Description
AudioQuest Robin Hood SILVER speaker cable
Closely related to the groundbreaking Mythical Creature Series, the Folk Hero Series, comprising two models—Robin Hood and William Tell—are available with either solid perfect-surface copper+ or solid perfect-surface silver conductors. While the Mythical Creatures are all-out assaults on the state of the cable art, the Folk Heroes use all of the same technology with fewer conductors.
Building on a solid base of tried and true AudioQuest technologies, the design team of Garth Powell and Bill Low specifically focused on addressing one of the most vexing issues plaguing speaker cable design: the mismatch between the amplifier’s source impedance and the speaker’s load impedance. By eliminating the speaker cable’s characteristic impedance (ZERO Technology), current compression and distortion of the signal/current transient are significantly reduced. The result is dynamic contrast, transient response, and bass slam that are rendered seemingly without effort, because the cable is not electrically impeding the music.
Like the larger-gauge cables of the Mythical Creatures Series, William Tell and Robin Hood can be used in one of two ways: either employing the ZERO model for full-range, or by using the ZERO model in combination with a dedicated bass cable, as a fully optimized BiWire Combination cable. Like their larger siblings, William Tell and Robin Hood also feature AudioQuest’s patented common-mode noise-rejection technology. Along with the Mythical Creatures, these latest AudioQuest speaker cables significantly outperform previous technology at controlling and draining radio-frequency noise.
Solid perfect-surface silver (PSS) & solid perfect-surface copper+ (PSC+) conductors
Solid conductors prevent electrical strand-to-strand interaction, major sources of distortion. Surface quality is critical because a conductor can be considered as a rail-guide for both the fields within a conductor, and for the magnetic fields that extend outside the conductor. The astonishingly smooth and pure perfect-surface copper+ eliminates harshness and greatly increases clarity compared to OFHC, OCC, 8N, and other premium coppers. Extremely high-purity perfect-surface silver further minimizes distortion caused by grain boundaries, which exist within any metal conductor.
RF/ND-Tech (patented radio-frequency ground-noise dissipation)
Though a cable’s ground leads are integral to a component’s signal transmission, they also act as an antenna, making them subject to induced radio-frequency (RF) noise. RF noise is a parasitic signal that is typically coupled directly into a system’s most sensitive audio/video circuits. AudioQuest’s RF-on-ground noise-dissipation (RF/ND-Tech) greatly reduces resulting distortion and signal masking, yielding unprecedented levels of noise dissipation across the widest bandwidth of radio frequencies possible. The unique circuit topology uses a common-mode phase-cancelling array, providing linear noise dissipation across the entire length of the cable.
72v dielectric-bias system (DBS)
Insulation is also a dielectric that can act like a shunt filter. Biasing minimizes dielectric noise and linearizes the filter, significantly improving wide-bandwidth dissipation of induced RF noise.
ZERO-Tech for uncompressed current transfer and linear noise dissipation
The only complete way to eliminate characteristic-impedance mismatches between a cable and the attached source and load is for the cable not to have any fixed characteristic-impedance value. ZERO-Tech accomplishes this by eliminating interaction between the insulation (dielectric) and the cable’s conductors—enabling uncompressed current transfer. All-important transient current is unrestricted, and RF noise dissipation is linearized (consistent octave to octave).
Directional conductors
All drawn metal strands or conductors have a non-symmetrical grain structure, resulting in directional conductors. AudioQuest controls the resulting RF impedance variation so that noise is drained away from where it will cause distortion. Arrows are marked on the connectors to ensure superior sound quality and optimal noise dissipation.
Carbon-based linearized noise-dissipation system (NDS)
Today’s environment is saturated with radio-frequency noise from sources such as satellites, cellular towers, and Bluetooth. AQ’s comprehensive linearized noise-dissipation system combines multiple shields and a carbon-based linearized resistive network to turn most of this noise into heat. The system is equally effective across a wide bandwidth, rather than only at selected frequencies. The remaining bad energy is drained away from sensitive amplifier circuits via directionally controlled signal and shield conductors.
Robin Hood Bi-Wiring
When possible, running separate cables to the treble and bass “halves” of a speaker significantly reduces distortion. Bi-Wiring keeps the large magnetic fields associated with bass energy out of the treble cable, allowing the delicate upper frequencies to travel a less magnetically disturbed path. AudioQuest’s RF/ND-Tech attracts RF energy away from the amplifier’s output, making Bi-Wiring even more effective.
Folk Hero cold-welded terminations
Folk Hero cables are cold-welded to AudioQuest’s extremely pure Red Copper Spades or Bananas. The bare copper is submerged in a vat of pure silver to ensure a high-quality connection. AudioQuest speaker breakouts and plug casings are not metal to avoid inducing RF noise into the conductors.
KEY FEATURES:
• ZERO technology for uncompressed current transfer and enhanced dynamic contrast
• Solid perfect-surface silver (PSS) and perfect-surface copper+ (PSC+) conductors for minimized distortion and improved clarity
• RF/ND-Tech for superior noise dissipation and reduced signal masking
