Solid-conductor speaker cable with Double Star-Quad geometry and carbon-based noise dissipation
AudioQuest Rocket 33 is a loudspeaker cable built with solid conductors in LGC (Long-Grain Copper) together with PSC (Perfect-Surface Copper), laid out in a Double Star-Quad geometry and insulated with foamed polyethylene. A carbon-based noise-dissipation system completes the design. It is offered with Full-Range or Single Bi-Wire termination and in four lengths. Sold as a pair, one cable for the right channel and one for the left.
Unlike the Rocket models with semi-solid conductors, here each conductor is a single wire, and control of radio-frequency interference becomes an integral part of the project.
Solid PSC and LGC conductors
A solid conductor has no strands interacting electrically with one another, which removes one of the main sources of distortion in stranded cables. LGC holds fewer oxides and impurities and has fewer grain boundaries than ordinary copper; PSC, very high in purity and with an especially smooth surface, further reduces harshness and improves clarity.
Geometry and insulation
The way conductors sit relative to each other sets the capacitance and inductance of a cable, and it shapes the sonic result even when those values are well balanced. Double Star-Quad geometry yields less distortion than parallel conductors and than the more widespread twisted pairs. The air-rich foamed polyethylene insulation (Foamed-Polyethylene) absorbs very little energy: this limits the energy that gets stored and later given back as distortion, which with other materials leaves the sound less focused.
Noise dissipation and terminations
The negative conductors are coated with partly conductive carbon-loaded polyethylene, which hinders radio-frequency noise from returning to the amplifier. A carbon layer damps the interaction of positive with negative conductors, and an outer system, also carbon-based, attenuates interference coming from the surroundings. The conductors are Direction-Controlled, so that induced noise is drained correctly. The Full-Range version has two connectors at each end, for loudspeakers with a single pair of binding posts; the Single Bi-Wire reaches the loudspeaker with four connectors, feeding bass and treble separately on speakers designed for bi-wiring. Available lengths: 2 m, 2.5 m, 3 m and 4 m.
Key features
- Conductors: solid, in PSC and LGC copper
- Geometry: Double Star-Quad
- Insulation: foamed polyethylene (Foamed-Polyethylene)
- Noise control: carbon-based system and Direction-Controlled conductors
- Versions: Full-Range or Single Bi-Wire, in 2 m, 2.5 m, 3 m or 4 m
