This is the new Silver-Line interconnect from Scottish cable company Atlas Cables, which has the subject of long-term development and is said to be 'the ultimate in signal cable topology'. The Ohno Continuous Cast technique used to make the conductors is nothing new - it's found throughout the Atlas range - but here the material in use isn't the more usual copper, but pure silver.
The casting technique involves reducing the metallurgical structure to a single crystal, then drawing it out to form the conductor. In this case, a 0.03sq mm strand 150m long is made from a single crystal and that, combined with the lower resistance of silver compared to copper, gives the cable its advantage.
The cable itself uses strands of two different diameters, insulated in PTFE and surrounded by a shield of stranded copper and copper-mylar foil. Cotton yarn is used to insulate the twisted-pair conductors from mechanical interference, and the outer PVC sheath is covered in a blue/black cotton cover. Completing the cable is a new plug with a beryllium insert for a tight fit to the sockets on your equipment.
And the price? £1000 for a 1m pair.
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