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The 428phono is a low capacitance tonearm cable (30pF/m) for high-end analogue reproduction. It is a flexible and lightweight pure solid silver Litz cable suitable for all the types of turntables. Despite its outstanding performance and the high quality materials it employs, it represents an excellent value for money option. The 428Phono is built around the popular and effective approach of solid silver cores being placed in oversized Teflon tubes and braided in a LITZ geometry. However, we have significantly expanded on this approach in order to deliver a professionally made, truly hi-end cable.
The heart of this cable are the solid, ultra pure (minimum 99.9997%) Silver conductors. It consists of 4 evenly matched solid cores of OCC Single Crystal Silver individually sleeved in oversized Teflon tubes (achieving an air/Teflon dielectric). Then, they are braided into a round true LITZ geometry and encased in PTFE before the whole bundle is threaded in silver plated OFC copper braided shield for full coverage against stray signal interference.
The high density and coverage (98%) of our silver plated OFC copper shields ensures an extremely effective protection against EMI and RFI. The shield of the cable does not interfere at all with the signal path and works as a Faraday cage preventing any interference from reaching the conductors and draining any noise that it picks up to the ground. The use of additional layers of Teflon on top of the tubes creates another level of bedding insulation with low dielectric involvement and excellent mechanical and electrical characteristics while adding the necessary spacing between the conductors and the shield. At the same time the tight Teflon insulation is essential in order to prevent the tubes from moving and for absorbing vibrations.
The outer protection of the cable aims at creating a good electrical insulation with suitable mechanical properties (i.e. strength, flexibility, vibration absorbency etc) but also at isolating the conducting parts of the cable by any environmental impact. To achieve such a thing our cables use three protecting layers above the shielding: Teflon insulation, flexible Silicone compound jacket and a flexible braided outer sleeve. Between the shield and the cable jacket there is a layer of dense Teflon insulation. The cable jacket is made by flexible silicone compound (the cable tails use a PVC/neoprene compound) and it offers enhanced protection to the cable. Finally the cable is finished with a high-quality Viablue flexible sleeve (a combination of Monofilament PET and expanding fabric fillers). The outer sleeve offers substantial protection against abrasion. It is extremely flexible with a soft texture. Overall a very robust but light and flexible construction that beyond the outstanding conductors it employs the most suitable dielectrics.
The cable is available with a separate ground lead at the RCA end or with a dual ground for both the pre-amp and turntable chassis. The ground lead is terminated to gold plated spade connectors (ring terminal or banana plug is also available upon request).
The tonearm connectors we use on our cables by default are supplied by 1877PHONO, a Canadian company of precision crafted high performance components and accessories specifically made for analogue applications. These high-end 5-pin connectors, all feature non-magnetic bodies and Teflon insulation. Their precision machined internal contacts are made of 24K gold plated OFC copper to ensure a perfect connection between tonearm and arm cable. These connectors will fit all tonearms that require a 5-pin female mini-DIN cable like Linn, Roksan, Jelco, Audio Technica, Graham, SME, Acoustic Research, Audioquest, Micro Seiki, Denon, Acos Lustre, and many others. We have been using the 1877Phono connectors for several years and would highly recommend them. Both build quality and performance meet very high standards that exceed those of some well regarded connectors by Cardas, Clearaudio etc. Other tonearm connector options are also available at different prices and we are happy to advice on the best options based on your individual situation.
At the tonearm end we can also offer suitable connector options for tonearms by Grace (male tonearm connectors) as well as Zeta and MDC800 (mini Hex).
At the pre-amp / amp end the cable can be terminated with a wide range of RCA, XLR, BNC, DIN and TRS connectors.
This cable uses some of the highest quality materials available and its construction and finish requires a significant amount of time and much attention. As you can expect the cost of producing such a cable is quite high. However, we do all we can to keep our prices as close to the actual costs of production as possible and make it affordable for most of our customers. So there are no added costs for marketing, administration, 3rd party distribution, fancy packaging etc. We simply offer what we describe; A fast, detailed and flexible cable, highly immune to EMI and RFI, that can deliver outstanding sonic performance under all circumstances. This is one of the very few handmade cables offered with a proper shielding as opposed to inferior methods of protection like drain wires and foil screens. In addition to this the high purity of silver used in its construction and professional built and finish will not be found in any cable in a similar price range.
Until today this low priced phono cable has impressed anyone who has tried it and expected an entry level performance. It has been compared with some of the top cables of the market and surprised with its ability to deliver some of the most demanding recordings in such a natural and detailed manner. And it is hardly believable that it can achieve this at such an attractive selling price.
Our Clio cables address effectively a common characteristic of solid silver cables where emphasis is given to the higher frequencies at the expense of bass and mid-range. Clio will not sound as bright and edgy but will achieve a better balance across the frequency spectrum with a well defined upper bass and mid-range. Often, detail is perceived by the listener as the clarity in the higher end of the spectrum. Such a single ended focus is somehow striking but not particularly revealing. It can be tiring over time and it leaves some aspects of music that are more important than its clinical presentation hidden. These are issues that our Clio cables avoid while delivering a very real interpretation of the recording. The low capacitance of these cables enables tighter mids and bass. The treble is open without grain and edge.
These solid silver Clio have a great performance-price ratio. Despite their very low price they deliver the same hi-end performance one can expect from some of the best cables in the market. Their low price is not an indication of their performance but it represents an honest account of costs and labour required for their production. For these cables we use solid, single crystal OCC silver conductors throughout. The conductors of the cable are measured to create the desirable effective gauge as well as a good capacitance/inductance balance. Intimacy among the opposing conductors is kept to the minimum by keeping the Litz braid to four cores. The embodiments of these solid silver conductors with appropriate gauges and dielectrics deliver excellent sonic results, difficult to be achieved with most of the other types of wires.
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