Dynamique Audio |
Our philosophyWe aim to design the very best cables possible at all pricepoints. This might sound somewhat obvious, as it should be the intention of all cable companies, yet in practice, it rarely is. Many companies' entry/mid-level models are deliberately inferior - low quality PVC dielectrics, tough-pitch copper conductors, low-cost terminations; specifications that could (and should) be much higher given their cost. Often it's only superior models that might boast better specs - Teflon dielectric, higher purity conductors, or perhaps high-grade connectors. Some don't even offer this on their flagship models... This approach is primarily a way to increase profits, but it also allows such companies to provide a greater perceived contrast between the various models within a range, and to establish a clearer upgrade path. We do things differently. As an example, our Neo analogue interconnects - despite their extremely modest price point, still incorporate a Teflon dielectric, high-purity solid-core silver-plated conductors, and Furutech RCA connectors. Such a spec is pretty much unheard of for the price. The same approach is taken throughout our ranges. We'd like to think that customers would never look at our products and say, "Where exactly is my money going?". To this end, we include clear specifications for all of our cables, and happily promote comparisons not just between our own cables, but against our competitors too. We aim for tonal consistency through our ranges. Why? Well, a neutral balance, rather than having cables that act as tone controls, allows them to be inserted into a system with minimum impact on tonal balance, and allows different cables from our ranges to be used without worrying they'll clash. Customers also have the peace of mind to know that if/when they upgrade, the balance of their system won't be thrown wildly off - that their new upgraded cable will offer more of what they like, i.e. detail, power, clarity, rather than a wildly over-enthusiastic treble or undernourished bass. So neutrality is definitely key, but all of our cables also share a very vibrant, 'live' sound - we want music to excite us and move us emotionally. We build our cables so that they'll easily withstand years of use and handling. We also design our cables to be as discreet as possible - the approach taken by some to make a cable look physically impressive (and give the false impression of a larger conductor gauge), by adding layer upon layer of unnecessary sound-degrading insulation is something we're very much against. 'Bigger is better' definitely holds true in some instances, but we don't see the need to make any of our cables any larger than necessary. To this end, Dynamique cables are sleek, flexible and easy to manage, yet still feature very substantial conductor gauges where required - our Cyclone speaker cable for example has a substantial 2 x 12 AWG conductor gauge per channel, yet overall cable diameter is just 6.5mm - less than many interconnects! Meanwhile our Celestial pure silver speaker cable is the largest physical cable we produce with a 19mm diameter, yet offers an almost unheard of 2 x 7 AWG conductor gauge per channel, so the increased size can be justified. So, is there a simple way to sum up our products, and what we do? We would hope 'no-nonsense' would be a fitting description, but we'd rather leave that to you to decide for yourself! ConductorsAll of our cables use either pure silver or silver-plated conductors. Indisputably the least resistive natural metal known, it confers greater resolution and fidelity. Critics often argue that silver can sound thin, clinical and papery. We agree... but only when poorly implemented. The usual cause of this is conductors of insubstantial gauge or purity, poor-quality dielectrics, ineffective geometry and so on. We've found that through correct implementation, silver cables offer unmatched levels of detail, clarity, dynamics, and overall musicality, far in excess of copper conductors of any grade or type (and yes, we have tried them!). Exotic alternatives such Rhodium, Palladium, Platinum, Gold we feel are more suited to different applications, such as connector plating, where their non-tarnishing and often super-durable qualities are ideal for the role. As conductors, their lower conductivity and molecular structures makes them less suitable, whilst their price precludes their use for any worthwhile conductor gauge anyway - we simply haven't obtained good sound from a platinum or gold conductor built from 30 AWG wires! Nearly every model in our range features multiple solid-core conductors, i.e. multiple, individually insulated solid-cores. Where we do use stranded conductors, we specify an exact conductor size and layout to optimise quality. The wiring used is extremely pure, and in the silver-plated copper ranges, each solid core features at least 100 microns of silver plating - far more than any competing products we know of. For both silver-plated copper and pure silver ranges, we employ two grades of conductor purity; standard high purity, and our finest grade ('super-purity'). Before construction of our air-dielectric cables, we chemically treat the conductors to ensure that the surface is devoid of any impurities. DielectricSimply put, we feel that Teflon is the highest performing, most reliable insulation in existence. We use it on virtually all of our cables, and wherever possible, incorporate an air-dielectric system for an even lower dielectric constant (technically this is the measure of how a material concentrates electrostatic flux lines), and in audiophile