Atlas Cables launched their new Asimi Ultra reference interconnect cable at Bristol Sound and Vision 2014. The new interconnect is hand-built at its factory in Kilmarnock, Scotland and is available now with a UK SRP of £2750.00 for a metre pair with other lengths available upon request.

“The aim of the new Atlas Asimi project was to take a completely fresh look at cable design and to develop new techniques to create a cable that would satisfy the most demanding audiophiles for years to come. The ‘money no object’ brief looked at all areas of the design, from the materials used to create the cable and connectors through to the manufacturing processes. Specifically, we looked at whether an improved neutral high fidelity sound could be achieved using standard metal connectors, whether the capacitance load could be improved for a solid silver OCC analogue interconnect cable and whether RF (Radio Frequency) rejection performance could be improved. Throughout the development process, we conducted iterative design and testing to achieve its aims, with the resultant cable being the Asimi Ultra” said Atlas.

The Asimi Ultra uses solid silver conductors, manufactured using the “highest-quality” technique for drawing pure silver. “Ohno Continuous Cast” or OCC, used in the manufacture of high quality Atlas copper cables is said to minimise the impurity boundaries in the material by ensuring that there is less than one grain or signal-deleting crystal boundary in up to 125m of conductor!

The Dielectric

To achieve the necessary amount of protection without increasing inefficiency, Atlas has developed a new technique, which uses a microporous PTFE (Teflon) tape, which is wound around the OCC solid silver conductors, then covered again and stabilised using a protective FPE (Flexible PolyEthylene) dielectric.

The ‘Ultra’ Connector Plug

Designed in-house at Atlas, this new plug employs a novel approach to the problems of mass reduction, residual conductivity (eddy currents) and dielectric discontinuities. The all new Atlas Ultra has a 57% reduction in mass over its predecessor, employs an internal non-conductive sleeve matched to the dielectric properties of the cable (Teflon) as well as maintaining the Atlas plug attributes of solder free construction, self-cleaning insertion and material consistency.

RFI

To combat RFI, traditionally a metallic barrier (or braid) is encased around the insulated conductors and terminated at one or both ends. For the new Asimi Ultra, Atlas has developed a new system that uses two symmetrical drain wires (each attached to 180 degree segments of the plug) inserted between a 100% copper Mylar foil and SPC screen. This unique system connects the screen effectively to the cable return plug interface and provides total 360° screening, whilst not distorting the integrity of the screen in any way.

Commenting on the launch of the Asimi Ultra, Kevin Kelly, Managing Director at Atlas, said, “We are constantly researching new methods and materials based on scientific fact to increase the performance of our products. At the high end, where the Asimi Ultra sits, we feel that we have made real innovations that in time may well feature in other Atlas products.” Kelly continues, “With the launch of the Asimi Ultra, we truly believe that we have developed a cable that is a real step-up in performance and is absolutely the finest audio interconnect money can buy.”