Reviewing Affordable Power Conditioners from High Fidelity Cables

In 2012, I reviewed the High Fidelity Cables CT-1 interconnects and speaker cables. These were the first two products from Rick Schultz’s new company. I was thoroughly shocked by how good they were. Now, I’m very pleased to review his latest products, the MC-0.5 and MC-1 Pro Power Conditioners.

The picture above is one I took of Rick at T.H.E. Show last year where I recognized High Fidelity Cables for Best Room Price No Object. I have enjoyed hearing his products at shows and reviewed them up through their Ultimate Reference line of cables and power cords as they were released. As Rick continued to make more expensive cables, I became hesitant, however, to review them because I knew I would want them, and I could never afford them.

Affordable Power Conditioning Products

For the last few years, Rick and I have talked about reviewing his new, less-expensive products, but I just haven’t gotten around to it until now. I am so glad Rick sent me these power conditioning products to review. I am pleased to report that they are very affordable products that perform way above their price point.

First, I received two of the High Fidelity Cables MC-0.5 (pictured above), and I had a chance to hear them for a couple of months before I received the MC-1 Pro power conditioner. A basic principle of all of the High Fidelity Cables’ products is that AC power is what makes or breaks the quality and clarity of your system. A corollary to this is that magnets can be used to guide the power and keep the electrons of the AC going where they should from the power plug to the speakers. The MC-0.5s can work with or without other power conditioners; you simply plug one into an empty electrical outlet.

The MC-0.5s cost $299 for a single unit, $549 for two, and $999 for a set of four. Compare these prices to the MC-1 Pro (pictured below) that sells for $1,599. The MC-1 Pro simply looks like three MC-0.5s joined together, but it is a whole different ball game.

Setting Up the MC-0.5 and MC-1 Pro Power Conditioners

Nearly all of High Fidelity Cable’s products, including the MC-0.5 power conditioner, work using magnetic conduction technology, but the MC-1 Pro power conditioner adds a new circuit that helps strengthen the magnetic system.  Schultz says, it is a passive circuit made of capacitors that helps to align electrons in the middle of the magnetic waveguide; it simulates in part what their Helix magnetic technology does performance wise. This system is used for the magnetic waveguide and not as a filter. So, what we essentially have with the MC-1 Pro is a brand new product development.

My preference is to use the MC-1 Pro in the same wall outlet I’m using for the power cord going to my HB Cables Marble Power Distributer. Since I only used six of the eight outlets on the power distributor, I plugged one of the two MC-0.5s  in each end of the power distributer. I don’t know if there is anything significant about putting the 0.5s in each end, but I can tell you placing the MC-1 Pro in same wall outlet was without a doubt the best place for it.

Listening to My System

Let’s talk first about how the two 0.5 power conditioners affected the sound of my system. When I first plugged them in, I could hear a slight difference, but as I have learned from using HFC’s cables, I knew it takes some time for the magnets to begin to affect the wire. After being in the system for a couple of days, the difference was easy to hear and very pleasing. The system sounded more like live music with more drive and more tone, and the music had really good flow. I expect much of this improvement was the result of hearing more dynamics and micro-dynamics. The sound also came out of a much quieter and cleaner sounding background. The bass was also more defined with a very good leading edge and even better decay and air. All of this results in a soundstage that seems slightly more believable.

Recommendation

These are the first power conditioning products that I have tried with the HB Cables Marble Power Distributer that made an improvement to the sound of my system. With the audition of the MC-1 Pro, I can tell you that I have heard power conditioners that cost upwards of four or five times the price of the MC-1 Pro that aren’t as effective at cleaning the power and producing a much quieter sound with a denser and darker background that results in a more three dimensional sensation for instruments and vocals alike.  The soundstage was also more three dimensional as well, with great scale and weight to the soundstage.

The very quiet background also contributed to dynamics and micro-dynamics. This means that plucked strings and drums sounded very alive. The density of the background also improved the tonality of the sound. Overall, the MC-1 Pro refined the sound of my system.

Congratulations to Rick for developing both of these products. I can assure you that the improvements they provide were easily heard, and they resulted in a more musical and enjoyable experience.