Canare Precision Stereo Audio Interconnect Cables

Canare Precision Stereo Audio Interconnect Cables Pro-Series with Canare's Remarkable "True 75-Ohm" Connectors.  Pictured here is a 1 meter stereo pair.

These Pro-Series Canare Precision Stereo Audio Interconnect Cables are ideal for stereo audio from CD players, DVD players, satellite receivers, cable TV boxes, tape decks, VCRs or any equipment that requires an analog two-channel hook-up.

Canare's matching cable and connector system is designed to maintain a constant "True 75 Ohm" impedance.  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 cables protect you from audible hum and interference. Your sound will be as clear and clean as your system can deliver.

Canare cables are used widely by the professionals who record, master and produce the program material that we seek to accurately reproduce in our own listening rooms.  It is hard to imagine how one could do better than to use the same cables that were used to originate the programming.  Canare's professional look and feel, combined with reliable performance excellence has made Canare the choice of professionals and discriminating enthusiasts, alike.

If you're convinced, click here to select the length(s) you prefer.  If you would like to learn why we think these are the finest cables you can buy at any price, please read on!

Quest for Flawless Sound

If one takes the time to compare audio interconnect cables, one will see many claims as to the superiority of one brand of cable versus another. Most of the rhetoric is about the features of the cable itself - conductivity, resistance, capacitance, exotic materials and even the mechanical arrangement of the conductors.  Some of the claims have a basis in science and some are just nonsense.  There is less talk about the connectors and even less yet about how the connectors join the cable.

Exotic materials are fine, but the connector design and the cable to connector interface are arguably the most critical factors in any scientific comparison between cable assemblies.  The cable to connector interface is where impedance mismatch can occur.  Impedance mismatch is easy to measure scientifically, and the effects of mismatch are well known and understood by engineers.  If one considers the fact that Canare is a company that markets their products primarily to engineers and people who work with engineers, one can begin to appreciate their obsession with connector design.

To that end, Canare has done something that virtually no other company has done before or since - they engineered a line of high-performance coaxial cables, and then they engineered matching connectors, purpose-made for each of their excellent cables.  That accomplishment is, in itself , worthy of praise, but Canare went a step farther by also engineering a set of proprietary tools that are, once again, purpose-made to terminate their cables with their connectors while maintaining a high degree of precision and repeatability.  In our experience, no other system is as complete as Canare's.

Other cable shops offer cables and/or connectors that look like Canare's, but the similarity ends with the looks.  Knock-offs may be less expensive, but if one wants cable assemblies that take complete advantage of Canare's  expertly engineered matching cable, connector and tool system, one cannot substitute a non-Canare cable, connector, or tool and expect to get the same results.

RCA Connectors

Ironically, the most common connector used for interconnecting consumer A/V gear may also be the worst connector in general use today.  Generic RCA type audio plugs and cables have been around since the 1940s, but the old solder-type plugs typically have an impedance of about 25 ohms. As a result, they exhibit extremely poor return loss performance, even when mated to high quality cable. Some of the most expensive "high end" cables still rely on connector designs that are both electrically and mechanically inferior.

Canare's "True 75 Ohm" RCA crimp plugs solve these problems. They are impedance matched to achieve excellent performance in both digital and analog applications.  They have a usable bandwidth of over 200 MHz and VSWR is typically less than 1.1:1 from DC to 200 MHz!  This low standing wave ratio minimizes reflected signals for maximum signal transfer and clear sound.

If you look at the picture at the right, you can see the gold-plated center shaft.  If you click on the picture, you can get a better look at the internal gold-plated beryllium copper pressure fingers.  The design ensures good contact, while solving the "grip of death" problem that can be an issue with Monster and some of the other manufacturers' connectors.  (Those "grip of death" connectors put unnecessary strain on your equipment!)  Canare connectors connect up smoothly, and maintain good contact, while protecting your equipment investment.

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 BNC 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.

The Cable

These Canare cables are lightweight and extremely flexible.  They have an elegant, professional look and feel.  When we use these cables in our own custom installation work, we typically do not tie or bundle them because they are very easy to manage.  With their superior flexibility, they hang nicely in an equipment rack or cabinet.  The cables have just enough curl from the spool that we can usually get them to go exactly where we want them just by slightly rotating the connectors in the jacks.  Tangling has never been a problem.  It's hard to describe unless you have actually experienced it, but suffice to say, this is part of the reason that professionals choose this cable.

Here are some technical specs on the cable:

• Outside diameter, 6.1mm (.240 in.)
• Low loss - less than .013 dB per meter at 1 MHz, and less than 4.2 dB even at 1 GHz!
• Tightly woven all-copper shield with greater than 95% coverage
• Nominal capacitance, 67 pF per meter at 1 KHz
• Nominal impedance, 75 ohms
• Velocity of propagation, 66%

Formula for Flawless Performance

If you want the best performance that your equipment can deliver, you need cables that are capable of maintaining a constant impedance. You don't want any bumps at the connectors, and you don't want the cable itself to change impedance when it bends. Even the finest cable changes impedance a little bit when it is bent sharply, so avoid doing so. Nice, smooth, consistent 75 ohm impedance. That's what your equipment wants, and that's what will deliver the best results.

You also want superior mechanical integrity - nice, tight connections that will not degrade over time.  To inhibit degradation, avoid dissimilar metals, which can lead to corrosion and degrade connections. To avoid dissimilar metals, try to stay away from soldered connections wherever you can, because solder almost guarantees that dissimilar metals will be in contact. Good solder work minimizes the problem, but there is always the challenge of preventing dielectric deformation as a result of the heat associated with soldering.  Any dimensional change in the dielectric will affect the impedance of the cable at that point.

With all of this in mind, we install the connectors using special Canare tools that always prepare 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.  This exclusion prevents the corrosion that can degrade even the best soldered connections.  There is virtually no heat associated with the crimp termination process, so it follows that there is no danger of dielectric deformation.  Canare connectors connect up smoothly, and maintain good contact, while protecting your equipment investment.  The design ensures extremely consistent and reliable terminations.