Atlas Ailsa Duo Ultra L RCA Grun

Atlas Ailsa Duo Ultra L RCA Grun

The Ailsa Duo Ultra L RCA interconnect cable is engineered for listeners who want cleaner, more revealing audio from their system. Its wide bandwidth design features two independent solid core OCC copper conductors, each housed in its own dual drain screen topology. This arrangement helps suppress intrusive noise and improves channel stability, offering a more open and precise listening experience. Solid core conductors also reduce signal distortion compared to multi strand alternatives, supporting greater tonal clarity. The cable uses the advanced Ultra L Latik RCA plug, built around a low mass, non conductive 3D printed lattice structure. This design minimises interference with delicate signals while the OCC copper pins provide strong continuity. A solder free cold weld connection further strengthens the integrity of the signal path.

A precision twisted construction adds another layer of protection against RF and EM interference, contributing to a pleasingly neutral and highly detailed sound. Listeners can expect enhanced dynamic range thanks to a lowered noise floor, allowing subtle musical textures to emerge more naturally. Whether paired with high quality source components or used to upgrade an existing setup, the Ailsa Duo Ultra L delivers a confident, engaging performance inspired by the clarity and balance found in Atlas' Mavros and Arran ranges.

What Atlas say about the Ailsa Duo Ultra L RCA Grun

Wide-bandwidth solid-core RCA interconnect cable utilising our new 'Duo' independent dual-drain screen topology, a further refinement of our proven 'dd' dual-drain system, and which defines a new performance level for the Ailsa range.

Designed to overcome the shortcomings of conventional coaxial cables, the Ailsa Duo Ultra L RCA features two separate, independently-screened solid-core OCC copper conductors for 'hot (+) and 'cold‘ (-) connections, enhancing rejection of unwanted signal-degrading ‘noise.’ Solid-core offers significant improvement over multi-strand conductors, with lower distortion and greater consistency in performance.

Connectors are our acclaimed, low-mass Ultra L (Latik) RCA plug, which benefits from an innovative and extremely stable non-conductive 3D-printed geometric lattice structure, designed to have minimal impact on the delicate signal. Pins are of the same grade OCC copper as the conductors, which, in tandem with our solder-free cold-weld connection method, ensures excellent signal continuity.

Combined with a precision-twisted assembly – further increasing rejection of RF and EM interference – we’ve created a cable with a distinctive appearance, and we believe, clear, easily demonstrable performance gains with more than a hint of the coherence and tonal accuracy of our 'High End' Mavros and Arran products.

Listening to this latest generation ‘rebooted’ Ailsa reveals a neutral, detailed but engaging presentation without artifice or exaggeration, offering fresh insight into both new and familiar music.

Performance – particularly with regard to increasing dynamic range by lowering the system noise-floor – is further enhanced by Atlas’ Grun Coherent Earthing System (Grun lead & spade adapter included).

Features:

• Ultra L (Latik) Low-Mass RCA Connectors
• Grun Coherent Ground System
• Duo Dual Drain Independent Screen
• Cold weld Precision Crimped Termination
• OCC Conductors
• PEF Dielectric

Ultra L (Latik) RCA Plugs

Less is more. That’s certainly true regarding the design of analogue audio cables, where the goal is to render the cable effectively ‘invisible,’ or more accurately, inaudible, in terms of impact on the signal.

Ideally, cables shouldn’t add or subtract anything, but in reality, numerous factors combine to have an audible and measurable effect, which is a form of distortion. One of the essential elements in the mix is the connector plug. Atlas recognised over a decade ago that the traditional CNC-machined metal-bodied RCA connector was a weakness, with demonstrably significant performance loss.

