AudioQuest Mackenzie XLR 1,5m Interconnect Cable

Audioquest Mackenzie 2 XLR to 2 XLR Audio Cable

Originally named Disappointment for dashing Alexander Mackenzie’s hope that it would lead to the Pacific rather than the Arctic Ocean, the Mackenzie River is Canada’s largest, longest river system. Traversing 2,635 miles, it flows through a vast network of lakes, boreal forests and arctic tundra. Mackenzie’s many tributaries cover portions of three provinces—British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan—and two territories, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Known as “The Amazon of the North,” Mackenzie’s sparsely populated basin remains one of the great unspoiled natural areas in the world.

Solid Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+) Conductors :

Conductor metal quality is critical for the best cable performance. The conductor surface is the only area of the conductor with 100% current density at all frequencies. The smoothness of the conductor surface is imperative because the surface is a guide rail for the entire energy envelope. The best copper and silver conductor metals have fewer grain boundaries and low oxygen content for low distortion and high performance.

Nitrogen-Injected Hard-Cell Foam Insulation :

Insulation is necessary to keep the positive and negative conductors separate and to give stability to cable geometry. Insulation is also a "dielectric" because it is inside the conductor's magnetic field. Dielectrics absorb energy, which after a delay is then released in the signal, causing smearing and distortion. Better insulation reduces distortion by absorbing less energy.

Mackenzie utilises Nitrogen-Injected Hard-Cell Foam insulation and also is used exclusively in most of AudioQuest’s video and digital audio cables. Similar to Foamed-PE, it is nitrogen-injected to create air pockets. ‘Hard’ foam is used because the stiffness of the material allows the conductors in the cable to maintain the same relationship with each other along the full length of the cable, thus ensuring that the characteristic impedance of the cable is consistent.

Carbon-Based 3-Layer Noise-Dissipation System (NDS) :

100% shield coverage is easy. Preventing captured RF Interference from modulating the equipment’s ground reference requires AQ’s Noise-Dissipation System. Noise-Dissipation System prevents a significant amount of RFI from reaching the equipment’s ground plane.

AudioQuest’s Noise-Dissipation System (NDS) offers a compelling solution to this challenge by using metal-only or alternating layers of metal and carbon-loaded synthetics to effectively “shield the shield,” absorbing and reflecting the Radio Frequency (RF) energy before it reaches the layer attached to the ground.

Mackenzie ultilises the Carbon-Based 3-Layer Noise-Dissipation System (NDS) to prevent most RFI from reaching the equipment’s ground plane.

Triple-Balanced Geometry :

Geometry is the physical relationship of the conductors to one another within a cable and determines a cable’s most basic electrical values (capacitance and inductance). Different cable applications have different/specialized geometry requirements, and so these applications do not merely follow a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Better geometry leads to lower levels of distortion.

The three conductors in “Triple-Balanced” Mackenzie cables ensure that whether prepared with RCA or XLR plugs, the positive and negative signals have equally low-distortion conducting paths. The 100% coverage shield is never used as an inferior conductor.

Directionality 

AudioQuest’s understanding of conductor directionality and its effect on audio performance has steadily evolved, growing stronger and more complete. All audio cables are directional. The correct direction is determined by the arrows on the plugs or cable parts.

Cold-Welded Hanging-Silver Directly Over Pure "Purple-Copper" Plugs :

AudioQuest specifies materials and designs each of its own connectors from the ground up, resulting in the long-lasting quality and exceptional performance you deserve. These components are crucial to the overall performance of a cable. 

To provide the best possible performance for each application, AudioQuest designs each of its connectors from the ground up. These components are crucial to the overall performance of the cable. Painstaking care is taken to evaluate the highest quality materials and design for every application.

AudioQuest pays special attention to the plating it uses over its connectors’ carefully crafted base metals. This proprietary, novel plug design allows for a connection devoid of solder, which is a common source of distortion. Because the ground shells are stamped instead of machined, the metal can be chosen for low distortion instead of machine ability. Purple-Copper offers a cleaner, clearer sound than the nickel-plated or OFHC metals commonly found in competing manufacturers' plugs.

Specification :

• Metal: Solid Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+)
• Geometry: Triple Balanced (Separate Ground-Reference Conductor)
• Dielectric: Nitrogen-Injected Hard-Cell Foam
• Noise-Dissipation System: Carbon-Based 3-Layer Noise Dissipation System
• Jacket Colour: Black/Brown Braid
• Termination: Cold-Welded, Hanging-Silver directly over pure Purple Copper

About AudioQuest

AudioQuest aims to deliver the most beautiful, durable, and reliable audio/video cables and accessories on the planet, products that don’t only represent the absolute highest value but also exceed any expectations regarding performance. AudioQuest is a premier provider of high-performance audio video cables and accessories sold in hundreds of outlets in the USA, Europe and in over sixty countries. AudioQuest’s products represent both extraordinary value and exceptional performance.