Cables

When we set out to develop a cable offering, we focused on low capacitance, low resistance, dampened, and robust materials.  These cables are designed and tested against others costing $600 and up, with all the performance and without the snake oil.  We had three fundamental issues that we thought had to be addressed to make the best quality cables but at lean pricing:

1. Better Connectors.  We've played with dozens of different connector designs out there from the generics that accumulate around the shop to cables that cost more than projectors.  On the low end, we were obviously unsatisfied that the connectors were fragile and barely strong enough to hold themselves in the jack.  On the high end, we were extremely unsatisfied that we paid big bucks on massive cables and were forced to endure screw-post connectors that were either not properly aligned to the terminals or easily came loose.  They've since been "Audiogoned," and we've learned that better can be had for less.

2. Better Conductors.  We found the highest performance-for-the-buck conductors for our new cables. Our speaker cables use a quad construction with diagonally opposing conductors.  The 11ga quad design places every conductor equidistant from the center of the cable so the magnetic fields cancel themselves out.  This reduces the EMI radiated from your speaker lines into nearby low voltage audio and video cables.
   

   Our analog audio interconnects use a single solid 18ga pure copper conductor, and our video and digital interconnects use a stranded 22ga pure copper conductor.

3. Foam Dielectric.  Air is the best quality dielectric, but the only way to keep a consistent dielectric across the cable is to use foam.  Foam dielectrics offer great mechanical isolation and yield the highest performance available for the money.

This isn't just a stereo world anymore, so all our cables are priced and sold individually to your specific needs.

Speaker Cables

Below are the details on our speaker cable connector options.  You are free to mix and match connectors to get the best combination for your amplifier and speaker terminals.  The only price adders are for the locking banana plugs and the bi-wire option.

Banana Plugs,gold-plated pure copper

No, these aren't the cheap generic banana plugs.  These are Vampire's gold-plated pure copper beryllium banana plugs that not only easily fit into common binding posts but offer surprisingly high pull-out strength for a non-locking design.

Universal Spade Lugs, 9mm to 1/4 inch binding posts, gold-plated pure copper

Having explained to non-audiophiles why I'm grinding down binding posts so I can use the $600 cables I just bought, universal spades became a requirement.  These are Vampire's heavy-duty gold plated over pure copper (not the common cheap brass) step spade lugs that accommodate any binding post.

Locking Bananas, Standard (4 per cable)

These are our most popular, as they balance ease of installation with a locked-down secure fit.  They fit any banana post with ease and after you rotate the soft-grip barrel, they lock with amazingly high pull-out strength. We make them available for a very reasonable $20 additional cost per side.

Bi-Wire (6 connectors per cable)

While we're huge proponents of biamplification (two discretely wired amplifier channels to each speaker), benefits from bi-wiring are more elusive.  A bi-wire speaker cable will have two connectors on the amp end and four on the speaker end.  We make them available because there are some speakers that require bi-wiring and there are audiophiles that prefer this wiring methodology.  The bi-wiring connection option adds only $16, independently from your connector choices.

Diameter	0.47 inch cable
Outer Jacket	PVC, black braid over gray
Conductor	4 conductors x 41 strands x 30ga, stranded pure copper, 11ga
Dielectric	Foam PE
Nominal DC Resistance	1.3 Ω / 1,000 ft
Nominal Capacitance	45 pF / ft
Nominal Inductance	0.120 µH / ft
Connector Options	Standard bananas, Universal spade lugs, Locking bananas, Bi-wire option

Audio Interconnect Cables

We only use professional, broadcast-quality RCA connectors.  They have spring-loaded, gold-plated internal contacts and a heavy duty nickel-plated construction.  You get a top quality connector that gives just the right amount of grip for the widest range of RCA jacks.

Our audio cables are double-shielded with a beefy 18ga pure copper connector.  They offer a thick foam polyethylene layer, which surrounds the connector with extremely consistent low-capacitance dielectric, but also absorbs vibrations.  These cables are designed to not only offer the best analog audio connection, but are also 75 ohm balanced for longer digital or video runs.  These are our favorite analog audio cables, and are less expensive than our hi-flex cables.

Diameter	0.35 inch cable, 0.5 inch connector
Outer Jacket	Black braid over black
Conductor	Solid copper, 18ga
Dielectric	Foam PE
Inner Shield	100% Aluminum foil
Outer Shield	93% Tinned copper braid
Nominal DC Resistance	7 Ω / 1,000 ft
Nominal Impedance	75 Ω
Nominal Capacitance	17 pF / ft
Minimum Bend Radius	3 inch
Colors Available	Red (right), Green (center), White (left), Gray (RS), Blue (LS), Purple (sub/LFE), Orange (RB), Brown (LB), Yellow, Black

Hi-Flex Subwoofer / Digital / Video Interconnect Cables

These cables were designed for digital audio, video, or audio runs that need a more flexible design and extreme bandwidth.  We went down to one shielding layer to reduce the cable diameter, upgraded the shield to the highest quality protection available, and went to a more expensive, thinner, foam FEP dielectric.  You get an amazingly consistent low-capacitance dielectric and vibration absorption.  These broadcast-quality true 75 ohm cables are plenum rated with a usable bandwidth to 200MHz.

Diameter	0.24 inch cable, 0.5 inch connector
Outer Jacket	Black braid over black
Conductor	7 x 30 Stranded copper, 22ga
Dielectric	Foam FEP
Shield	95% Copper braid
Plenum Rated	Yes
Nominal DC Resistance	15 Ω / 1,000 ft
Nominal Impedance	75 Ω
Nominal Capacitance	17 pF / ft
Nominal Inductance	0.092 µH / ft
Minimum Bend Radius	2.5 inch
Colors Available	Red (right, Pr/Cr), Green (center, Y), White (left), Gray (RS), Blue (LS, Pb/Cb), Purple (sub/LFE, toslink), Orange (RB), Brown (LB), Yellow, Black