At Crutchfield, you'll get detailed, accurate information that's hard to find elsewhere.
That's because we have our own in-house Product Research team — they open the box,
verify contents, check the owner's manual, and record dimensions, features and specs.
We stay on top of new products and technologies to help people make informed choices.
Features
Overview: This AudioQuest Columbia product contains two 2-meter
audio interconnect cables with male RCA connectors on each end. Each cable is
equipped with a 48-volt DBS pack which aligns the molecules in the dielectric,
and enhances performance. They are for
connecting high-end audio sources to your amplifier or receiver.
Triple-Balanced Design: The Columbia audio interconnect
cables are Triple-Balanced, with three identical insulated conductors. The
shield is never used as an inferior conductor. Two conductors are used together for
the much higher potential across the negative connection, providing a
substantial performance advantage. The shield is only attached at one end,
providing total shield coverage without compromising the negative conducting
path.
Solid Conductors: Columbia interconnects use two 21-gauge and one
20-gauge solid
conductors instead of stranded conductors. Electrical and magnetic interaction
between strands in conventional cables are the greatest source of distortion,
often causing a somewhat dirty harsh sound. Solid conductors produce less
distortion, thus produce a very clean sound.
Metal: Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+) has a very smooth and
pure surface. AudioQuest's proprietary metal processing technology protects the
wire's surface at every stage of drawing and fabrication. An ultra pure copper
is kept soft, pure, and smooth as possible during the manufacturing process,
resulting in a very low distortion PSC+ conductor. The resulting sound is more
focused.
Insulation: All of Columbia's conductors are insulated using
Polyethylene Air Tubes. Air absorbs virtually no energy (which could be stored
and released as distortion), and Polyethylene is a low-loss material that causes
very little interference or distortion. The conductors and drainwire are wrapped
in a PVC jacket with a black, green and gray nylon braid on the outside.
Dielectric-Bias System (DBS): Each Columbia audio cable has
an attached 48-volt Dielectric Bias System (DBS) pack to enhance performance.
All insulation slows down the signal on the conductor inside, and when the
insulation is unbiased, it slows down parts of the signal differently. This
creates problems with time-sensitive, multi-octave audio. The DBS creates a
strong, stable electrostatic field which saturates and polarizes the molecules
of the insulation. This minimizes energy storage in the insulation and the
multiple non-linear time-delays. The audio has more detail and dynamic contrast.
A test button and LED allow you to occasionally verify battery performance.
Noise-Dissipation System: This cable uses a metal and carbon-loaded
synthetic shield
with 100% coverage to capture RF interference that could modulate the
equipment's ground reference. The RF is dissipated through a 22-gauge solid,
silver-plated copper drainwire.
RCA Plugs/Cold-Weld System: The novel plug design enables a
perfect heat-free connection between the cable and the plug.
Directionality: The cables are directional, and should be connected in the
direction of the signal flow (i.e. from the CD player to the amplifier). The RCA
plugs are marked with arrows on each end to indicate the intended signal
direction. When connected in the proper direction, the music becomes more
relaxed, pleasant, and accurate. The DBS pack is attached near the audio source
end of the cable.
