Cable Solutions "Signature Series 77"
Spec Your Own Custom Interconnect Cable

Cable Solutions "Signature Series 77" "Spec Your Own" Interconnect Cable shown here with with Canare "True 75 Ohm" Connectors and red heat-shrink.

These Cable Solutions "Signature Series 77" assemblies use "the best of the best" Canare components, combined with our own Signature heat-shrink end treatments for superior mechanical dampening, color-coding and strain-relief.

These versatile cables are suitable for many kinds of audio applications.  For example, use a single cable for a subwoofer/LFE connection, two for analog stereo audio interconnects, six for SACD / 5.1 channel setups, eight for 7.1 channel hook-ups...you get the idea.

Choose from 10 different heat-shrink color-code options: black, blue, brown, gray, green, orange, purple, red, white, or yellow.  If you want some help choosing colors, the CEA-standard color-code scheme is shown here.

Connector options: RCA, RCA-female, or BNC. 

In addition to the outstanding performance that these cables offer in analog audio applications, they are also excellent for digital audio.  Use a single cable for SPDIF Digital audio applications, such as Dolby Digital or DTS.

Alternately, a single cable also makes an ideal composite video cable or use three for component video, five for RGBHV video.  Terminated with BNC connectors, they are ideal for test equipment... the possibilities are almost endless.

The Cable

We use oversized 7.7mm Canare precision coaxial cable.  To minimize curl and dielectric deformation, only select cuts of cable, from the outer part of the spool are used to build our Signature Series assemblies.  It is big coax, but the stranded center conductor and braided shielding ensure excellent flexibility and long life while the cable's compliant nature makes it easy to handle and route. 

With cable design, it is certainly true that there are many compromises to be made.  That is why some cables may be good at audio, but not good for video.  Likewise, cables that are good for video are often poor for audio.  That is why it may be hard to understand how this cable can be so good at so many things.

One of the challenges associated with obtaining flawless audio transmission is environmental EM (Electro-Magnetic) interference.  The most common form of  EM ingress is 60 Hz hum from nearby wiring and powered equipment.  To ensure the flawless transmission of your audio signal, this high-performance cable features two layers of braided copper shielding.  The double shielding adds extra protection from EMF (Electro-Magnetic Fields).

 CSSS77 has plenty of bandwidth for all kinds of video too, including both composite and component video, right up to 1080p and beyond. 

Here are Canare's (highly conservative) specs for the cable:

• Outside diameter, 7.7mm (.303 in.)
• Low loss - less than .034 dB per meter at 10 MHz, and less than 3.4 dB even at 1 GHz!
• Double tightly woven all-copper shields with greater than 92% (inner) plus 95% (outer) coverage
• Nominal capacitance, 67 pF per meter at 1 KHz
• Nominal impedance, 75 ohms
• Velocity of propagation, 66%

The Connectors

In our experience, the key to great cables lies in the connectors. Exotic conductors and shielding are fine, but we have found that the connectors and the cable-to-connector interface can actually make more difference than the cable itself.  With that in mind, this outstanding cable joins Canare's unique 75 Ohm impedance-matched connectors and our fully sheathed Signature Series terminations in the quest for accurate, uncolored sound that is free of unwanted noise.  In short, you will get the best sound that your system can deliver.  

Canare RCA Connectors

It is hard to imagine a finer RCA connector than Canare's.  They are precision machined to maintain a constant 75 Ohm impedance.  We install them using a Canare tool that always prepares the cable ends, just right.  The connectors are crimped in place, using heavy, precision-machined dies.  The crimps are so tight that oxygen is excluded, and thus corrosion is prevented.  It's an awesome system, and the resulting terminations are in a class of their own.

Generic RCA audio plugs and cables have been around since the 1940s, but the old solder-type plugs typically have an impedance of about 25 Ohms.  They exhibit extremely poor return loss performance, even when mated to high-quality cable.  Some of the so-called "high end" cables use exotic-sounding materials and make unsupportable claims, but still fail to solve this very real and important problem.