terms, acts as a good measure of how much signal loss the insulation causes - the lower the better. Our air-dielectric is achieved through using oversized Teflon insulation for the conductor gauge used, so that most of the conductor is actually suspended in air - air being the ideal insulator. Such an arrangement also reduces mechanical resonances as the conductor is effectively 'decoupled' from the outer layers. Many alternatives exist, such as Kapton, Polypropylene, Peek, Silicone and so forth; we tried them all but none offered the combination of virtues of a Teflon air-dielectric. On several of our more affordable digital cables, we specify foamed Polyethylene - this may not have the ultimate quality of Teflon, but it nevertheless sounds very good in such a role, and gives great results at a lower price. GeometryWe employ a variety of cable geometries in our various designs, from twisted-pair to star-quad geometries (star-quad is a magnetically coaxial design that rejects interference a lot more effectively than twisted pair), up to our to our proprietary helical array geometry, which features an inner core to correctly space and align the outer conductors, as well providing additional mechanical damping.  As no one approach can be used on all designs, we use the most appropriate design for each cable, in order to obtain the best sound. ShieldingWe're somewhat sceptical of metallic shielding, and purposely do not include it on any of our ranges except on some of our digital cables. A popular misconception is that we are surrounded by a sea of airborne 'noise', and that this noise is picked up by cables, which metallic shielding will then protect against. In reality, most noise derives from ground noise between devices. Furthermore, as the shield is electrically connected and therefore part of the signal, it can and generally does degrade sound quality. Over the very long lengths found in studios set-ups, (20m, even 50m) noise becomes much more of a problem, and shielding becomes more necessary, but over the typically short lengths seen in domestic hifis (1m, 2m etc), we found this increase in capacitance to be more damaging to overall sound quality than any small increase in electromagnetic interference. During development, the inclusion of metallic shielding on our analogue interconnects or speaker cables confirmed this - the sound lost its vibrancy and life, and had a grainy quality that impacted detail and clarity. For our digital cables, we offer some in longer lengths than usual, and so include metallic shielding layers. In certain applications where a degree of shielding is beneficial, we choose to fit a unique non-metallic braid that provides excellent noise rejection, without being electrically connected in any way. In most applications, line-level signals are relatively immune to interference, and we prefer to rely on the consistency of our cable geometries as a natural shield against any EM/RF noise, along with the addition of our resonance filter technology where applicable - more on that below. Resonance damper/filtersPhysical vibrations in a cable can degrade sound quality through microphonic effects. One approach is to add cotton fillers between the conductors to dampen them, but as we mention above, we're against unnecessary layers in our cables, and sought a less invasive method. We came up with the idea of a miniature mass-damper that would effectively dampen vibrations without compromising the sound in other areas. The dampers themselves are custom-designed for each cable, and are CNC-milled from Aircraft grade T6 aluminium billet. They are then fitted to the cable with an elastomeric adhesive that absorbs any resonances and vibrations. Through controlling resonances and vibrations, our resonance dampers lower the noise floor of your system, improving resolution and resulting in a crisper, cleaner sound. Resonance dampers are used exclusively on our analogue interconnect and speaker cable ranges - for digital interconnect and power cable applications, we adapted the design to work on the same principle, but so that it would contain a ceramic noise filter for additional noise reduction, in addition to controlling resonances. TerminationsWe see little point in compromising the quality of our cables with lesser, generic terminations, which are very usually built from poor-sounding materials (brass, aluminium), and to less than ideal standards. We therefore specify the finest conductors in the world for virtually all of our cables, as these tried and tested companies have earned respect worldwide through their quality engineering: WBT, Furutech, Eichmann, Wattgate and Neutrik. DirectionalityOur cables are non-directional when supplied, so we do not provide any markings for direction. You may find however that after a period of break-in and extended usage that the cables have become directional, and that switching direction slightly impacts the sound. To be honest, the difference is usually only small, and we'd simply recommend returning the cable to its original direction. If however the cable is used in such instances with the direction reversed, the sound will, over a short time return to its optimum level, as the process of becoming directional is not permanent. Burn-inOur cables are all either silver-plated or pure silver designs, which results in a longer burn-in period than for copper cables. We try to speed up that period by running every cable sold through a 24 or 48 hr burn-in cycle on our dedicated burn-in machine, but this does not completely burn-in the cable - full burn-in is accomplished through extended use in your system. |
