Most audio cables have been designed along one or two favorite features of the designer.  In the case of one cable this may be the winding of the conductors into a particular pattern.  Another cable’s “feature design aspect” may be its ratio of wire size.  Yet another cable may claim the use of “air tube” technology as its greatest feature.  Ironically, many of these claimed “advantages” actually result in sonic disadvantages.  Many “air tube” designs, for instance, result in unstable geometry, where the conductors float in the air tubes, and give unstable electrical characteristics and unpredictable performance.  We at Basis have measured 30% changes in electrical characteristics of such cables by simply changing the bend of the cable while measuring.

Many audio cable companies operate under the naive, erroneous assumption that capacitance, inductance, or both are “bad” and should be driven to zero if possible.  Cables designed to be extremely low in either inductance or capacitance are typically of inappropriate impedance and grossly deviate from an effective transmission line.  Such cables perform very differently with different types of equipment.  As an example, most audiophiles are familiar with the flat, ribbon cables made by some companies.  Flat cables typically result in unusual values of capacitance and impedance, which is why some such cables are actually unstable with particular electronics, even requiring discrete loading components to achieve stability.  Basis cables, reflecting their “distortionless transmission line” design, are totally stable with all loads.

Fixating on one design aspect, as in the above examples, may make for “catchy” marketing, but invariably results in incomplete cable designs.

We at Basis understand that all aspects of an audio cable are critical.  A complete design must account for many factors and not overlook any.  Basis specifies such extreme requirements of materials and processes, all of which are necessary to achieve our performance and stability goals, that we have found only two high-tech/military cable specialist manufacturers in the USA who are capable of manufacturing Basis Signal Cables.

Basis PSTT Loudspeaker Cable effectively addresses all pertinent material and electrical properties, including:

1.    Conductor material: The highest purity proprietary copper alloy is used throughout all cables.

2.    Dielectric material: The most pure form of the world’s finest dielectric is used, un-dyed for all primary and secondary insulation needs as well as cable cores.

3.    Skin Effect design: Using Basis “Annular Ring Conductor Geometry”, skin-effect concerns are eliminated, even at multiples of the highest audio frequencies, producing superior imaging, impact, reverberation, and tonality.

4.    Impedance matching: Through innovative use of materials and geometry Basis has succeeded in bringing the impedance to unprecedented proximity of the typical loudspeaker load, preventing distortion producing and power compromising reflections at the loudspeaker terminals.  Speakers perform to their ultimate capability with Basis speaker cables.   

5.    High power handling ability: Gauge size is important in high current applications.  The Basis Speaker Cable is a full 7 gauge wire yet has the same exemplary skin-effect characteristics of the Basis 16 gauge annular ring conductor internal component wire.  Basis has succeeded in producing a large gauge cable with the advantages of large cables while retaining the superior imagine characteristics of smaller cables whose strength is immunity from audible skin effects.

6.    “Distortionless Transmission Line” performance: Electrical characteristics are balanced in the single, unique condition to meet “distortionless transmission line” conditions.  This balance of conditions, dictated by proven physics, is the only avenue to attain constant phase across a wide frequency range.

A constant perfect phase relationship between all frequencies produces results not attainable if this condition is not met.  Foremost in the sound of a “distortionless transmission line” may be a “natural coherence” that can be “felt” on an instinctive level by the listener.  The individual sonic properties that many audiophiles analyze, such as attack, decay, tonality, and soundfield echoes so convincingly “play off of each other” and combine as to make analytical listening almost superfluous.  So involving is the music that analytical listening is actually much more difficult to perform in a system with Basis signal cables from source through speakers.  To explain just how natural this effect of correct phase is please contemplate this analogy.  Imagine sitting in the middle of a totally dark room with a person speaking behind and to the left of you.  In a few moments you would be able to locate this person.  Your mind automatically would analyze the slight difference in the arrival of the sound between your left and right ears.  Your mind would analyze the echoes to further locate the speaker as well as to determine the size of the room.  None of this process is conscious or subject to logical analysis.  In a similar manner, when you first listen to Basis signal cables you will perceive a “rightness” which will transcend analysis……you will not need to analyze the sound.  However, when you force yourself to analyze the sound you will find that the “mental checklist” you have learned to make while evaluating audio equipment, with factors such as stage width, stage depth, natural decay, attack, quality of soundfield echoes, resolution, transparency, will be fully satisfied.