Audioquest KE-4 Speaker Cable with 72V DBS

KE-4 might look like a normal round cable, but inside is a fully optimized combination of extraordinary materials and extremely refined design.

CONDUCTORS:
All four of KE-4’s conductors are solid. Electrical and magnetic interaction between strands in a conventional cable is the single greatest source of distortion, often causing a somewhat harsh, dirty and confused sound. Solid conductors are the most important ingredients enabling KE-4’s very clear sound. Whether a conductor is solid or stranded, skin-effect is a prime distortion mechanism in speaker cables. KE-4 very simply keeps this effect out of the audio range by using conductor sizes that are below the threshold for audible distortion.

DIELECTRIC-BIAS SYSTEM (patent pending):
Unfortunately, because insulation stores and releases energy, it is also a “dielectric.” In a cable application, all released energy is distortion. The misnomer “break-in” is often used to describe the pronounced improvement in performance as the dielectric adapts to a charged state as the cable is used. Whenever a cable does not have a charge on it, it is re-adapting to an uncharged state; it is becoming new again.

By maintaining a 72 volt dielectric-bias, far above the voltage of delicate audio signals, the DBS system provides considerably better transparency and dynamics than is possible even from a cable in continuous use. It takes a couple of weeks for the DBS system to reach maximum performance. Since DBS battery packs are attached when KE-4 cables are first terminated, KE-4 will be approaching or at peak performance by the time it is installed in your system. Since there is no “load” on the two standard hardware-store batteries, they will last for years. A test button and LED allow for occasional verification of battery performance.

PERFECT-SURFACE SILVER:
KE-4’s PSS (Perfect Surface Silver) has an astonishingly smooth and pure surface. Proprietary metal processing technology protects the wire’s surface at every stage of drawing and fabrication. When high-purity low-oxide copper is kept as soft, pure and smooth as possible, it becomes the wonderfully low distortion PSC conductor used in many AudioQuest models. Beginning the same process with ultra pure copper makes possible PSC+ copper’s even more focused and free-flowing sound. PSS’s extreme transparency is made possible by applying Perfect Surface Technology to ultra pure solid silver. For fifteen years AudioQuest has pioneered the use of superior metals; yet even we were surprised by the huge leap in performance made possible with Perfect Surface Technology. PSC and PSC+ simply outperform all previously available metals at any price. PSS is the ultimate example of how far this remarkable technology can take us.

All drawn metal exhibits directionality, whether in hardware store wire or in the best AQ cable. We wish we could design away this awkwardness. Since we can’t, we pay close attention to optimizing performance by clearly marking the cables and our terminations. Please watch for these markings when installing any audio cables.