AudioQuest

ZERO-Tech Speaker Cable

Featuring tried-and-true AudioQuest design elements along with ZERO-Tech for no characteristic impedance, Lone Ranger has significantly more conductor metal than its predecessors while being more physically manageable thanks to its positive and negative sides being housed in separate round constructions.

The result is a quieter cable that delivers a more muscular overall presentation. Perfect for full-range applications, Lone Ranger can also be partnered with AudioQuest BigFoot BASS Cable for BiWiring configurations.

DESCRIPTION

Slightly smaller than Brave Heart (11.6mm OD vs Brave Heart's 14.1mm OD per polarity) and boasting the same friendly construction that places positive and negative sides in discrete housings, Lone Ranger offers a remarkable sonic improvement over its predecessor characterized by eye-opening resolution and presence, realistic dynamic ease, and a surprisingly authoritative overall presentation. 

Like its larger sibling, Lone Ranger meaningfully blurs the line between Folk Hero and Mythical-level sound quality. How is this achieved? Lone Ranger features many of the same upgrades that make Brave Heart such a thrilling success.

  • Almost one-third more PSC+ Copper for lower impedance, smoother frequency response (regardless of speaker impedance curve), and a more muscular presentation.
  • Superior polypropylene dielectric (insulation) linearizes and expands the bandwidth of noise-dissipation.
  • Optimized dielectric reduces out-of-focus, harsh-sounding distortion due to distributed capacitance.
  • Thicker Carbon-Loaded PVC, added Graphene layer, and 4% silver shield drain wires further improve RF-Noise Dissipation.

Permanent Molecular Optimization (PMO) does not replace the important aural benefit of playing music over extended periods of time. Music (modulated AC signal) slightly stresses the dielectric and connection interfaces, significantly benefitting cable performance.

PMO is a controlled extreme stressing of the materials — a near-death experience for them — that significantly and permanently (unlike running-in) helps the cable get out of the music's way.

All this is complemented by several important tried-and-true AudioQuest design elements. These include:

  • Solid conductors prevent strand interaction.
  • Direction-controlled conductors efficiently drain RF noise away from the vulnerable amplifier circuitry — toward where it will do the least or no harm.
  • ZERO-Tech eliminates characteristic-impedance mismatches between the cable and the attached source and load, allowing power to flow seemingly unencumbered, presenting sound and music with remarkable ease. 
  • The constant DC potential (in contrast with running-in and PMO’s AC stressing) of AudioQuest’s 72v Dielectric-Bias System polarizes the dielectric (insulation), significantly reducing Dielectric-Noise (energy stored in the dielectric being released out of time and at other frequencies). DBS also linearizes (makes more consistent across a wide band) Radio-Frequency Noise-Dissipation.
  • There is no metal in the cable dressings or plug barrels, which would reradiate and capacitive-couple RF-Noise into the cable. Cold-welded gas-tight connections are made to Red Copper spades or bananas.

And keep eyes and ears open for BigFoot — BigFoot BASS cable with Radio-Frequency Noise-Dissipation (RF/ND) is the Bass cable complement to Lone Ranger. As wonderful as Brave Heart is for Full-Range loudspeakers, when the speakers offer the capability to BiWire, Lone Ranger on Treble and BigFoot on Bass is the definitive answer to two very important questions:

  • How do I BiWire in the Brave Heart price range?
  • Is BiWiring worthwhile?
SPECIFICATIONS
Metal

Solid Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+)

Gauge

12 AWG

Geometry

ZERO-Tech (No Characteristic Impedance)

RF Drain Metal

Solid 4% Silver

Jacket

Black on Black Nylon Briad

Noise-Dissipation

Graphene+Carbon Mesh-Network

USAGE GUIDE

Passive Speakers

Monoblocks and Stereo Amplifiers

Integrated Amplifiers and AV Receivers

Powered and Active Speakers

AV Receivers and Home Theatre Systems

Two-Channel Audio Systems

IN THE BOX

Sold as a pair of cables

AWARDS

Key Features & Technology Explained

Solid Conductors

Solid conductors prevent strand-interaction, a major source of dynamic distortion in cables.

Metal

AudioQuest's best copper. To the greatest extent presently possible, extreme-purity Perfect-Surface Copper (PSC+) conductors minimise distortion caused by grain boundaries.

Technology

ZERO-Tech eliminates the electrostatic field between the cable's high and low signal conductors, enabling linear Radio Frequency (RF) Noise-Dissipation, and uncompressed transients.

Technology

72v Dielectric-Bias System (DBS) saturates and polarises insulation, allowing clear, dynamic sound against a quiet "black" background.

RF Drains

4% Silver-Plating is applied to the high-quality copper base metal to improve Noise-Dissipation.

Noise Dissipation

Alternating layers of graphene, carbon-loaded synthetics, and metal "shield the shield," minimising RF noise before it reaches the layers attached to ground.

Permanent Molecular Optimisation

By optimally and efficiently applying a high-frequency AC signal many times greater than any audio system could provide over any length of time, transient intermodulation distortion and the cable burn-in process are significantly reduced.

Connectors

Cold-welding avoids heat and distortion-causing solder. The bare parts are submerged (hung) in silver instead of tumbled in a lower-grade solution. Speaker breakouts and plug casings are synthetic, not metal, to avoid inducing RF noise into the conductors.

Metal

Solid Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+)

Solid Perfect-Surface Silver (PSS) Sonic-Signature Conductors & Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+)

Solid Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+)

Gauge

12 AWG

15 AWG

12 AWG

Geometry

ZERO-Tech (No Characteristic Impedance)

ZERO-Tech (No Characteristic Impedance)

ZERO-Tech (No Characteristic Impedance)