WHY SILVER?

It is well known that the most suitable material for manufacturing interconnect cable central conductor is high-purity silver (99.99%+)

WHY GOLD PLATED?

The quality of the transmission of an electrical signal in a high-frequency range through interconnect cables is related to the diameter of the cable.The physical phenomenon known as "SKIN EFFECT" (the "displacement" of high-frequency currents in the conductor towards its surface) requires the use of solid conductors of small diameters (0.003" max.)

This ensures the homogeneity of current density distribution (the minimum value of current-density gradient) along the entire internal volume of a conductor. Not meeting this requirement leads to phase distortions that, ultimately, result in correlational changes in spectral components of the signal and, consequently, reduced quality of a reproduced high fidelity sound.

The difficulty of producing a reliable cable of high quality (High-End class) using thin solid silver wire is related to the "aging" process of silver with time due to environmental effects. The silver surface undergoes oxidization and, despite its electrical conductivity being in the reasonable range, the conductivity of the oxide layer is yet insufficient to ensure high quality of signal transmission. Moreover, the surface oxidation significantly reduces the mechanical properties of the thin conductor.

Common solution to this problem is the use of a thin gold conductor as a "non-aging" material. However, the specific resistance of gold (r=2.2) is almost 30% higher than that of pure silver (r=1.6), which detrimentally affects the quality of a transmitted signal.

A thin silver conductor protected with high-quality gold plating (a proprietary product of Elco Audio, Inc.) solves the "aging" problem and results in undoubtedly superior quality of signal transmission.

WHY POROUS TEFLON?

Air (ideally, vacuum) dielectric materials are the optimum media permitting the maximum breadth of the transmission frequency band of an electrical signal in interconnecting cables that are used in equipment of high and super-high category. However, its use is limited not only by the complexity of the technical realization but also by a number of other reasons. In particular, the "break-in process" requires that a stable environment be maintained around the central (signal) conductor during operation. However, under normal conditions, the air dielectric is not capable of providing a consistent environment around the conductor due to changes in temperature, humidity, flow, etc. To prevent the effect of these factors on the conductor, it is normally protected by various types of dielectric materials. One of the most commonly used such materials is solid Teflon. This material is used in a number of coaxial cables and effectively protects the central signal wire from the influence of external environmental factors. (For comparison, the dielectric value is 1.2 and 2.4 for vacuum (air) and solid Teflon, respectively) For a number of reasons, further increase in the value by using other types of dielectric materials leads to an increase in capacitance characteristics of the cable dramatic band reduction of the transmitted signal, and, consequently, to reduced sound quality. The requirement of maintaining a stable environment around the central conductor while minimizing the value of dielectric constant can be met by using porous Teflon (Teflon with uniformly distributed air phase). Porous Teflon has the value of 1.6 and provides the level of protection similar to that of solid Teflon. By using this material, the capacitance of a one-foot length of a single capable C is reduced by the / ratio factor. ( - dielectric constant of solid Teflon, - that of the porous material; 2.4/1.6=1.5) This results in a broader cable frequency band and significant improvement in transmission of the highest harmonic components of a signal. It should be noted that these advantage are realized only when using pure porous Teflon dielectric material not containing any other components. For instance, the use of various adhesive-based Teflon dielectric materials leads to undesirable effects (due to the lack of consistency in dielectric properties) that significantly reduce the quality of a transmitted signal. Comparative frequency characteristics of the transmission functions of one of the interconnecting cables containing different dielectric materials are presented in Figure 1.

Fig. 1

WHY KEVLAR?

KEVLAR is a soft, flexible sleeving used to protect wires from extreme environmental conditions. KEVLAR is braided from aramid fibers and has a unique combination of durability, pliability and high-tensile strength.KEVLAR has excellent thermal stability permitting long-term use at temperatures up to 160'C/320'F without significant strength loss. KEVLAR does not melt or support combustion. Short-term exposures (several minutes) as high as to 300'C/572'F can be tolerated. Kevlar sleeving offers strengh and durability yet is relatively light in weight. ELCO SGI-999 cables provide a truly superb sound quality unmatched by any other product in this price range and approaching that of a test bed system. *All ELCO products are hand-crafted. All components are made in USA.