About QED Signature Revelation Speaker Cable
QED Signature Revelation Speaker Cable is factory terminated with high quality 4mm Airloc Forte banana plugs using QED's superior Airloc cold weld system.
The Award winning Signature Revelation speaker cable is the little brother to the flagship 'Genesis Silver Spiral' speaker cable.
'Revelation' speaker cable lives up to its name and delivers unprecedented sonic performance at a price comfortably affordable by all Hi-Fi and home cinema enthusiasts. It is actually a miniaturised version of QED's flagship 'Genesis' cable and features the same Teflon dielectrics to maintain its low impedance.
QED Revelation is a completely new design from the QED laboratories. It utilises the technologies of both Genesis and X-Tube cables and combines them in a new format to bring high end cable philosophies to the mid range hifi market. This cable offers exceptional performance for its price through its use of carefully calculated X-Tube and Genesis Silver Spiral geometries which have the combined effect of reducing the overall impedance of the cable below that which would be expected of a traditional speaker cable of the same cross-sectional area.
Aircore Technology is completely effective in reducing the self-inductance of the cable to around half that expected of parallel conductors by calculation. Because of this conductor spacing can be increased to reduce capacitance without the extra inductance generated by this change causing audible problems in the cable performance. Through the use of superior dielectric materials such as polyethylene and for the first time in a QED cable, clear Teflon insulation, the dissipation factor is kept extremely low - something that is the hallmark of a good sounding speaker cable.
Aircore Technology: QED cables above 2.5mm2 cross sectional area utilise air core technology to obviate the skin effect by bundling several separately insulated smaller cores together to make up a larger CSA. If these conductors are arranged around a hollow central core of polyethylene the self inductance exhibited by the cable can be reduced to around half that predicted by calculation.
Silver Plated Copper: Ten Silver Plated 99.999% Oxygen Free Copper Central Conductors of 19/0.1mm deliver incredibly low resistance for maximum detail retrieval.
Teflon Dialectrics: Features Teflon Dialectrics to maintain its low impedance. Low constant dielectric materials such as Teflon have been used to cut down on the amount of audio signal energy lost due to cable capacitance.
What is Airloc?
Airloc is a form of cold weld system that permanently attaches QED Forté banana plugs and spades to the entire range of QED and many other speaker cables. One of the main reasons for choosing a QED speaker cable is the superior d.c. resistance characteristics offered by their exclusive use of 99.999% OFC or oxygen free copper conductors. It isn't the smart thing to then go ruin all this attention to detail by neglecting the most vulnerable area of the speaker cable chain - that of the physical interface between cable and amplifier or speaker terminals. Since the mid 1970's there has been more co-operation between manufacturer's to allow for easier installation of good speaker cables and most products allow for use of both banana plugs and spade terminals. No, you don't have to use them, but they definitely have advantages over bare wire alone. Why?
Seen under a microscope the surface of a typical copper strand is very rough and so using normal screw type terminals - such as found on binding posts or cheap banana plugs - electrical contact is only made in a relatively small number of places. Add to this a layer of oxidation - which is inevitable if copper is exposed to the air for even a short time - and the combined resistance of the cable and its termination can creep back up to levels present in a more inferior cable.
By using a cold weld crimp type termination, QED Airloc Forté plugs squash the conductors and plug together to increase contact area and reduce resistance. By the time the full pressure has been applied the resistance of the joint has reached a minimum value.
Now, because all the air has been removed from the joint there will be no oxidisation of the contact surfaces so the low resistance will remain for the lifetime of the cable. During the cold weld process the cable and plug become one solid piece of metal. Since the copper contact has been effectively removed from the resistance equation we can concentrate on the plug to terminal resistance.
What are QED Forté Plugs?
The plugs themselves are made of solid brass which has roughly twice the resistivity of copper. For this reason the QED Forté 4mm banana plug was devised so that its cross-sectional area would be at least double that of the cable to which it was connected effectively cancelling out the extra resistance of the plug material. QED then plates the connector with high purity gold which has a resistivity almost as low as copper but more importantly does not oxidise in air. The relatively smooth gold surfaces provide a larger contact area than the uneven copper strands in the cable and because the gold will never oxidise the contact surface remains clean and low resistance for life.
The QED Forté plug pin section is designed to maximise contact area throughout the wide tolerance range encountered in 4mm amplifier and speaker sockets. Here some are quite tight whereas others are loose, so the spring loaded Forte blade is designed to fit into smaller and larger sockets with equal insertion force. This means that the contact area is maximised and the connection remains uniformly tight. QED Forté with Airloc technology is top-notch and delivers guaranteed low resistance and strength - for life.
The History Of QED
In 1973 Bob Abraham and Ian Vine founded QED Audio Products and changed the way people think about hi-fi cables. By the time QED 79 strand was launched in 1978, it wasn't considered' just another speaker cable' but a serious hi-fi component. During 1994 QED conducted the most extensive ever scientific investigation into the effects of speaker cable on hi-fi system performance. Read the results in "The Genesis Report". Hear the results whenever you listen to your favourite music using QED cables.
QED's reputation for innovation and technical excellence is known throughout the world. The latest computer-aided design techniques allow their research and development team to keep pace with technological advances and deliver products that achieve the highest levels of performance and reliability. This is why QED speaker cables are recommended by so many of the world's leading manufacturers of hi-fi and home theatre equipment. QED is Europe's number one award winning connectivity brand and has won more prestigious cable awards from 'What Hi-Fi? Sound & Vision' magazine than any other brand (Awards 1981–2013).
Main Features & Specifications
- Product Description: Factory terminated pair of QED Revelation speaker cables
- Wire Gauge: 16 AWG
- Plugs: QED Airloc 4mm banana plugs fitted to all ends
- Heatshrink: The plug body is fitted with custom-made QED heatshrink
- Jacket Outside Diameter: 5.00mm
- Cross-Sectional Area: 1.50mm²
- Loop Resistance: 0.020 Ω/m
- Capacitance: 35pF/m
- Inductance: 0.52 µH/m
- Dissipation Factor: 0.0009
- Recommended for high end stereo/surround sound systems
- Lengths Available: 2 Metre; 3 Metre & 5 Metre pairs. Other lengths available to special order
- Lifetime Warranty - Does not cover misuse or abuse
Note: Features & Specifications Subject To Change Without Notice. E&OE