of the best Conditioners for the money. I also had the Universal Speaker and Interconnect Cells and Loved what they did. I have recently sold both to fund the purchase of HiDiamond cables.

I will be receiving two HD3 Power, one HD2 Balanced, and two HD7 Speaker cables. I will be using the HD3 on my new Merrill Audio Veritas Monos based on the Hypex Ncore NC1200 technology. The HD2 Balanced from my PS Audio PW MK II DAC to the Veritas amps. The two HD7 Speaker cables from the two pairs of speaker output binding posts to the HF and LF binding posts on my B&W 802D speakers. The B&W love to be bi-wired and/or bi-amped. When I had the Synergistic I had them bi-wired with a single run. I had a chance to borrow an extra pair of the Speaker Cells to run two single from the Veritas Demo amp two the B&W and the improvement surprised all who heard it.
I have high expectations for the Hidiamond cables in my system over the Synergistic.
I live in NJ and luckily have no damage from Sandy. But the storm has delayed delivery of the cables and the amps. Once I get everything setup I will post my initial impressions and then after they have some hours on them report back.
If my expectations are met, someday I will try the Galileo Universal Cells with the HiDiamond Cables.
Sabai, do you have the HiDiamond cables with any of the Galileo Cells? If so what are your impressions.


Hifial,
I am running my HiDiamond cables with the Galileo speaker cells. Everything sounds great -- really great -- but since my system is so refined and resolving I am going to try to get away with selling off the speaker cells to finance cable and tweak upgrades.

If you or anyone else is interested in a set of SR speaker cells please message me. I will give you first dibs when I put them up for sale formally on Audiogon. I will also be selling off my Powercell 10SE MKII soon on Audiogon, in case anyone is interested.

My terms are always free shipping worldwide and free PayPal fees. And my prices are always very attractive. I am not greedy. So, my items usually sell within the first 24 hours. Both 110-volt and 230-volt MPCs will be available for the Powercell and the speaker cells, with the possibility of 230-volt Galileo MPCs of you wish this important upgrade. I just sold my SR Interconnect cells on Audiogon within a few hours of putting them up for sale.
For the HD owners with Cable Cookers, what durations do you recommend for these cables? I just got a cooker and threw on the HD9 ic's and HD8 sc's. After i evaluate these, I'll cook the aes/ebu and hd3 pc's. Time recommendations from the experienced would be appreciated!