Canare's innovative 75 Ohm RCA crimp plugs solve these problems.  Their impedance-matched design achieves excellent digital and analog performance, with a usable bandwidth to 200 MHz!  The connector design ensures consistent and extremely reliable terminations.  VSWR is typically less than 1.1 from DC to 200 MHz.  The crimp design excludes oxygen, preventing corrosion associated with dissimilar metals, which can degrade even the best soldered connections.

The center shaft is gold plated.  If you look closely at the picture at the right, you can see the internal pressure fingers, which ensure good contact, while solving the "grip of death" problem, which has been a issue with Monster's connectors.  The "grip of death" connectors put unnecessary strain on your equipment.  Canare connectors connect up smoothly, and maintain good contact, while protecting your equipment investment.

For our Signature Series, we finish the terminations with custom polyolefin heat-shrink tubing, adding an extra measure of mechanical dampening in addition to essential color-coding and strain-relief.

Canare RCA-Female Connectors

Canare does not offer an RCA-female connector, as such, but we have come up with a very good work-around.  We start with Canare's excellent BNC connector (described below), then add a high-quality impedance-matched Canare BNC/RCA-female adapter.  These are not your average adapters - these are Canare adapters, and they are about as good as such an adapter can possibly be.  As you may notice, the high quality of the adapters is reflected in their cost.  We then heat-shrink the complete assembly to maintain excellent electrical and mechanical integrity.  You can see how the finished assembly looks in the picture at the right.

Canare BNC Connectors

The BNC-type connector is the best connector that is commonly available for applications of this type.  In general, it is both mechanically and electrically superior to an RCA connector.  It has a twist-lock mechanism to ensure that the connection is mechanically secure, and the electrical design of the connector does a good job of maintaining constant impedance at the connector.

Canare takes this inherent superiority to the next level.  For example, many BNC connectors have a characteristic impedance of only 50 Ohms, but Canare connectors are engineered to maintain a constant impedance of 75 Ohms.  This make a lot of sense because virtually all A/V equipment is designed to work best with 75 Ohm cables.  It follows that if you want the best performance your equipment can deliver, you will need cables and connectors that maintain this impedance.

This electrical superiority is the result of superior mechanical design, high-quality materials and precision manufacturing.  Canare's BNC connectors are almost artful in their design...and they work very well indeed.  . 

Noticeable Improvements ?

With analog audio, constant impedance helps to avoid non-linearity in your amplifiers, and the lack of reflected energy in the cable ensures maximum signal transfer.  Muddiness and distortion are avoided.  High quality precision cable protects you from audible hum and interference.  Your sound will be clear and clean.

Digital audio presents a different set of challenges, but the same rules apply.  Constant impedance eliminates ringing, echo, and signal delays which may cause decoder errors.  Extraneous noise is excluded, so your digital signal gets to the decoder intact.  The end result is the same in either application - great sound.

In video applications the difference is often even more noticeable than in audio applications.  Ghost images and "ringing" that are visible with lesser cables are conspicuously absent, thanks to Canare's constant impedance cable and connector design.  The difference can range from visible to dramatic.

Ordering Notes

For lengths of 3 meters or less, we try for a finished tip-to-tip length that is exactly the same as the nominal length.  For example, if you order a 0.5 meter cable, we cut the cable shorter than 0.5 meter so that once the connectors have been installed, the finished cable will actually measure 0.5 meter from connector tip to connector tip.  This is typically not an issue with longer cables, but for very short cables, an inch or two can be important, so we want you to be aware.  Our method ensures the greatest consistency for shorter cables, but since some shops just cut the cables to length and then add connectors, we thought it might be worth mentioning.

For lengths over 3 meters, we cut the cable to the nominal length and then install the connectors, which results in a finished cable that is slightly longer than the nominal length.