Atlas Asimi Grun Ultra LUXE 2 RCA to 2 RCA Audio Cable Pair

Atlas Asimi Grun Ultra LUXE 2 RCA to 2 RCA Audio Cable

 

Please Note: Atlas Grun RCA Audio Cables are supplied with 1 x Atlas Grun Grounding Adaptor - 0.3m length - 1 RCA to 2 Female Grun connector.

Atlas Asimi Grun Ultra LUXE 2 RCA to 2 RCA Audio Cable is available in four standard Nappa leather finishes and two stitch options;

• Ebony
• Brogue
• Ivory
• Daytona Red
• Cross stitch
• Baseball stitch (Not available on interconnect cables)

Custom bespoke finishes are available on request. Please contact us on 0800 772 3688 for more details.

The best RCA interconnect cable Atlas know how to make. The Asimi is the only interconnect cable included in HiFi News magazine’s recent annual collection of best-reviewed equipment where they described it as ‘a true flagship cable.’. The new generation Asimi now features the Grun Coherent Earthing System.

The Asimi Ultra RCA is a state-of-the-art pure silver interconnect designed to be effectively ‘invisible’ in the replay chain and to reveal the entire content and ambience of the recording without any sense of exaggerated detail or brightness. The original aim of the Atlas Asimi project was to take a completely fresh look at cable design and, where necessary, to develop new techniques to create a cable which would satisfy the most critical listeners for years to come. For this latest generation version, Atlas again went back to basics, re-assessing their existing design & manufacturing processes, exploring different construction methods and experimenting with new materials.

The Asimi Ultra features pure silver conductors, manufactured using the highest-quality ‘Ohno Continuous Cast’ technique for drawing pure silver. Silver cables have a reputation for poor sound quality in some quarters, we believe the Asimi definitively shows the problem is with low grade materials and poor manufacture, resulting in a cable with a coarse grainy structure which compromises sound quality. By contrast, in the manufacture of Asimi, Atlas maximise the silver’s conductivity by ensuring that there is typically one grain in approximately 125 metres of conductor, allowing the signal a continuous unbroken path –in effect, the signal has a faster, cleaner and more direct path to follow.

The cable consists of a pair of conductors, each made up from six bundles of 12 multi-conductor wires, plus a thicker centre wire. This in turn is covered by a continuous copper/Mylar™ electrostatic screen and a silver-plated copper shielding braid, ensuring minimal susceptibility to RF interference and noise.

Theoretically, the best dielectric (insulation layer) is air. Suspending the conductor in free air would be the best method to transfer maximum fidelity, if not very practical. Realistically a dielectric is necessary to protect the conductor, although all conventional dielectric materials impose their own signature distortion and loss on the signal. ATlas developed a new technique, using a microporous PTFE (Teflon™) tape, which is wound around the core conductors, then covered again and stabilised using a protective FPE (Flexible PolyEthylene) dielectric. Atlas' process allows the required conductor geometry to be maintained and offers greater manufacturing consistency. Termination is with their low mass, high bandwidth, cold-weld XLR or Ultra RCA connectors, both of which have minimal effect on the integrity of the signal. 

 

Features :

• Ultra RCA Plugs 
• OCC Silver Conductors 
• PTFE Dielectric 
• Twin Multi-Core Construction
• Dual Drain ('DD') Technology
• Grun Coherent Earthing System
• Supplied with 1x Grun Achromatic RCA Adaptor to 2 Female Connectors

Ultra RCA Plug

The Ultra is a wide-band, OCC copper, constant impedance, self-cleaning, solder-free construction RCA plug.
In Atlas' cables, the conductor to plug interfaces are solder free, and the gold-plated conjugate brackets act as the return signal path, helping to reject RFI. Both conjugate brackets (these grip the cable without the adverse effects of compressing it, which can alter impedance) have two asymmetrical leaves which spring open on insertion and wipe clean the signal path. To maintain a clean signal path, simply remove and re-insert them periodically.

The Ultra RCA connectors utilise low-mass non-magnetic connectors to minimise the negative effect of excessive metal in the plug itself.

Ohno Continuous Casting Silver (OCC Silver)

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.’ 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.

