Anyone who has dabbled even casually in the area of high-performance home audio or home theater systems knows that a debate has ranged for decades about the attributes of the perfect audio interconnect cables. The one “fact” that has been acknowledged by all sides is the need for cable shielding to protect tender, low-level signals from outside interference. Recently, high-end cable manufacturer TARA Labs changed the terms of the debate by introducing the RSC® Vector Series, audio interconnects without shielding which, according to designer Matthew Bond, outperform everything in their price category and most of those above.
The secret, according to Bond, is in the interior geometry of the cable.
“The principle is called 'Common Mode Rejection,'” he says. “It's a way of positioning conductors relative to one another that actually rejects RF and Electromagnetic Interference, the stray energy that modulates the signal and causes distortion.”
Unlike traditional cables, which use two conductors laid side by side or twisted around one other, the RSC Vector™ conductors are designed to cross over and around one another at specific angles. The company used advanced computer modeling technology to mathematically determine the grouping of conductors and spacer rods that would optimize the electrical characteristics of the cable.
Bond says that the resulting minimal parallel attraction between conductors results in very low capacitance, the gold standard of cable performance. Cables with higher capacitance tend to “roll off,” or lose, high-frequencies in the audio band, resulting in sound that is muddy, two-dimensional, or flat. Bond describes the sound of the RSC Vector Series cables as “open, spacious, and uniquely realistic, whether they're used in a two-channel audio-only system or a multi-channel home theater.”
Eliminating cable shielding has two additional benefits, according to Bond. First, cables are more flexible, an important attribute in home theater where cables must often pass through tight spaces or be pulled through walls. Second, unshielded cables sound more open and multi-dimensional than shielded cables.
“Cable shielding does to the sound what it does physically to the cable: closes it off,” says Bond.
The conductors used in the RSC Vector Series are unique as well. The company's patented Rectangular Solid Core®, or RSC, conductors are solid-core conductors with a rectangular cross-section. This innovation, introduced by the company in April of 1992 has been recognized by critics and aficionados the world over as the most neutral and accurate available, and have yet to be duplicated by any other manufacturer.
There are two models in the Vector Series™ of audio interconnects, the Vector 1 and Vector 2. Bond says that corresponding Vector Speaker Cable designs are planned for release this fall.
TARA Labs has designed and manufactured high-end cables and accessories for home audio systems and home theater systems since 1986. They share their headquarters in Ashland, Oregon with high-end home theater component manufacturer EAD. Both companies are owned by the same financial group. For more information on Vector Series cables or any TARA Labs product can be obtained on the TARA Labs website, www.taralabs.com or by calling 541-488-6465.