Cable School

Learn What You Want in a Cable and Why

We have put this short tutorial together to help you sift through all these ads, and new companies which all claim to have the "best" cables.

We will start by saying there is no "best". Each cable has a sonic "signature", and that "signature" is what makes the cable something you will either like or dislike. We will deconstruct different materials and "signatures" to help aid you in your decision.

First, let us explain the two main sound types:

1. Soft and Warm.

   This is a sound type that is slightly rolled off in the highs, and can sound "mellow" or "warm". People commonly refer to this as "easy to listen to", or some go as far as saying it is "non-fatiguing". On the flip side, some refer to it as "non-involving", flat or somewhat lifeless. This sound is commonly associated with bare Copper products.

2. Open and Detailed.

   This sound type is known for its articulate presentation of recorded material. This is the area where you hear the miniscule details of the recording, such as the sound of the pick hitting the strings before the sound of the guitar. This style will relay the sound of the room the artist was recording in. You will hear the saliva in the mouth of the singer, and their breathing. The sound is commonly more open, airy, and spacious. The exact instrument location becomes apparent. Imaging should be dead-on, and 3 dimensional. On the flip side some people feel it is "too involving" and analytical. It causes their brain to get involved, and decipher every little sound, and so on. This sound is commonly associated with Silver products.

Now the first thing to be wary of when purchasing cables is the companies who do not tell you how many conductors in what arrangement, what size, what metal is used, and what type of insulation, or dielectric material. In our opinion, they are hiding something. Perhaps they do not want you to know they are charging way too much for a bare Copper product. Who knows?

Here are some facts about Wire/Cable that are definite:

1. Silver has much less resistance (better conductivity) than Copper or Gold.
2. Teflon insulation absorbs less signal than PVC does.
3. Silver Oxide conducts much better than Copper Oxide.
4. Copper is warmer, and softer sounding than Silver.
5. Cheap connectors cost next to nothing and in our opinion are overused.
6. It is much easier/cheaper to source Copper/PVC than Silver/Teflon.

A Few More Points About Insulation and Conductors.

Teflon insulation versus PVC.

Teflon is the insulation that is least likely to interfere with the signal. PVC is used because it is very cheap to produce. PVC will absorb signal, then then re-release it back into the signal path after a short delay, marring the original signal. Teflon absorbs much less signal, and does not re-release it, but turns it to heat instead. Teflon is the obvious choice for quality.

Connector types.

This is another area where huge cost can be cut.

Let us explain. Imagine a bi-wire pair of speaker cable...it has 12 connectors. If you make this cable with .50 cent or $1 connectors, (and there are many) the total connector cost is $6 to $12 for those cables. Now if you use high quality connectors, the connectors usually cost $8-$10 each wholesale. You can see the difference in cost to produce, $6-$12 versus $96-$120.

Now you may ask what is the difference between them? First is the base metal..cheap ones are solid Brass with a Gold or nickel plating. First off, solid Brass is a poor conductor, and second of all the Brass will leach through the Gold anyway, making a Gold plating useless. The high quality connectors use a Copper/Brass alloy with a high Copper content. The next step is a Silver plating, and then the 24K Gold plating on top for a finish that wont degrade. WBT is a prime example of this high quality.

The second part of cost includes the machining of the part. Obviously one that takes more hours of labor, or more expensive cutting will cost more than an easily produced part. A well machined part works smoother than a poorly machined part, and will give longer years of trouble free service. Look at the the case of set screws for instance. Cheap connectors use cheap set screws with a normal slotted head which break apart before fully tightened down, making a poor connection, and the removal of the set screw impossible. High quality set screws have a miniature Torx type screw head and use hard metals so screw breakage does not happen. That way you can tighten the screw a lot harder than with an inferior connector giving the "cold weld" connection you want.

Generally speaking, locking-type connectors are higher quality than non-locking. The reason is that you make the connector tight by turning the barrel. This means that over time the connector will not break or loosen. Take, for instance, an RCA. If it gets loose, you must physically bend the collar inward to make a better contact.(this weakens the metal) after being bent then re bent it will break and fail, worse yet, it might stay loose with a poor contact surface. The same goes for bananas. Locking type connectors eliminate this possible problem.

We have seen many WBT copies lately, and most are knocked off in China using much lower quality materials..even the silver plated ones. Look for brands who heatshrink over the connectors to hide the lower grade.

Using Silver.

Silver has less resistance than Copper, and that makes it faster, and more efficient. Silver will convey detail, and image better than Copper. This property makes Silver the preferred material for Tube components, since they sound "warm" to begin with. Silver is also good with Solid state components that are not harsh to begin with. If you have components that sound too harsh, Silver will only convey that harshness. If you want the most open, detailed sound, you might as well remove bare Copper from the equation. Silver covered Copper is a terrific blend of both a Copper base metal, with Silver over it for the best of both worlds. Some say this works best for low frequencies with the Copper, and the Silver for the higher frequencies. We have found this to be true, and use it in all our designs.

Metal purity and type.

The purity of the metals used are also a big factor in cost. Most all Coppers now used are Oxygen free. Oxygen free high-conductivity is the next step up, and oxygen free long grain, or long crystal the next, then single crystal. Regular tough pitch Copper is inferior for audio in our opinion, and even 99.99% is of average purity. Normally Copper does not exceed 99.9999% purity. Be wary of anyone claiming more purity. Silver should be at 99.99% minimum. 99.9% is jewelry wire, and 99.999% is hard to find and expensive. 99.9999% Pure Silver is also 99.9999% likely to be BS. Ask people if they can produce the certificate of purity for 5 nines or better.

Multiple smaller conductors.

Many tests have been done that conclude when a conductor reaches the 16Ga size, anything larger introduces distortion and skin effect. People use one large conductor because it costs less to produce than multiple, individually insulated smaller conductors. This is why the highest quality cables are made up of many smaller separately insulated conductors, rather than one large one. Shielding also costs more to produce, and especially Silver shielding.

Common Misconceptions:

1. That you need Silver connectors for Silver wire. If you really think about this one, you will realize that if this was true, you would need silver RCA outputs on your CD player and Silver inputs on your amplifier, along with Silver wiring from the inputs to the PC board, and then Silver tracings on the PC board itself, all the way to Silver leads from the PC board to the resistors, and diodes! This is ridiculous. Somewhere it will turn to copper, and most RCA jacks are Gold anyway.
2. That Cryogenics is a necessary treatment...this one is total hype in our opinion. We have done listening tests and not heard a difference..it does do something on a physical level..but can you hear it? C'mon folks! and all these people touting "true" cryogenic treatment, as if they know a secret that nobody else does..Whatever!

Conclusion.

When looking for cables, first decide if you want soft warm sound, or open detailed transparent sound. this will help to determine if you want bare Copper or Silver/Silver covered Copper Look at the connectors. Can you see them? What are they made of, and what brand are they? Are they locking type, or basic? Find out what the inside of the cable is comprised of. How many conductors, of what size, what metal, what purity, in what arrangement, and with what insulation. Know what you are paying for! Beware of companies that won't disclose this info. Ask about the satisfaction guarantee. Some companies have stipulations you must meet. The best companies will return the cables if you are not happy, no questions asked. (Presuming they are in like-new condition.)

How Our Cables Are Made.

All our cables use 99.99% pure Silver covered 99.999% oxygen free long grain copper. They all use 100% Teflon insulation, and the highest quality WBT locking type connectors. All the designs are shielded using Silver covered copper braiding, and all use a litz configuration or a helix in the case of twin conductors. Wherever solder is used it is WBT Silver solder, and most of the speaker cables do not use solder at all.