• Silver has the highest conductivity and lowest resistivity of any substance. It also has the benefit of an oxidative product that has the same conductivity as the pure metal, which means it does not age badly unlike copper. It is therefore the best material to use as a conductor in a high performance audio or video system.

You have to decide which is the most cost effective route to audio and video Nirvana, because every system is different. Our list of priorities looks like this;

• Upgrade all your mains cables, and incorporate non-inductive RFI filtering and voltage dependent resistors (VDRs). This is the most incredible upgrade. Improvements are in the fundamentals- weight, power and scale.

How can a small amount of mains cable possibly make a difference?

Do I have to change all my mains cables to make a difference?

Which mains cables should I change first?

Can you terminate your mains cables with anything else?

What can I do to minimise RF and EMI problems without buying new cables?

Why do all the cables sound different once they have been "run in"?

Do you have a balanced cable?

Do you supply an interconnect with DIN connectors?

Do you supply an interconnect with BNC connectors?

Do you supply digital interconnects with BNC connectors?

Do you supply a digital interconnect made to the 110ohm AES/EBU standard?

Why do you have different sized loudspeaker cables?

What can I do to improve the performance of my system without spending money?

How do you solder?

Why don't some features on this site work?

How can a small amount of mains cable possibly make a difference?

Your nearest power station is probably tens of miles away, between you and that station is a great deal of, possibly, Aluminium wire. Can one metre of cable really make a difference?
The mains supply is the ultimate "source" for your Hi-Fi system, if it is not perfect it will impact upon the sound. Mains supply in your country is not perfect, it is both dirty and inconsistent. If you don't believe that, listen to you Hi-Fi system late at night- it will sound less grainny, more open and dynamic with better more solid stereo imaging and greater detail and realism. Phew, if only your Hi-Fi system sounded like that all the time.
The main culprit spoiling your sound is noise. Remove this noise and a transformation occurs. Try one of our mains cables, you won't be disappointed.

Do I have to change all my mains cables to make a difference?

No, (although of course the more you upgrade, the greater the improvement), just changing the 4 way block supplying your hi-fi will bring about a dramatic improvement.

Which mains cables should I change first?

If your system is powered from a mains distribution block, then changing that will improve your entire system, after that change your amplifier cable for the same reason. As we supply Conqueror~mi unterminated it is a good idea to replace the cable from your consumer unit (fuse box) as well.

Can you terminate your mains cables with anything else?

You name it we'll do it. Although any deviation from the standard lengths and terminations are not subject to our 21 day money back guarantee.

What can I do to minimise RF and EMI problems without buying new cables?

There are a number of things you can do;
1). Ensure that all the mains connections are clean and tight. It is a good idea to twice a year check all the mains connections, tightening and cleaning every single connection on the ring main used by your Hi-Fi system. Cleaning interconnects can have a similarly beneficial effect.
2). Fit a dedicated earth connection for your system. If this is not possible, you should at least check the earth connections, tracing, cleaning and re-tightening the earth tags, so that the best possible earth is achieved.
3). Fit a dedicated ring main for your system. A ring main is better than a spur as it can carry higher current, and for a given current rating it is a lower resistance path.
4). Take a long hard look at the wall sockets you use, if they are not of the highest quality and unswitched, change them. In the UK, the MK Logic Plus sockets are superb and are available from us as Cap19 and Cap20.
5). Fit Cap10 shorting plugs to all unused sockets.
6). Minimise the amount of cabling used by your system. Do not have excess cabling connected.
7). Wherever possible seperate mains from signal cables by 25cm (10 inches) and where cables cross one another try to do it at right angles. Use the inverse square law: Twice the distance produces one-quarter the effect. The farther apart they are the better. Never run mains and signal cables parallel to one another. Don't be tempted to use cable ties to keep your wiring tidy.
8). If a telecom company wants to site a mobile phone tower near you, fight them tooth and nail. Some countries notably USA and New Zealand have banned the siting of such towers near schools- because of possible links with cancer. If you fail- move house.
9). If you have a "radio ham" or taxi company near you and you experience "breakthrough", contact the authorities, as most countries have strict immission standards for these frequencies.
10). In the UK mains plugs contain a fuse which some commentators have suggested can be by-passed to improve performance. If you do this, you are removing a level of protection neccessary to prevent electrical fire. Additionally, you may find that your home contents insurance is invalidated. We strongly recommend that, under no circumstances should this fuse be tampered with.