Our research showed that a Polycarbonate, and latterly ABS, for the plug body was a superior material, allowing us to create an RCA plug with a low dielectric constant, low-mass, non-conductive body but retaining the physical resilience and stability of a CNC-machined product. The outcome was our original Integra connector, used in our entry-level Element and Equator cable ranges, but we quickly came to realise the superiority of the approach for all our cables, with further R&D resulting in the development of the Ultra RCA plug for our higher performance ranges. The original Ultra was constructed from solid PTFE, a more complicated material to work with, but which immediately reduced the dielectric constant further and offered improved bandwidth and fidelity.

In the spirit of continuous improvement, we’ve taken a keen interest in materials development and manufacturing techniques not previously available, bringing the opportunity to experiment further to minimise any impact of the plug on the dielectric, always a compromise in comparison to the ideal dielectric, air itself. So, to design a plug with less material and more air content, we investigated new additive manufacturing techniques. Utilising the latest 3D printing techniques, we incorporated a new ‘lattice’ structure in the Ultra design, reducing mass by 25%, increasing the amount of air in the plug body and dramatically improving the plug’s bandwidth.

The Ultra Latik RCA is standard to our Mavros and Arran ranges, along with ‘turbo-charged’ versions of our Hyper and Ailsa interconnects.

During our research we experimented with many different printing materials, both natural (hardwood) and synthetic, and numerous structural variations, gaining knowledge and experience which will be invaluable on other projects in the future. The resulting connector, the Ultra Latik RCA, represents a significant step forward in itself and has allowed us to create a new generation of designs acclaimed as setting new benchmarks. When you effectively eliminate any residual plug character from the cable's true performance, all that remains is the music.

Less is indeed more.

Grun Coherent Ground System

One of the biggest obstacles to achieving the performance levels our equipment is capable of is noise. Low levels of RFI (radio frequency) and EMI (electro-magnetic interference) and noise on the signal ground each subtly modulate and degrade the overall noise levels of the system.

Although our cables are all designed to minimise the invasion of external interference, it’s not possible to completely eliminate it. But the audible benefits of substantially reducing it via our Grun products are considerable. And the impact of Grun is cumulative. Adding additional Grun-enabled products reduces the impact of unwanted ‘noise’ still further.

Grounding critical components via the Grun system doesn’t alter the tonal balance or character of the system but audibly removes the effect of noise you probably didn’t realise was there. The result typically reveals a greater level of fine detail, enhanced stereo soundstage and an improved ‘ease’ and naturalness.

Analogue interconnects and speaker cables with Atlas Ultra L (Latik) RCA or Transpose speaker connectors are Grun-enabled as standard. Grun adapters are included as required with all relevant products; higher performance can be attained via our Grun power adapters, which can each be used with up to four products. This interference results in high-frequency ‘noise’ in the system, not in the conventional sense of audible hiss or hum, but affecting the noise floor, effectively reducing the overall dynamic range and clarity.

Install your Grun-enabled cable and attach the Grun adapter at both ends, using either the supplied spade tag or the Grun mains adapter if you have one (the latter is even more effective). Listen to a piece of music. Mute the sound, but don't alter the volume. Detach the Grun connector at the source end and listen again. With the Grun connection in place, typically vocals sound more natural with reduced sibilance, dynamic range is wider, and there’s a ‘relaxed’ quality, without affecting the perceived timing of the system. Try the same test again after a couple of weeks. You’ll likely find the difference with Grun even more pronounced.

Duo Dual Drain Independent Screen

Our unique Duo and ‘dd’ construction connect the screen without distorting, twisting or mechanically stressing the precision-laid screen, all of which can cause measurable performance anomalies.

We have invested in machinery to quickly and efficiently perform a number of the key stages in our manufacturing process. But working with our dual-drain system is one of those instances where there’s no substitute for the ‘hands-on’ experience of a skilled operator.

Normally screened cables suffer from screen distortion when they are prepared for production. (If you’ve ever wired a plug or connector which uses a screened cable, you've done this yourself, cutting back and probably twisting the screening braid for termination). This distortion of the screen has a measurable impact, effectively changing the impedance and therefore the performance of the cable.

