The Name:
Since these simple red wires virtually eliminate the
most common problems of typical speaker cables (usual
sonic signatures, hyperbole, and high prices) they have
been named the "Anti-Cables"
Handling:
The Anti-Cables are flexible enough to loop around
a Magic Marker size pen, yet stiff enough to hold that
shape after you let go. Because of their unique malleability,
they can be drawn and formed into virtually and shape
you need, but don't expect them to lie flat on the floor
like typical snake sized cables; it's not in their "Anti-Cable"
nature. This is a good thing, as like any other cable,
they might even sound better when kept from lying flat
on the floor or carpet.
The Difference
The Anti-Cable wire is made of one solid piece of highly
annealed, super long drawn, Continuously Cast Oxygen
Free Copper. They might look skinny, but that is because
the insulation (dielectric material) is a very thin
red coating instead of the typical thick plastic insulation.
They are actually a heavy 12 gauge wire, even thought
they look much smaller.
We believe the Anti-Cables are sonically transparent
and neutral because they virtually eliminate the most
common source that give speaker cable their sonic signature,
the plastic dielectric material. Beyond the extremely
thin red coating, there is nothing left but air, and
air is a near ideal insulation dielectric because it
causes virtually no dielectric effect! Air is also why
break-in time is not so nasty sounding with the Anti-Cables.
This is because "break-in" is actually the
bad sounding plastic dielectric material, which simply
sounds less bad with time. Since the Anti-Cables have
much less dielectric material, the break-in period is
easier to get through. If you have ever experienced
a typical speaker cable breaking-in, you understand
how much the dielectric material affects the sound.
Again, it gets better with time, but the dielectric
effect will never fully go away (unless you mostly remove
it, like the Anti-Cables).
Here is some text from AudioQuest's Cable Theory
web pages:
"The problem is that any insulating material
next to a conductor acts like a capacitor which stores
and later releases energy. This is true of circuit board
materials, cables, resistors and of course capacitors.
The ideal wire is one with no insulation except for
air."
Although "air" is not so good, since the
copper will quickly oxidize. The thin red coating on
the Anti-Cable wire is the best solution: Very very
little insulating material, and air tight!!!
Doesn't it seem like typical speaker cables have it
all wrong?
Lots of insulating material, not air tight, and over
priced.
The Spades:
We use an industrial grade, solid copper, lightly
tinned (to prevent oxidation) spade that is not excessively
over sized, yet built for high performance and high
reliability. Each Spade is "cold welded" (extreme
high pressure crimp) to the copper wire.
Managing the run:
As with any audio cables, they tend to sound better
when kept a few inches away from everything, including
the carpeted floor. The stiffness of the Anti-Cable
wires can help you to keep them suspended in the air.
Extra long Anti-Cable runs can be better managed using
cable isolators.
Twisting the (+)&(-) wires together (3-4 full twists
per foot) also works well as a free "tweak".
As this will turn two separate wires into one twisted
pair (easier to manage), and the lower inductance (see
specs below) may provide additional top end extension.
Specifications
With the two wires spaced about 6-12 inches away from
each other:
- Resistance = 0.00318 Ohms/foot run
- Inductance = 0.82uH/foot run
- Capacitance = 0.002nF/foot run
With the two wires twisted 3-4 full turns per foot
the specifications change to this:
- Resistance = 0.00318 Ohms/foot run
- Inductance = 0.30uH/foot run
- Capacitance = 0.048nF/foot run
|
