PS Audio Premiers New Line Of Interconnect Cables At CES 2003

5-Feb-03

PS Audio, known for their high-performance audio and power management components, showcased the new Digital xStreamô and Audio xStream reference-quality interconnect cables at CES 2003. PS Audio considers the task of designing a high-end audio cable as a blend of art and science. ""In order for us to minimize signal loss and maximize the three-dimensional acoustic spatial information, contained to some degree in virtually every recording, it is critical that we pay the utmost attention to the connections of all A/V equipment,"" says Paul McGowan.The key to the extraordinary performance of all Digital and Audio xStream cables is a revolutionary new method of noise shielding. In an audio cable noise can come from a variety of sources including electrical, RF, video, and digital interference within the A/V system, and even from outside interferences such as cordless phones and lighting. In digital cables, it is particularly critical, as noise is injurious to the digital data stream since it can increase jitter. From their vast experience in cable design, PS Audio has learned that double shielding significantly lowers noise dramatically. Also, by using two different shielding techniques, a different spectrum of noise is lowered from each shielding methodology, and together this further improves the level of noise shielding. On all xStream cables, the outermost shield is a 90% OFC copper braid woven, just under the outer jacket material. This outer shield on Audio xStream cables effectively lowers frequency noise from outside interference sources. On the Digital xStream cables it significantly reduces a majority of high-amplitude noise. The second level of shielding comes from a double wrap of aluminum foil just under the OFC braid, which is especially useful in eliminating higher-frequency interference. What makes the Digital xStream cable slightly different than the Audio xStream cable is that the second shield is a wound OFC copper foil shield.Around each conductor is a layer of PE foam, which is made up mostly of air, a near-perfect dielectric. Extruded over the PE foam is a layer of conductive PVC, which has the unique characteristic of distributing outside interference along its length and dissipating the unwanted energy by converting it to heat. The conductive PVC shield and the foil shield are tied together at the source end of the cable and un-terminated at the cable's output. This shielding technique is quite effective in routing unwanted noise and energy to ground without passing it to the next piece of equipment.Audio xStream CablesThe Audio xStream cables were designed to enhance and preserve the spatial and accurate tonal qualities of music. ""It is relatively easy to design a properly shielded interconnect cable that measures with near perfection, "" states McGowan. ""It is quite another matter to design and build an audio interconnect that preserves all the subtle nuances and audio cues that tell our ear/brain it's 'ok' to relax and imagine we are in an audio space other than reality.""The Audio xStream series of interconnects reaches a new level of affordability with both the Statement and Plus Series cables, available in either balanced or unbalanced configurations. Statement Series When you use Audio xStream Statement cables, you'll notice a big, robust sound, full of mid-bass energy and low-end power, yet the signal will be completely uncolored. The key to increased low-end information is the addition of copper. Lots of copper, in fact. When you pick up the Statement interconnect, you'll be amazed at its weight. The correct blend of gauge and OFC copper in the right configuration brings out the mid-bass, commonly lost in many sound systems. The real challenge with the unbalanced Audio xStream Statement cables was figuring out how to maximize the acoustical information at all frequencies and stuff that much copper into the size-restricted area of an RCA interconnect. Due to the layout of most preamplifiers and surround processors, the overall diameter of a single ended RCA connecting cable should not exceed one-half of an inch, otherwise the left and right cables won't fit side-by-side. The solution was to place the smaller conductor in the middle and the larger of the two conductors around the outer diameter of the cable. Thus, the Statement has 420 strands of OFC copper in the middle, and 840 strands of copper in a ring around the center conductor.Both the Statement and the Plus unbalanced interconnect cables use PS Audio's custom-designed RCA connector. Inside the connector, the center pin and the outer shield are separated by a machined Teflon insulator. The materials used to make the connector itself are the same high-quality ones found in only the finest machined connectors in the world. Each connector is hand-polished and has a thick 24-karat gold plating over the nickel surface. The balanced Audio xStream Statement interconnects are unique in their construction and performance. Based on a ""Twin Lead"" construction method, the balanced Audio xStream Statement is actually two complete shielded audio cables within one bundle. This construction technique keeps each half of the balanced signal in perfect harmony and maintains the maximum physical distance to the other half of the signal, while dramatically improving the shielding, relative to a standard construction.To accommodate the unusual ""Twin Lead"" construction technique, PS Audio designed a custom termination method that ties into the XLR connector. This was no easy task, as the extraordinarily wide oval shape would not allow for conventional off-the-shelf solutions. A strain relief and an easy-insertion thumb recess area for the body of the connector were designed, and then a solid piece of material into the shape of the finished connector was cast to complete the outer assembly. Into this assemblage, 24-karat gold male and female pins were placed, soldered to the conductors with high-grade silver bearing solder to complete the connection.The Statement is truly a remarkable engineering feat that is extremely difficult to manufacture. Music comes alive with the ring of harmonics, the open, airy top end, and a noise-free environment. The soundstage has depth with lifelike musicality. Bass is just simply astounding. Plus Series