GAIA CONNECT - Line level interconnect cables

Each Gaia cable is made upon order from raw materials and it is the product of many hours of  work accomplished over a period of a few days, so that each stage of its construction is properly assessed and executed. Performance, durability and finish are taken to the highest possible level to create a superb cable.

Our Gaia cables contribute to a sonic presentation with expanded sound stage. They deliver layering and separation of instruments in a formidable manner without hindering the holographic elements of the performance.  They carry transparency, speed and  dynamics with excellent bass response. Well defined but still natural,  with rich and believable midrange and upper bass. Although not strictly clinical, they are unforgiving cables; they will not mask detail nor enhance certain frequencies at the expense of others.

The Gaia cables will especially reveal their qualities to those who seek a very well-balanced alternative to what most silver cables offer. They do not simply deliver clarity and detail; they reveal hidden aspects of music by presenting the recording in a vivid manner with layering, imaging, ambiance and  height being projected in the soundstage coherently.

Balanced version     XLR-XLR 

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Single ended version   RCA-RCA

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Cable construction:

The GAIA CONNECT is a symmetrical, shielded twisted pair cable. It features 2x 21.5AWG Litz, signal conductors twisted around  two Teflon tubes as part of the bedding insulation, a geometry which allows us to adjust the proximity of the conductors and control the capacitive and inductive characteristics of the cable while permitting the embodiment of larger conductors in the cable design.

The Gaia Litz conductors that we produce for this cable are a significant improvement over solid, stranded as well as traditional Litz designs that are available in the industry. As with all of our handmade cables, the OCC strands are made of one of the purest silver and have practically no crystal boundaries. However, the unique character of the Gaia Litz conductors is primarily the result of a combination of dielectric materials, suitable geometries and the methods we use for their application.

The conductor design:

As with all of our cables of the Gaia series, each conductor consists of individually Teflon insulated silver cores. Ultimately, each of these Litz conductors is a group of low mass signal lines. The small cross-section area of each discreet conductor permits an even distribution of the signal carriers across each wire resulting to stable capacitive and inductive values across all frequencies. The process of creating these Litz conductors is extremely time consuming and complex and should not be confused with the Litz braiding of solid silver cables.

To form a Gaia Litz conductors, solid PTFE (primary insulation) is manually extruded over each of its strands, creating a fine, airtight layer with the desired thickness on the surface of the metal. Unlike typical Teflon litz wires, no extreme temperatures are involved and no added substrates are applied on the bare silver surface. The entire process is mechanical. The insulated cores are helically wound and encased in an outer layer of lower density PTFE insulation to form a single Gaia conductor. The airtight PTFE insulation prevents any interaction or movement of the wires, maintains a fixed proximity among all the strands of the same conductor and it creates an outstanding layer of dielectric with much lower involvement than any of the typical coatings found on Teflon Litz wires that are currently produced. PTFE has excellent electrical properties (remarkable electrical stability with a low dielectric constant that shows less change over a wide range of temperatures and frequencies than any other solid material, and dissipation factor which remains constant and below 0.0004) compared to any coated Litz wire currently produced.

The result is a very neutral sound in all frequencies without colourization and footprints. In addition, the Gaia conductors have outstanding mechanical characteristics  They achieve  greater flexibility and strength than bare stranded wires while, they do not suffer from the inherent weaknesses of bare stranded formations. In addition to their excellent mechanical characteristics Litz conductors Gaia Litz wires eliminate any direct strand interaction and they prevent surface marring (corrosion and mechanical wear). Their embodiments have excellent conductor resistance and inductance to cable capacitance ratios.

The cable design:

In order to produce the base for the Gaia Phono, two of the Gaia Litz conductors described above (approx. 21.5AWG effective gauge each) are arranged into a twisted pair geometry. This formation of the Gaia Phono is encased  in two additional layers of medium density Teflon (bedding/packing insulation) to determine the proximity between the signal conductors and the cable shields. Medium density Teflon is a material with a very low dielectric constant (significantly lower than solid PTFE) while it is also very flexible.  The Gaia Connect features two high density, overlapping silver plated OFC copper braided shields covering the internal signal conductors. This dual shielding layer is more than sufficient to prevent EMI and RFI to affect the signal. It offers and extremely high optical coverage near 100% (inner shield: 98% and outer shield: 98%) which is very rarely achieved in consumer audio cables. With an effective gaige of 10.5AWG this shielding offers an extremely low impedance path to the ground and a skin depth adequate to deal with low frequency noise in the most demanding conditions.

The outer protection of the cable aims at creating a good electrical insulation with suitable mechanical properties (i.e. strength,  flexibility, vibration absorption & isolation, abrasion protection etc). At the same time it offers adequate protection against moisture, UV light and general weathering conditions in a domestic or professional environment.  To achieve this the Gaia Phono has three insulating layers above the shielding: Teflon insulation, a flexible silicone rubber jacket and a dense, multi-filament braided sleeve (with a soft, fabric-like texture) . Ensuring that the cable is adequately protected and not simply dressed with an outer braid (which is the case with most handmade cables) will contribute to a long life of consistent performance.

Despite the density of the cable assembly, its size and thick braided shields, all the parts are aligned and packed with high precision to produce an extremely flexible cable. The cable has a diameter of 7mm. The portion covered by the outer braided sleeve has an overall diameter of approx 8mm.

The cost of the materials and the work required in order to form such conductors inevitably set a high price for these cables. However, its performance alone fully justifies its price regardless any claims we may make about the costs involved, the design advantages or its electrical characteristics.  The construction of each of these cables requires many hours of work  over a period of a few days and each cable is made on order from its  first stage to the last. This means these cable are not available for immediate dispatch and usually a 4-6 days lead time is required.

Over the past years, our Gaia cables have replaced some of the top lines of highly acclaimed cables of the  market (i.e. Nordost,  Furutech, Audionote, Kondo etc) on the systems of many of our  customers.

Note on the cable finish:

As mentioned above, the Gaia Connect is an extremely flexible cable thanks to its rubber jacket and the soft multi-fillament outer braid / sleeve.  However, we do understand that not all customers have the same preferences in regards to the flexibility of their interconnect cables. So, if you prefer a rather firmer form, we can prepare/finish your cable accordingly using a PVC jacket and a hard-wearing PET braided sleeve.

For enquiries on our Gaia cables contact us at info@back-promo.co.uk

Yannis Tomé Audio Cables, 36 Dinas Terrace, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 1BT, U.K

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