Silver, with its lower resistivity, is a better conductor than copper, but any conductor, whether silver or copper, must have a reasonable cross-sectional area when used for audio applications. Silver is much more expensive than copper and, in order to keep costs within reason, the cross sectional area of silver audio cables are often compromised and the resulting sound is ‘bass light.’ Good silver cables are, however, fast, dynamic and seamless through the audio spectrum and provide exceptional detail and instrument resolution. The Atlas Asimi cables employ OCC silver conductors and in the case of the Asimi speaker cable, these are a substantial 3.5 sq mm in overall size in order to provide wide bandwidth and superior definition.

 

PTFE 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).

Microporous PTFE (Teflon™) is a unique, low density dielectric material, phase stable at room temperature, which offers significant performance improvements over solid PTFE (Teflon™) dielectric designs.

The table below shows the properties of a selection of dielectrics. Though not used as a dielectric in Atlas' cables, PVC is included for comparison purposes.

Dielectric Material Comparison (0.3mm Diameter)
Property	Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)	Foamed Polyethylene (PEF)	Polypropylene (P.P)	Teflon (FEP or PTFE)	PTFE
Dielectric Constant (@ 50 -106Hz)	4-8	2.3	2.25	2.1	1.3
Dielectric Strength (kV mm-1)	23-30	30-50	30-50	20-25	N/A
Loss Tangent (% @ 50 - 106Hz)	8-15	0.02-0.05	0.02-0.06 (@ 106Hz)	0.02-0.07	N/A
Volume Resistivity (Ohms.cm @ 20°C)	1012-15	>1017	6.5x1014	>1016	N/A
Tensile Strength (Kg mm-2)	1.0-2.5	1.0-2.0	3.0-4.0	1.9-2.2	1.0
Melting Point (°C)	-130	112-120	155-160	275	275
Max. Continuous Operating Temp. (°C)	60	75	90	200	260
Min. Operating Temp. (°C)	-15 to -40	<-60	-5 to -45	<-60	-250

 

Twin Multi-Core Construction

A pair of identically matched conductors (one for signal path, the other acts as the return conductor) enclosed within a non-conducting screen. Combined with Atlas' DD (dual drain) system which avoids distortion of the screening braid during assembly – this can change the impedance and therefore the performance of the cable.

Atlas DD (Dual Drain) System

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.

Atlas' ‘dd’ configuration is based on a simplified version of the techniques they developed for their 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).

Grun Coherent Earthing 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 all subtly modulate and degrade the overall noise levels of the system.

Ironically, this is generally only noticeable when eliminated – even though much of this ‘noise’ is theoretically at frequencies beyond the range of our hearing. The main sources are noise in the mains supply and component ground connections – mobile phones, ‘wallwart’ chargers and wifi networks are major offenders – while a percentage is actually generated within the equipment itself. Generally things have got worse with the advent of computer audio.

The Grun Coherent Earthing System addresses these issues by providing an ‘independent’ earth for users of Mavros and Asimi Ultra interconnects with the new Grun configuration.

Contact Enhancer Option

To ensure the best possible connection between your system, Future Shop recommends the DeoxIT Gold G-Series contact enhancer.

DeoxIT Gold is carefully applied to the plug contacts of your cable and is a unique conditioning solution designed to improve conductivity and provide long-lasting protection on gold, base metals and other precious metal contacts and connections. DeoxIT Gold penetrates plated surfaces, molecularly bonding to the base metals to seal and protect both surfaces.

The benefits of applying DeoxIT gold are:

• Improved Conductivity
• Maintained optimum signal quality
• Reduced wear & abrasion
• Prevents fretting/dendrite corrosion
• Forms a protective anti-tarnishing coating
• Stabilises connections between similar and dissimilar metals
• Reduces arcing, RFI and intermittent connections

Please select this option from the above ‘Contact Enhancer’ drop-down menu and our engineers will apply the contact solution to your cable connectors prior to shipping.

 

“The bespoke leather sheath is also something not seen elsewhere and adds to the luxury feel. Plug these into your system and you will definitely hear a difference.” (Read More) Cable Review - Hi-Fi World - April 2019

 

Specification :

• Construction : Twin multicore dual drain 
• Material : OCC pure silver 
• Dielectric : Microporous PTFE (Teflon™) 
• Screen : Braid SPC + Cu Mylar™, 100% 
• Capacitance : 50.17 pF/m 
• Inductance : 0.7162 µH/m 
• Resistance : 0.0181 Ohms/m 
• VOP : 0.81 
• Outside Diameter : 10mm
• Supplied with 1x Grun Achromatic RCA Adaptor to 2 Female Connectors

 

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.