What Makes An Atlas Cable?

And why do some cables sound better than others? We go to considerable lengths to identify, address and manage those parameters which we consider critical to performance. These are our ‘Essential Elements.’

We apply a carefully calibrated blend of engineering expertise, design insight, and a clear focus on proven manufacturing principles. The objective is to create a range of cables that, by adopting a common approach to design and manufacture, achieve even-handed, consistent performance in any audio application.

The essential elements we consider the key to achieving this goal are:

Conductor quality
Dielectric efficiency
Connector (plug) design
Screening configuration
Manufacturing (assembly) process

Our commitment to quality is evident in the years of focus we’ve dedicated to defining the essential parameters for the heightened performance of our cables.

The key is not only in identifying the individual parameters but combining them to the correct degree in the optimum combination. There’s little point in using a high-purity conductor if you then compromise performance with inadequate screening or a low-quality dielectric.

Conductor Quality.

There’s a variety of conductor materials and types available. For our analogue cables, we consider only three achieve the standard we require:

1] OFC (Oxygen-Free Copper). There are less expensive copper types, but they have poor measured performance, and they sound inferior, so we don’t use them. Our ‘Upgrade’ performance level products use OFC.

2] OCC (Ohno Continuous Casting) Copper. Named after its inventor, Professor Atsumi Ohno. It’s expensive and more time-consuming to produce, but its technical quality and audio performance are superb, which is, of course, why we choose it for our ‘Aspire’ and ‘High End’ cable ranges.

3] OCC (Ohno Continuous Casting) Silver. The same production process but using ultra-high-purity silver as the conductor material. We believe OCC silver offers unsurpassed sound quality and is at the heart of our Asimi range, the ultimate ‘High End’ product family in the Atlas portfolio.

Digital cables require a different approach. We avoid silver-plated copper in our analogue products, but it’s a viable option in some digital applications.

Further information on conductors is available in the ‘Engineered’ section> of the site, along with a selection of technical white papers.

Dielectric Efficiency.

The perfect dielectric (insulating) material would be air. Perfect, but sadly, not practical for a variety of reasons. Every dielectric material has a measurable and audible impact on the performance of even the finest conductors, so again, the challenge is to identify the least compromised.

Our research and experience mean we have a clear preference for PEF and FEP (Polypropylene variants) and PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) which offer clear performance gains over materials such as PVC and other similar options.

We use two types of PTFE, a normal, solid coating type, and increasingly throughout our range, an innovative ‘microporous’ version unique to Atlas. The latter actually has small cells of trapped air in its composition (remember what we said about the perfect insulator) and offers a clearly measurable improvement over any other material we’ve evaluated.

Further information on dielectric materials is available in the ‘Engineered’ section of the site, along with a selection of technical white papers.

The Connector (Plug).

Connector design is something of an Atlas speciality. It‘s an area where we excel. Over the years, we’ve researched and experimented with many different materials, ranging from lightweight but ultra-dense woods used in manufacturing bagpipes to 3D-printed elements employing different configurations and materials. All such testing is valuable, and on more than one occasion, an approach to one problem has proved to be the innovative solution to another.

In search of maximum continuity, the signal pins in our cables are typically made from the same material as the conductor (ie. a cable with an OCC copper conductor will ‘see’ OCC copper pins in the plug).

Our favoured approach has been refined and finessed over a number of years, with the current ‘high-water mark’ represented by our Ultra Latik RCA connector, fitted to selected ‘Aspire’ interconnects and our ‘High End’ Mavros, Arran and Asimi families. (The Arran Ultra Latik RCA interconnect has recently been acclaimed as setting a new benchmark).

Atlas’ Achromatic X RCA and Z-Plug connectors and our Transpose Modular Speaker Connectors all show similar degrees of refinement and precision.

Further information on connector design is available in the ‘Engineered’ section of the site, along with a selection of technical white papers.

Screening Configuration.

The world is a hostile place for delicate audio signals. Potential sources of interference mount a continuous assault, with radio frequency and mains-borne transmission among the worst offenders.

This interference typically results in ‘noise’ affecting the audio signal, not generally directly audible over loudspeakers but subtly modulating and degrading the performance of your hi-fi system. Many listeners are surprised by the degree of difference when the effects of this insidious ‘noise’ are removed.

We’re acknowledged experts in protecting against and minimising such interference, and eliminating the problem has long been an integral part of our product design philosophy. We deal with it via a double-pronged attack. All Atlas products are designed to protect the audio signal by incorporating comprehensive screening techniques.

Additionally, some of our ‘Aspire’ interconnects and our ‘High End’ ranges incorporate our game-changing Grun Coherent Ground System for an even more effective solution.

Further information on our approach, including our unique ‘Dual Drain’ precision screening method is available in the ‘Engineered’ section of the site, along with a selection of technical white papers.

The Manufacturing (Assembly) Process.

What would be the point of a chef assembling the finest ingredients only to ruin the dish during the actual cooking process?

We feel much the same about the actual assembly process of our cables, where there are several factors which must be carefully considered.

Firstly, we avoid soldered joints. We consider that optimum performance requires a direct metal-to-metal contact, which is both airtight and extremely robust. Soldered joints introduce an unwanted degree of variability and are in effect a barrier to having the assembled cable behave as one continuous uninterrupted signal path. So we developed our own precision cold-weld (crimping) tools to apply a calibrated pressure to the join.

Our dd ‘dual-drain’ system connects the cable’s screening braid without the mechanical stress introduced by cutting, twisting or distorting the screen, which can adversely affect the cable’s measured impedance. The dd technique maintains the intended 360 degree shielding against the effects of harmful interference.

We’ve invested heavily in optimising our production process for consistency and efficiency. Each cable is hand-made by a skilled Atlas technician each of whom takes a great deal of pride in their work.

Your Cable. Our Promise.

Manufacturing in-house also gives us great flexibility when it comes to customising, modifying or upgrading/repairing our products.

Our ‘Your Cable. Our Promise’ initiative offers a range of options you can select from, and we’re always happy to talk direct to customers about any specific or unusual requirements.

Need an existing cable reconditioned or a longer one terminated and transformed into two shorter lengths? Or an older cable upgraded to a higher specification by making it Grun-enabled or fitting our latest generation connectors?

We can provide this kind of long-term support quickly and cost-effectively — not only improving performance but protecting your investment in Atlas products.