Based on the Digital xStream cable design, the Plus Series is remarkably neutral and accurate. The construction of the Plus cables relies on the highest-grade materials, triple shielding, low-absorption dielectric, and exceptional workmanship. The center conductor (hot) on the unbalanced Plus cables is comprised of 65 strands of 36-gauge OFC copper, each strand plated with 99 percent pure silver. The ground return is made from 144 strands of 36-gauge OFC copper that is not silver-plated. Careful blending of the number of copper strands vs. silver-clad copper strands resulted in the exceptionally neutral character of this cable, yet preserves the dynamic information contained in the music. From a shielding perspective, both the Statement and the Plus series have nearly identical noise levels.This combination gives the cable a full-bodied, natural sound while maintaining excellent high-frequency characteristics due to the silver clad conductors. Keeping the center conductor approximately half the size of the ground return conductor ensures that it will not sound 'thin' in the midbass. While the balanced Audio xStream Plus cables do not use a custom-designed XLR connector like the Statement, they utilizes one of the finest off-the-shelf XLR connectors made. Inside the solid cast body of the connector are 24-karat gold-plated pins. Each of the OFC conductors is soldered to the pins with a state-of-the-art silver bearing solder. The balanced Audio xStream Plus cable is perhaps one of the most affordable high-end solutions on the market today.The Audio xStream Statement cables start at $249 for a 0.5-meter pair of cables with RCA terminations, while XLR-terminated cables start at $299 for a 0.5 meter pair. The Audio xStream Plus cables start at $149 for a 0.5-meter pair of cables with RCA terminations; XLR-terminated cables start at $199 for a 0.5 meter cable.Digital xStream CablesPS Audio's continued research with the Digital Lens II cables has resulted in the new Digital xStream interconnect cables. The original Digital Lens I was produced in the late 1990s and was (and is) the world's only standalone RAM-based jitter reduction and reclocking device for digital audio signals. The results of PS Audio's research in the further development of the Digital Lens series showed that the lifeline between the digital source (CD transport, DVD, AC-3ô, DTSÆ, or SACD) and its associated D/A converter or digital surround processor can and does greatly influence the performance of the entire audio system.In a properly designed audio cable, you want lots of solid conductor material, good shielding, a reasonable level of capacitance, and low absorption dielectrics in the insulation material. With the development of the Digital xStream cable, PS Audio has created a truly linear digital interconnect that tremendously improves imaging and sonic realism, reducing brightness and digital artifacts.""The new Digital xStream cable measures and sounds better then any digital cable on the market we've ever heard, at any price point,"" says Paul McGowan, President of PS Audio. ""The accuracy of this interface is absolutely critical when dealing with fragile digital signals."" Jitter is time-base error, caused by various time delays in the digital data stream and the biggest contributors to poor digital and video performance. Cables can actually contribute to jitter even after being corrected by inducing waveform distortions that can be a result of mismatched impedances, reflections in the signal path, or noise entering the data stream. The xStream's triple-layer shield protects from outside noise, lowering jitter and noise in the digital data stream.Digital performance can be affected in many ways and the most effective improvement is lowering jitter in the digital data stream, This is achieved by a number of methods, including up-sampling through interpolation, the addition of dither, and careful attention to the delivery of the signal to ensure jitter doesn't get worse.The rise time of the digital data (the time it takes to move from one state to another) is critical to low jitter. The rise time of the data determines at what point in time the DAC or receiving unit recognizes the transitional state between the ""1"" and the ""0."" The quicker and more consistent the rise time, the greater the accuracy of the circuit and the lower the jitter measurement. The Digital xStream cables maintain absolute waveform purity by keeping the data rise time constant with frequency, by increasing the conductor surface area and using the low-capacitance PE foam as an insulator. Most high-end audio cables require bandwidths below 100 kHz. A digital interconnect requires minimum bandwidths of 5 MHz extending into the hundreds of megahertz to faithfully reproduce the digital signals. At these frequencies, every factor of the cable becomes a critical element, including the way the electrons themselves travel down the cable. The higher the frequency of the signal, the more this signal is pushed to the surface of the cable, and that means the skin of the conductor itself carries a considerable portion of that signal. Over 50 percent of the signal rides on the surface of the conductor as opposed to the inside of the wire.To make the best use of the conductor in the Digital xStream cable, the surface area of the wire was enlarged by decreasing the diameter and increasing the number of conductors. The result was an increased surface area by more than ten-fold over a single strand of wire. Since silver is more conductive than copper, the Digital xStream cables are plated with silver on the copper conducting surfaces, taking advantage of the increased skin effect. Digital XStream cables work with any high-frequency data transmission system, and are available with coaxial, XLR, BNC, and TOSLink terminations. The xStream TOSLink cable is uniquely constructed from hundreds of fine glass optical fibers, rather than plastic, and the results are nearly on par with the performance of the coaxial xStream cables.The Digital xStream Statement cables start at $199.95 for a 1-meter cable, terminated with either a coax (S/PDIF) or BNC connector. TOSLink cables are also $199.95. XLR-terminated cables run at $229.95 for 1 meter.For more information about PS Audio, visit www.psaudio.com.

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