A couple of friends of mine, last Sunday, sat down to compare 3 power cords. One of these was my High Fidelity" CT–1". The second was a CT GE,
from Cerious Technologies. The third is a CPT-300, balanced power cord, from Core Power Technologies. My power cord is fully burned in having
greater than 500 hours on it. The other 2 are newer cables having less than 50 hours on them. Obviously this will, to some degree, skew the findings
but did give us an idea of how they compare. 2 of my audio friends joined me, as mentioned, and all of us came to similar conclusions although differing slightly occasionally. The idea of the
comparison was to choose 5 tracks from different albums, all HD/SACD, and look at a number of different sound parameters. We chose 7. #1–Airy-defined
as pertaining to tremble which sounds like, delicate, open, and seemingly unrestricted in upper extension. #2–articulation–defined as clarity
and intelligibility, usually of voice reproduction. #3–attack transient–defined as the initial energy pulse of a percussive sound, such as from
a piano string, triangle, or drum head. #4–Depth–defined as the illusion of acoustical distance receding behind the loudspeaker plain,
giving the impression of listening through the loudspeakers into the original performing space. #5–detail–defined as the subtlist,
most delicate parts of the original sound, which are usually the first things lost by imperfect components. #6–impact–defined as a quality of concussive force
,as from a deep, strong base attack, which produces a brief sensation of visceral pressure. #7–involvement–defined as the degree to which a reproduction
draws the listener into the musical performance and evokes an emotional response to it. It was not always easy to stick to the agenda throughout.
We did, however, come do fairly common conclusions regarding most of these. The music used, during the shoot out, included #1–Neighborhood-Manu Katche, tract #1,
November 99... #2- Modern Cool-Patricia Barber,Constantinople.... #3–Diana Krall-Wall Flower- tract 2-Desperato. #4–Tchaikovsky Symphony No.6-Reference Recording
First movement.................. We played each track 3 times, with each of us sitting in the sweet spot to allow the best chance of evaluating
each of the chosen parameters. This was a little time-consuming, but we decided to do it this way so we would have a better chance of remembering what we were
listening to. We started each track with the CT–1, proceeding to the CPT–300, and finally to the CT GE power cord. The cost of these cords is different,
with the CT 1, retail and $2300, at the 1.5 m length, the CPT–300, at approximately $850, and the CT GE at approximately $300. All cables were constructed
very well. The workmanship on each is excellent. At each change of cables, my SET amps were turned off and allowed 15 minutes to warm backup. With regard to the first
parameter, all 3 cables performed superbly. The edge here was judged to a tie between the CT–1 and the CT GE. The CPT was certainly not far behind and would be very
acceptable to all but the most discriminating. #2–articulation, was a virtual tie between all 3 cables. All of them produced a beautiful, natural vocal realness.
The CT GE cable produced a slightly forward vocal presentation compared to the other 2. With all of them it was easy to hear the breathing and lips
of Diana Krall. They all presented a life like image. #3–attack transient–the winner here was the CPT–300 which consistently presented tight,quick, delicate sounding
tonality to cymbals,wood blocks,and tympany.The weigh of the music presented was also better than the other 2. #4- depth–all 3 cables presented an equally real presentation
of three-dimensional space. The CT GE produced a slightly less high sound stage.
This was also slightly less wide. The CT 1 and CPT–300 were sound stage champions. #5 detail–all 3 cables were equally capable of reproducing the most delicate
sounds within the soundstage. The weight of the music, however of the CPT–300 did give it a slight edge. #6–impact–the CPT–300 was the champ here. It was definitely able
to produce a more visceral impact with drums, and other percussive instruments. #7–involvement–all 3 of the cables were superb and drawn you into the music.
There was never a moment of fatigue, to my mind, as I had the ability to listen to each of these cables for many hours at a time. The CPT–300, because of
the increased weight of the music, was a slightly more enjkoyable ...... all 3 of these cables are superb cables, with the CT GE being amazing at its price point.
Obviously, these are just our opinions using my system. The other side of this is that the CT GE and CPT 300 were not fully burned then. The conclusions that we
came to were fairly unanimous across the board. All of us agreed that each cable has its own strengths and given the right system, would perform admirably.
System: Chaliss Audio–’Grail’SET monoblocks
Tidal Audio-’Contriva Diacera-SE’ speakers
Lumin A1 Network Music Player
HF CT-1 pcs x 3
HF CT-1U interconnect
HF CT-1U speaker cables
I have also had the opportunity to communicate with the 3 designers of these cables, all of whom are gentleman and professionals.