Our ‘dd’ configuration is based on a simplified version of the techniques originally developed for our then top-of-the-range Mavros and Asimi interconnects. Twin symmetrical drain wires (each attached to 180° segments of the plug) are inserted between a 100% copper/Mylar™ foil and screen.

The unique dd system connects the screen effectively to the cable return/plug interface, meaning the cable can be terminated without distorting, twisting or mechanically stressing the precision-laid screen. The benefits are in maintaining a consistent low impedance load to the plug, and a total 360° screening against noise and signal loss caused by RFI (Radio Frequency Interference).

Our Duo symmetrical topology essentially takes our dual-drain approach one step further, with the paired hot and cold conductors surrounded by their own independent precision-woven OFC screen. Each of the screen pairs is then precisely twisted and configured with a common Grun connection, draining both screens directly to ground.

Cold weld Precision Crimped Termination

Our objective is a smooth, uninterrupted signal path which behaves as one continuous entity, with the minimum of ‘breaks & barriers’ in the signal path.

The Process

We have invested in machinery to quickly and efficiently perform a number of the key stages in our manufacturing process, including precision-crimping of connectors on all types of cable.

We also have a number of identically calibrated hand-tools. There are times when there’s no substitute for the experience of a skilled operator.

Cold-Weld Precision-Calibrated Crimp

We firmly believe there should be the minimum of ‘breaks & barriers’ in the signal path. To this end for example, the pins on our connector plugs will typically be of the same material as the cable conductor, ie. a cable using a OCC Copper conductor will have OCC Copper signal pins.

We consider a precision-calibrated cold-weld connection (where physically possible) to be superior to soldered joints or screw connections. Solder typically introduces an unwanted material barrier and a degree of inconsistency. Screw terminations typically distort/damage the conductor and/or dielectric, adversely affecting the measured characteristics of the cable.

In a cold-weld (solder-free) connection, the metal of the connector plug and the wire are squeezed together under a calibrated pressure to form a robust, consistent, air-tight metal to metal contact with no deformation of the cable dielectric. The result is a smooth, uninterrupted signal path which behaves as closely as possible to one continuous entity.

OCC Copper

The Ohno continuous casting method re-heats the extrusion as the molten copper is forced out of the mould and very slowly and gradually draws the grain or crystal down the conductor's length, creating a ‘single crystal structure.’ Actually, because no copper is 100% pure, there will always be a few boundaries produced by impurities. The frequency of boundaries created are quite insignificant. A typical crystal in a copper conductor drawn to 0.3 mm diam. using the OCC process is 125.00 metres long! The benefits are obvious, with almost no crystal boundaries, the audio signal is no longer impeded down the copper wire and more information and detail is delivered faithfully to the receiving equipment.

PEF Dielectric

PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) is cheap to produce and, as such, is the most commonly used insulation in AV cables. However, PVC is the worst quality insulation a Hi-Fi or AV signal can encounter as its high loss causes a significant reduction in signal velocity. PVC is better suited to power cables and should be avoided in Hi-Fi and AV signal cables. Other dielectrics in common use are Polyethylene, Polypropylene and Polytetrafluoride Epoxy (better known as PTFE (Teflon™) or Teflon,) and the new and unique Atlas (PTFE). PEF (Foamed Polyethylene). The foaming process uses a blowing agent, of which there are two types. Atlas use the gas-foamed method which creates a more inert, consistent and higher quality product.

About Atlas Cables

Atlas Cables are a major producer of interconnects and cables in the United Kingdom of Great Britain. All products are researched, developed and most are assembled in the Atlas purpose built factory in Scotland.

Many of these products are unique and use advanced techniques of production or manufacture in order to bring to the user the very finest quality products. With each new model we continue to push the boundaries of reliability and performance. It's little wonder then, that Atlas Cables have had so many mile-stone advances in the past and that Atlas Cables have secured so many awards in comparative tests against other products.

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