Many of High Fidelity Cables’s products were out of reach for most. For example, the CT-1 RCA interconnect starts at an eye-watering $1,200/meter and their Pro Series power cables start at $20,900/meter. Many have gotten a taste of what this magnetic conduction technology was capable of. After listening to the $5,900 Ultimate power cord (and MC-0.5)…I had to get one for my mains and another for the Chord DAVE. Those cables along with the MC-6 Hemisphere power conditioner are components that won’t be leaving my system anytime soon. What I enjoy most about these HFC power products is its effortless and naturally unimpeded sound.
Due to the admittedly prohibitive price tags, HFC wants to make this incredible magnetic technology more accessible to a larger audience. Enter the Reveal line. The Magnet Man himself, Rick Schultz, sent me a few of these really spacey looking cables and I went right into breaking them in. They take a good 200+ hours to smooth out and magnetize in the system.
Sound
I’ve already written quite a bit about my impressions of the RCA interconnects during my Audience Au24 SX review. Among the assortment of RCA cables, some over $2,000, the Reveals were not only sonically competitive but made it to my Top 5 with ease. It’s more than a great value cable, it’s just a superb sounding cable period. Both XLRs and RCAs contribute a similarly vivid and transparent sound so these impressions apply to both.
Playtime – Dylan Ryche (Daydreamer)
During the first few seconds of this song, the Reveals are authoritative with the deep strums that seamlessly glides into a palpable shiny plucks. There are an energy and speed that makes for toe-tapping fun. There’s plenty of air with richly textured strumming cues. Micro-details and dynamics are clearly drawn into the acoustic space which provides an addictive tactility.
You Are So Beautiful – Joe Cocker (Fire It Up: Live)
The soundstage in incredibly deep and wide with the Reveals. The impact of the piano notes has plenty of weight while his vocals float and exert undisturbed during the entire track. The audience sounds a bit too crispy on other cables but the Reveals provide a level of organics and density to the crowd. Reverberation is fully realized as the simultaneous applause and notes harmonize towards the end.
Church – Lyle Lovett (Best of Lyle Lovett – Live)
What a rhymic delight! Silky smooth and articulate with fantastic soundstage focus. Background singers have the proper depth and harmony. Piano plays quickly and cleanly behind everyone else. There’s just a right amount of everything with this cable. It goes low, high, and maintains accurate control of the music. It does some many things right it’s difficult to fault it for much.
Roberta Flack – Killing Me Softly With His Song
Fantastic layering and depth of back up vocalists. There’s a melodic calm yet an excitement about the Reveals. I love how it supplies the perfect amount of low end without shaving off the top. It’s quiet, quick, and very detailed. This track “reveals” just how genre-independent this cable really is.
Final Impressions
I was listening to over 20+ interconnects when the Reveal line was introduced in the review queue. It quickly made it to one of my top picks. Most components are priced fairly but I believe the High Fidelity Cables Reveal line are priced unfairly…in a fantastic way. For under $1,000, especially for the RCA cables, I strongly believe it to be an absolute steal. As far as energy and resolution, I even preferred to HFC’s own CT-1 RCA interconnects.
We’ve swapped our Audience Au24 SX XLRs from the preamp/amplifier for the Reveals XLRs and placed the Audience between the preamp/Lumin S1. The Reveals not only removed veils we didn’t know we had, but enhanced clarity, dynamics, and overall focus. The low-end performance is also something I don’t hear from many of these higher end cables. The Reveals were advertised as a giant killer and it doesn’t disappoint.
Very interesting. I’d be especially keen to hear what you make of the Reveal power cords.
The HFC Reveal series – RCA, XLR, speaker and power cords are an absolute steal. Audiophile friends of mine bring their music with them to hear it on my system. In reality HFC products should be thought of as major components – they make that kind of change to your system. Instead of going to a different preamp or amplifier, my next move will be a better HFC speaker cable.
I’ll be reviewing the power cord soon…