Now that you’ve had a chance to really get to know and appreciate the new AudioQuest River Series models, the remarkable Red River, Mackenzie and Yukon – Audioquest go and replace the incredibly successful original River Series models using the same new materials, techniques and processes which make the less expensive River cables so very e ective. Welcome to the Audioquest Elements … Water, Earth, Wind and Fire!
Audioquest Earth, Wind, Water, Fire Elements Series
Water, Earth and Wind are each highly evolved versions of their respective predecessors, Columbia, Colorado and Niagara. The variables that distinguished the previous 3 models from each other remain the same in the 3 new models:
Water uses PE (Polyethylene) Air-Tubes over solid PSC+ copper conductors, as did Columbia. Earth uses FEP (Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene) Air-Tubes over solid PSC+ copper conductors, as did Colorado.Wind uses FEP Air-Tubes over solid PSS silver conductors, as did Niagara.
As with the Rivers, the Elements employ Triple-Balanced Geometry and asymmetrical signal and ground impedance. When used single-ended with RCA plugs, the 1 larger conductor is used for positive and the 2 single-gauge-smaller conductors are combined to provide a ground reference which has 59% lower impedance than the signal conductor. When used balanced with XLR plugs, the 2 smaller conductors are used for the 2 positives (inverted and non-inverted), and the single larger conductor is used for the bene cially lower impedance ground reference. Whereas almost every other “balanced” cable uses its shield as the ground reference, AQ Triple-Balanced cables use a separate dedicated shield that is only connected on one end. By the way, as one’s system evolves, AQ Triple-Balanced cables can always be reterminated (for a fee) from RCA to XLR or vice-versa.
And, as with Columbia, Colorado and Niagara, AudioQuest’s DBS (Dielectric-Bias System) is a very important contributor to the Elements cables’ lack of an inherent sonic signature, enabling a quieter “blacker” background and greater dynamic contrast.
Now, the differences between the 3 previous Rivers and these 3 new Elements:
Water, Earth and Wind are all 1mm thicker than their predecessors: This extra room has been put to very good use. The walls of the Air-Tubes are 60% thicker and much stronger. This ensures that even if the cables are bent and tortured, the structural integrity of the Air-Tubes will be maintained. Keeping the tubes round minimizes distortion-causing proximity between conductor and insulation. The rest of the increased diameter has been used to signi ficantly upgrade the NDS System (Noise Dissipation System). The
previous 4-layer NDS system in the Rivers has been replaced with 6-layer system employing both an additional Carbon-Loaded absorbing layer, and an additional re ecting metal layer. The purpose of NDS is to shield-the-shield, to reduce the amount of RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) that reaches the shield. The less bad energy reaching the shield, the less noise gets dumped on the ground plane of the equipment … the all important reference-ground against which the signal is modulated. Any modulation of the ground plane is e ffectively a modulation of the signal. Thanks to the 2 extra NDS layers, RFI reaching the shield is reduced by an order-of-magnitude compared to the previous models.
Water, Earth and Wind use all-new plugs, designed by AudioQuest from the ground up, and using the same expensive new tooling that makes possible the superb plugs introduced on the Red River, Mackenzie and Yukon cables. We are able to use better materials throughout the range than was previously possible, and to make more forceful cold-weld connections.
Red River’s plugs use gold plating over selected brass, the least expensive combination we ever use, though also of exceptional quality. Mackenzie’s and Yukon’s plugs make the big leap up to Hanging Silver Plating applieddirectly over high-purity Purple Copper.
nd, where Columbia, Colorado and Niagara used Direct-Silver Plated OCC (Ohno Continuous Casting) copper, Water, Earth and Wind employ Hanging-Silver Plating directly over extreme-purity Red Copper. The Hanging- Silver process requires each part to be individually clipped to a hanger before it is dipped into a silver bath. The chemistry of the plating bath is superior to what is possible in a normal plating drum. While silver oxides are always 100% as conductive as the silver underneath, and should not be feared, a nice bene t of Hanging-Silver parts is that they stay shiny many times longer before a little cleaning is cosmetically desirable.
Depending on your point of view, these 3 new Elements are “just” signi cantly improved versions of Columbia, Colorado and Niagara, or, these 3 new cables are the beginning of a new story of very neutral and honest low-distortion cost-e ffective cables, which make better sound than ever before.
You might have wondered why we announced the new model Fire at the opening, and then haven’t mentioned it since. While Fire shares many of the attributes discussed above, Fire is also a significantly different cable. Fire is a full- edged member of the now Fire-Wild-WEL family mentioned it since.
At rst glance, and by price, Fire is replacing the wildly successful Sky cable. As with Sky, Fire uses the same larger (larger than the Rivers or the other Elements) solid PSS conductors that are used in the higher Wild and WEL models. Fire is of course also Triple-Balanced, and like Sky, uses FEP Air-Tubes with 23% more air inside the tubes than in the other Elements.
However, Fire is 1.8mm thicker than Sky, which, as with the other Elements, allows for signi cantly strongerAir- ubes. The new dimension also makes room for an even more e ective 8-layer NDS compared to the 6-layer system employed in later production runs of Sky. (Early Sky had a 3-layer NDS system, and the plugs were resistance- welded instead of cold-welded as in later versions.)
if that wasn’t enough real improvement, Fire uses the same new and amazing RCA and XLR plugs as now used on the Wild and WEL cables. As with the other Elements, these plugs use Hanging-Silver Plating over extreme-purity Red Copper, but these are the no-holds-barred solid machined versions with multiple-contact cold-welded connections and hollow pins. These plugs are even a bit better than those As if that wasn’t enough real improvement, Fire uses the as now used on the Wild and WEL cables. amazing pistol-like giants that used to both make Wild and WEL so distinct, and so unwieldy.
The colours of the Elements cables are very purposefully different than their predecessors. They almost completely follow the colour code rst established with the Indulgence Series of HDMI cables, and subsequently all digital cables. This black-green-red-brown-gray-blue-brown-silver accented progression underwent a single change when also used for the Bridges & Falls series of single-ended interconnects: Yosemite, which is the Coffee of the Falls range, is green instead of being brown.
The new Rivers and the Elements follow this code. Red River is a bigger-better Golden Gate, though not as good as Big Sur. Mackenzie is a bigger-better Big Sur, though not as good as Sydney. Yukon (which will get it’s proper Carbon/Sydney braid in future runs) is a bigger-better Sydney … you get the idea. Water is blue in order to proclaim itself as the Triple-Balanced XLR-capable step up from Victoria, green-themed Earth is the step up from Yosemite, and Wind uses the Angel braid, though in a little quieter color due to its larger size. Fire? Well, it’s simply a new class, and for obvious reasons, it’s red, like its speaker cable companion Redwood.
