What most important in the sound of your cables?

Clarity (no smearing, no muffled sound) without adding any strange artifacts to the sound, along with maintaining correct timbre and tone.

I found all inexpensive ICs and SCs to not be as clear and open as I'd prefer. And all expensive (for me, up to $2k) ones to excel in one area (clarity, or floating soundstage, etc.), but falter in another (bloated, strange harmonics, unnatural timbre, etc.), to the point of my not being able to overlook the faults.

It was a nightmare process for me, but I finally did stumble upon ICs and SCs which satisfied my requirements.

Interesting Calvinj. I have not heard any of the High Fidelity power cords, only the CT-1 interconnects which I own. IMHO, these interconnects strengths are organic, natural, full-bodied sound. I would not say that they are fast sounding cables at all though. They present too much musical weight to be considered fast cables. In my experiences, cables that offer great speed and resolution, Nordost, Stealth, Tara Labs, etc., do not offer the power and musical weight of cables like High Fidelity and Purist Audio.

Power cords I'm currently using include Nordost Valhalla, Elrod EPS-2/3S, and RSA HZ Crown Jewel. Of these, the Valhalla offers the most speed and resolution by far. The Elrod's are more musical and weighty, and the HZ CJ lies in between the two, though a bit closer to the Elrod's. I've been running the CT-1 between preamp and amp, while using KCI Silkworm+ and Silkworm+ SE between sources and preamp.

@jcmcgrogan2. The other day I put that high fidelty ultimate reference power cable in and I took my other power cable out and I got the best sound out of my system yet. I was in the audio matrix. I have a stock power cord on my ear. A stock power cord on my parasound. I tried a clarus aqua and a tara labs the one interconnects. However,I'm gonna add some more high fidelity cables to see if it gets better. It was weird because the minute I put the high fidelity power cable on my amp it was on. I think the speed they added while listening to jazz helped. I like a lot of cymbals and drums and the rhythm was perfect and quick but in a good way. The pianos improved as well.

I will be doing a demo of the high fidelity ct1 ultimate reference speaker cables . I am using an ultimate reference power cord in my system now. I just added it. It is amazing It added depth, speed in clarity in spades to my system. I was some atlas mavros speaker cables but I will be trying the high fidelity ct 1 ultimate reference speaker cables this weekend. I'm hoping I get more improvements to my sound. I find myself needing speed and clarity but with a fair amount of organics because I hate listening fatigue. I like a natural sound but if it's too dynamic I get listening fatigue really fast.

Well you basically covered speed, clarity, natural, and fullness. All nice features to have, but hardly companions, IMHO. All cables I have heard of vary between the full musical weight camp (sometimes too slow) and the speed and resolution camp (sometimes too thin). Most manufacturers try their best to balance these traits the best they can, but you obviously cannot go East and West at the same time. So where their efforts fall is the subject of debate for many.

Years ago, I was more into chasing the ultimate in resolution, but I found that listening sessions became shorter and less frequent due to increase in listening fatigue (too much information). Nowadays, I tend to prefer cables that lean slightly to the natural or musical side of the fence. Sure, I don't want slow cables that lull me to sleep, but I'm more into a relaxing musical experience now than I am in chasing the highest level of resolution that won't allow me to relax and enjoy the music. As always, YMMV.

The new version of Nordost's cable line should be on your "short list". They have speed and clarity in spades, and the newest versions also have just a touch of warmth. I recently upgraded my system to a full loom of Nordost Frey, and was astonished at the improvement in sound quality.

Hello Calvin,
Pursuit of a natural -organic character is the objective for every component and accessory in my system. I've settled on the Ocellia Silver Reference IC and SC. They are resolved and nuanced and definitely meet the "natural" sound criteria I must have. They're a wonderful fit in my audio system. I believe that natural is the highest compliment that can be given regarding an audio product.
Charles,

Wow that great!!

I am completely in agreement with you and in my system to achieve that I use Crystal Clear Audio Opus Series they are a high grade of silver but if it were to bright I would not hesitate to use copper cables. Its been my experience that the purity of the cables have a direct impact on the brightness. Best of Luck