Offering a tricked out, hot-rod version of the Award Winning SC-5 speaker cable seemed like a natural progression, after the overwhelming success of our IC-3SE. While we had things on the drawing board, our intentions were not only to push the envelope of an already great cable to theoretical limits, but also to come up with a breakthrough product. To again offer cost no object performance, at an Audio Art Cable price.
A New Design is Born
Here’s the ugly truth: Any length of speaker cable degrades a system’s performance by affecting the amplifier’s efficiency. Like the effects of shunt capacitance in instrument cables and series inductance in microphone cables, the signal degradation caused by speaker cabling is always present to some degree. The most obvious negative effect of speaker cabling is the amount of amplifier power wasted.
Although silver and copper are very good conductors, they’re not perfect. Both metals have a certain amount of resistance, and are “seen” by the amplifier as part of the load.
So, how to improve performance results associated with resistance? First, minimize the resistance of the cabling. This can be done by using larger gauge conductors, or in this case, using a double run of cable, which effectively increases a single 14 gauge SC-5 cable to a beefed up 11 gauge cable! Doubling up a run of cable improves the "damping factor" of the amplifier. In other words, it couples the amplifier to the speaker more efficiently by cutting the resistance (and inductance) of the cable in half. The huge improvement in performance this brings to an audio system must be experienced to be believed, as the difference in sound is greater than a small reductionin resistance might logically predict.
More than just a double run of SC-5 cable in a fancy jacket? You bet your bass it is!
To expand on the technical ideas proposed above, and to further achieve the ultimate in fidelity that the SC-5SE design would allow, we needed to find connectors and create solder joints that would compliment it in the best possible ways. Since we became smitten with the quality and performance of Furutech products while designing our power 1, the decision to use the FP-201(G) Spades, and the FP-202(G) bananas, with their pure copper, and copper alloy α (Alpha) Conductors was an easy one to make. Not only are these parts machined to an extraordinarily high level of fit and finish, the quality of interface with your components and speakers, not to mention the cable, is absolutely second to none. They are also an amazingly good value in the high-end audio marketplace. If there are better spades and banana connectors out there, we have not seen (or heard) them!
Vocalists in the room, Stunning Resolution, Dynamics, & Slam, Bass to Die for, Huge 3-D Soundstage….it’s all here!
In theory, to maximize the quality and fidelity of a connector / cable interface, attention should be made more to contact pressure than to contact area. This being said, we use Cardas’ exceptional Quad Eutectic solder to tin the cable ends. We then firmly screw the Furutech connector’s bolts into the hardened solder, causing the bolt to “bite” into the solder/wire. This creates what is known as a “gas-tight” connection or “cold weld” joint, considered to be the optimum cable / connector interface.
So what does it all really mean? Well, that’s where you, your system, and most importantly your music and movies come in. You’ll have to order a set to find out!!
The breathtaking, spellbinding, and amazingly musical SC-5SE is here. Experience a pair in your system today! |
