Our Product Research Team

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

Bi-Wiring: AudioQuest Rocket 33 is a Single-BiWire cable. When the halves are separated at the speaker end, the Dual-Triple design turns Rocket 33 into a true Double-BiWire set, thanks to the magnetic autonomy of each tri-conductor section. On its own, one tri-conductor group would be a little light-weight in performance as it is biased towards treble finesse. The other tri-conductor group is biased toward the bass; its more forceful and lacking ultimate resolution. Together they form a completely optimized full range design. When separated, the Dual-Triple design lets Rocket 33 be a maximum performance Double-BiWire in a single cable.

• Treble Group:
  • 21 AWG Solid Perfect-Surface Copper (PSC) Conductor
  • 19 AWG Solid Long-Grain Copper (LGC) Conductor
  • 17 AWG Solid Long-Grain Copper (LGC) Conductor
• Bass Group:
  • 20 AWG Solid Perfect-Surface Copper (PSC) Conductor
  • 18 AWG Solid Long-Grain Copper (LGC) Conductor
  • 16 AWG Solid Long-Grain Copper (LGC) Conductor

Solid Conductors: The use of solid conductors eliminate harshness and confusion due to strand interaction. All six of Rocket 33's conductors are solid. Solid conductors prevent strand interaction, a major source of cable distortion. Electrical and magnetic interaction between strands in a conventional cable is the single greatest source of distortion, often causing a somewhat harsh, dirty and confused sound. Solid conductors are the most important ingredients enabling Rocket 33's very clear sound. Whether a conductor is solid or stranded, skin effect is a prime distortion mechanism in speaker cables. Rocket 33 very simply keeps this effect out of the audio range by using conductor sizes that are below the threshold for audible distortion.

Long-Grain Copper/Perfect-Surface Copper: Rocket 33 uses a combination of Long-Grain Copper (LGC) and extremely high-purity Perfect-Surface Copper (PSC). All conductors are solid, which prevents strand interaction, a major source of distortion. Surface quality is critical because a conductor can be considered as a rail-guide for both the electric fields within a conductor, and for the magnetic fields outside the conductor.

• Long-Grain Copper (LGC):  LGC has fewer oxides within the conducting material, less impurities, less grain boundaries, and definitively better performance.
• Perfect-Surface Copper (PSC): The smooth and pure PSC further eliminates harshness and increases clarity.  The astonishingly smooth and pure Perfect-Surface eliminates harshness and greatly increases clarity compared to OFHC, OCC, 8N, and other coppers. High-purity PSC further minimizes distortion caused by grain boundaries, which exist within any metal conductor.

Dual-Triple Geometry: The relationship between conductors defines a cables most basic electrical values (capacitance and inductance). However, even when those variables are kept in a reasonable balance, the relationship between conductors can be varied in ways that greatly affect the sound. The Dual-Triple construction of Rocket 33 allows for significantly better dynamic contrast and information intelligibility than if the same conductors were run in parallel. The specific 3-cross geometry used in each half of Rocket 33 maximizes this advantage.

Spread-Spectrum Technology (SST): Any single size or shape of conductor has a specific distortion profile. Even though radially symmetrical conductors (solid or tubular) have the fewest discontinuities, any particular size does have a sonic signature. SST is a method for significantly reducing the awareness of these character flaws by using a precise combination of different size conductors. The six different SST-determined conductor sizes used in Rocket 33 allow an exceptionally clear, clean, and dynamic sound.

Directional: The PVC "pants" on either end of Rocket 33 are marked "Speaker End" or "Amp End". Please use cables in the direction required.

Cold-Weld Terminations: Superior AudioQuest connectors allow Rocket 33 to be securely attached to any type of equipment. AQ ends are dull looking because there is no harsh sounding shiny nickel layer underneath the silver. The connection between the plug and conductors is made using AQ's Cold-Weld system which provides a superior connection that ensures that the structural integrity of the conductor is kept completely intact. The Cold-Weld system refers to a combination of high pressure at the point of contact and the use of copper impregnated paste. A controlled amount of pressure is used to essentially make the conductor and connector mechanically "as one" without the use of heat. The copper bearing paste acts as both a copper oxide retardant, and as well as a very effective contact enhancer. AQ's Cold-Weld system ensures a practically perfect connection.

Silver Polishing Cloth: The Rocket 33 speaker cables come with a chemically treated silver-polishing cloth for cosmetic reasons, not for electrical reasons. When exposed to air, silver forms silver-oxides. This "tarnish" looks ugly, but is still fully conductive. In comparison, copper oxides are semi-conductors which cause distortion. Harmless silver tarnish and other surface contaminants can be reduced by using this cloth two or three times a year.