Why do all the cables sound different once they have been "run in"?

All this means is we recommend that you use the cables for at least 48 hours before you critically assess them. This is because in the first 48 hours all the cables change, the sound generally becomes more open and organic. There are several theories on this; maybe the metallic crystal structure alters in some way; maybe pixies visit in the middle of the night and breath on them (my favourite theory); or maybe the subtle heating effects caused by the electro-magnetic fields (resultant from current flow), heat and thereby stabilise the critical insulation/conductor interface.

Do you have a balanced cable?

Anacreon is the only interconnect which has two central conductors and a screen.

Do you supply an interconnect with DIN connectors?

Yes, Connoisseur~s can be terminated with DIN plugs. This is not subject to our 14 day money back guarantee

Do you supply an interconnect with BNC connectors?

Yes, Connoisseur~s can be terminated with BNC connectors. This is not subject to our 14 day money back guarantee

Do you supply digital interconnects with BNC connectors?

Yes, Ordovician can be terminated with BNC connectors at no extra cost. This is not subject to our 14 day money back guarantee.

Do you supply a digital interconnect made to the 110ohm AES/EBU standard?

Yes, we finally do! The Demetian is a true 110ohm Copper AES/EBU cable, with a very low capacitance (50nF/km!), which sounds great.

Why do you have different sized loudspeaker cables?

Simply to avoid the "skin effect".
If you are bi-wiring or bi-amping, it is important to use a thinner cable for the tweeter (high frequency unit), such as Czar~KCK600 or Conqueror~SCL500. Using a cable of this size (0.6mm) will avoid the smeared and agressive top end characteristic of the "skin effect"
The thicker two cables we produce (Czar~KCK1000 and Conqueror~SCL1000) are for the bass/mid-range in the same setup or as full bandwidth cables. Using either of the two thinner cables on the bass/mid-range would produce a fast, detailed and dynamic sound but lacking weight and colour.

What can I do to improve the performance of my system without spending money?

There are a number of things you can do;
1). See, How can I Improve RF and EMI performance.
2). Support is critical. It should be both level (use a spirit level) and free from energy. Take a look at our isolation platform design.
3). If you have any equipment which uses a Telefunken (figure 8) plug, try inserting the plug the other way. One orientation should sound more detailed in the mid-range with better bass control. The other orientation should sound less distinct in the mid-range and have more bass.
4). Avoid any sharp "kinks" in your cables as these alter impedance and capacitance. Also a stressed conductor is less likely to transmit a signal cleanly.

How do you solder?

Soldering is a metallurgical technique using a low melting point alloy (solder) to join two metal surfaces. The alloy on its own cannot solder unless the two metal surfaces are completely clean of oxides and contaminants- an impossible condition in a normal working environment. An agent (flux) is used to remove any material between the bond, thus allowing the alloy to fuse the two surfaces together forming an intermetallic compound. It is never advisable to rely on the flux to completely clean the contact, the best joints are always made between perfectly clean surfaces. Isopropyl Alcohol is an efficient contact cleaner.
The diagram below shows a magnified section of an ideal joint when two strips of Copper are soldered together forming fusion zones. A fusion zone being the point at which the Tin and Silver in the solder has amalgamated with some of the Copper, Silver or Gold to form a new alloy. This gives a permanent fusion not just a bonding of one surface to another, and therefore the joint has (1) A high mechanical strength and (2) Excellent electrical conductivity.
No matter what type of soldering technique is used, unless permanent fusion is achieved and both these criteria are met the resultant solder joint will be sonically degraded and unreliable. The secret of good soldering is to solidly crimp the contacts prior to soldering and to heat the joint not the solder- when the area is hot enough the solder should be applied and allowed to flow over the joint. CAP17 does not contains Lead and has a 4% Silver content.

Why don't some features on this site work?

This site is written using, mostly, standard HTML 3.2 language and so all modern browsers should be able to access all functions. If you are having difficulty accessing the Site Map, Postage Rates and the Joke of the Week please ensure that JAVASCRIPT is enabled on your browser.
On a related subject, there are two pages on this site which, due to their heavily graphic nature, may load slowly. They are;
Links and About Cardiff.
Although we have tried to ensure that the site looks good at all resolutions, it is best viewed at 800 X 600 or higher. If you are viewing this site on WebTV, we know it looks awful but then again, everyone elses does as well!
If you feel your web access is too slow, go to The NAVAS Page for some very good advice on system configuration for web access.