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Factory-terminated loudspeaker cables
Made by: AudioQuest, California
Supplied by: AudioQuest UK
Telephone: 01249 848 873
Web: www.audioquest.com
Price: £2910 (3m stereo set, terminated in 4mm plugs) LOUDSPEAKER CABLE

AudioQuest William Tell Zero

Hero of Swiss independence, and a dab hand with the crossbow, William
Tell is now the inspiration for a speaker cable. Review & Lab: Paul Miller

ne of the founding fathers of
the audiophile cable scene,
California-based AudioQuest
Ohas been developing its LEFT: Deep within
conductor technology for no less than the William Tell Zero’s
four decades. The William Tell Zero outer braided jacket and
featured here is part of the ‘Folk Hero’ carbon/foil screens are
series – prices range from £2340 (2m three SST (Spread Spectrum
pair), £2910 (3m) to £3480 for a 4m Technology) PSC+ (Perfect
pair, with £570 per extra metre. This Surface Copper) conductors...
ranks as affordable when compared to

the flagship ‘Mythical Creatures’ series my Constellation Inspiration/B&W
that tops out at £20k for a 2m set of the 800 D3 [HFN Oct ’19/’16] amp/
Dragon Zero... speaker combo cut straight to the
The materials and geometry of the chase. There was an immediacy here,
cable derive from AQ’s understanding reflected in the tangible, edge-of-your-

of skin-effect and its efforts to minimise seat threat posed by the electric cello
non-linear conduction between adjacent and string section underpinning ‘Why So
strands. In this instance, three dissimilar- Serious (The Dark Knight)’ [Hans Zimmer
diameter strands are employed per leg of – Defi nitive Collection; Silva SILCD1453].

the cable, AQ specifiying its PSC+ copper And yet, despite this sense of urgency,
(an OCC copper subject to additional attack and power, the system would also
annealing), and each individually convey the finest subtleties with what

insulated with a thick PE dielectric. I might best describe as a ‘considered
2
The 2.62mm (12 gauge) cross-section delicacy’, free of any grit or grain.
ensures a low 14.3mohm/m resistance A challenging listen on some systems,
while the combination of strand spacing the acoustic jazz of Craig Taborn Trio’s
and gentle twisting results in a moderate Chants [ECM 2326, 88.2kHz/24-bit]
capacitance (203pF/m) and inductance plug terminations is offered, all heavily possessed a little extra velvet with the
(0.79μH/m). I would probably not advise silver-plated, and ‘cold-welded’ to the AQ cables in tow, the composition’s
lengths over 5m or so. Otherwise, the strands using miniature grub screws. intriguing melody still weaving its
thickness, and stiffness, of the cable is You’ll also notice a 72V DC power typically hypnotic patterns but without
largely accounted for by the multiple pack velcroed to the destination end the edginess that I’ve heard before. This
braid, foil and conductive carbon screens of this directional cable. This is AQ’s cable is certainly no ‘Zero’.
that envelop each trio of conductors, DBS (Dielectric Bias System), wired
providing comprehensive EM and RF between the drain and shield to impress HI-FI NEWS VERDICT
shielding. A choice of spade and banana a polarising voltage across the internal While clearly not an ‘entry level’ cable,
dielectric. AQ postulates that this fi xed AQ’s William Tell Zero still offers plenty

electrostatic field rapidly ‘forms’ the of bang (or should that be ‘slam’?) for
dielectric and hastens the ‘run-in’ time of your bucks, but you’ll need very robust
its cables. If you have a good few hours sockets on the rear of your speakers and
burning a hole in your diary then you can amp to manage the bulk and tension of
discover more here – https://patents. its ‘Y-shaped’ terminations [see picture].
google.com/patent/US7126055B1/en.
Securely fastened, this cable squeezes
as authoritative a sound as possible
STRAIGHT AS AN ARROW from your system, with a smoothness
Whatever the rhetoric – and AQ does and freedom from ‘hash’ that’ll soothe
produce a lot of literature – the impact the most furrowed of brows.
of these William Tell Zero cables between
Sound Quality: 80%
LEFT: Packaging fit for a Folk Hero – hard shell 0 - - - - - - - - 100

cable case comes in a lavishly-illustrated box

DECEMBER 2020 | www.hifi news.co.uk | 73