AudioQuest's starting point for analogue audio sets
the bar to an impossible height when you examine the quality that
goes into the AudioQuest Tower RCA phono cable. AQ's famed
long-grain copper is the core ingredient here and even when
partnered with some modestly priced hi-fi equipment, you'll be
bowled over with the extra detail this hugely popular cable can
draw out. AudioQuest Tower employs many features used throughout
the Bridges & Falls lineup, including Asymmetrical Double-Balanced
Geometry, Foamed-Polyethylene insulation, Metal-Layer
Noise-Dissipation System (NDS), and Cold-Welded Gold-Plated RCA
plugs. Compared with the next step up the line, Evergreen, Tower
uses slightly smaller conductors for cost-effective
performance.
SOLID LONG-GRAIN COPPER (LGC) CONDUCTORS:
Solid conductors eliminate strand-interaction distortion.
Evergreen’s solid Long-Grain Copper allows a smoother and clearer
sound than cables using regular OFHC (Oxygen-Free
High-Conductivity) copper. OFHC is a general metal industry
specification regarding “loss” without any concern for distortion.
LGC has fewer oxides within the conducting material, less
impurities, less grain boundaries, and definitively better
performance.
FOAMED-POLYETHYLENE INSULATION: Any solid
material adjacent to a conductor is actually part of an imperfect
circuit. Wire insulation and circuit board materials all absorb
energy (loss). Some of this energy is stored and then released as
distortion. Tower uses air-filled Foamed-Polyethylene Insulation on
both conductors because air absorbs next to no energy and
Polyethylene is low-loss and has a benign distortion profile.
Thanks to all the air in Foamed-PE, it causes much less of the
out-of-focus effect common to other materials.
METAL-LAYER NOISE-DISSIPATION SYSTEM (NDS):
100% shield coverage is easy. Preventing captured RF Interference
from modulating the equipment’s ground reference requires AQ’s
Noise-Dissipation System. Noise-Dissipation System prevents a
significant amount of RFI from reaching the equipment’s ground
plane.
ASYMMETRICAL DOUBLE-BALANCED GEOMETRY:
Purpose designed for single-ended applications, Asymmetrical
Double-Balanced Geometry offers a relatively lower impedance on the
ground for a richer, and more dynamic experience. While many
single-ended cable designs use a single path for both the ground
and the shield, Double-Balanced designs separate the two for
cleaner, quieter performance.
COLD-WELDED GOLD-PLATED RCA PLUGS: This plug
design allows for a connection devoid of solder, which is a common
source of distortion. Because the ground shells are stamped instead
of machined, the metal can be chosen for low distortion instead of
machinability.
