The subject of George's US Patent 7,674,973, Matched Propagation solves an age old problem with transmission line conductors dating to the early days of the telephone. You can read more
here, but here's a summary:
The audio signal travels through a cable at basically the speed of light. The dielectric (surrounding) materials charge and discharge at about 70% the speed of light. This mismatch in speed results in a loss of intelligibility. In a Matched Propagation conductor, each strand of wire is exactly the same length, and twisted at a pitch that makes each strand 30% longer than the cable itself. We're slowing down the signal to match that of the dielectrics. This solves the intelligibility issues that early telephone engineers faced, and that causes a degradation in sound in otherwise highly articulate audio systems. The telephone companies installed coil boxes on the cables to address the issue, but the was an after-the-fact solution. The Cardas Matched Propagation solution solves the problem within the cable, every inch of the way. Such that the loss of intelligibility never happens in the first place.
Cardas' patented, Matched Propagation cables (US Patent 7,674,973) address a core problem that is intrinsic to all cables (audio, telephone, data, etc.), matching the signal propagation velocity of the conductor to that of the dielectric quite clearly improves the sound of audio transmission.
The best solid insulating materials transfer charge 22% slower than standard conductors. This is a mismatch that can be corrected in only one way; you must match the velocity of the conductor to that of the dielectric in the cable itself. Networks, working after the fact, cannot restore lost low level information or the lost time integrity of the music.
Cardas' ingenious, patented solution uses a precisely controlled coated strand geometry to mitigate the effects of cable capacitance continuously in the cable. This technique eliminates the low level smearing and preserves musical integrity and dynamic range by correcting an imbalance in the basic velocity relationship of the cable's conductors and dielectric.
Matched propagation cables preserve phase, dramatically lower resonance effects, have a huge dynamic range and amazing resolution. They preserve low level detail, leading edge integrity and accurately preserve the heart, soul and emotion in the music. Matched Propagation technology brings unprecedented clarity and realism to your listening experience. Matched Propagation technology can be found in all cables in our Clear product line, and in our Parsec Interconnect.
Golden Section Stranding mathematically eliminates resonant multiples in conductors by sequencing strand masses and their associated inductive effects in an irrational progression.
A great cable has the best dielectrics and conductors, and the geometry to match one to the other. Golden ratio constant "Q" conductors (GRCQ) correct conductor problems and match dielectric propagation velocity. Interior propagation of solid strands slows in proportion to strand size and signal change, resulting in eddy currents, skin effect, "Q" fluctuations and conductor resonance. Cardas individually insulates strands and proportions their size to depth in conductor, eliminating eddy currents, "Q" fluctuations and resonance. Strands are precisely layered to match dielectric materials and cable type. Golden Ratio keys into the proportioning of conductors and dielectric as elegantly as it does into music and nature itself.
Alternating current can shake a wire like a guitar string. The audio signal in a stereo system is seen as alternating current. The audio signal, be it digital or analog, through tube or solid state, is always alternating current.
The signal's cyclic effect, causes all the wire in the system to vibrate and ring. This ring becomes a song sung to the resonance of the electrical and mechanical components of the cable.
Every interconnect, every speaker cable, every chassis and speaker wire has its own song. The stored mechanical and electrical tension and time delay characteristics of the cable determine what song is sung.
Each and every strand in a cable has its own note or beat. Two or more wires of the same mass and tension have common mechanical resonating points and share the same note. Two or more wires or bundles of wires, differing in size, each have their own resonant points. When combined, wires find new points of interaction, creating yet another note.
The sound produced by any stereo system depends on the purity of the audio signal. When the cable that links all the components together imparts its own sound the audio signal is corrupted.
There is a unique way to eliminate the harmonic or resonant effect produced by the conductor itself. Create a multiple strand conductor, where the individual strands share no common mathematical node or resonant point and layer them to cancel the noise they each create.
An infinitely indivisible progression known as the Fibonacci sequence or Golden Section is the key to resonance control. The ratio of Phi, or 1 to 1.6180339887...to infinity, is the Golden Mean, called Golden Ratio or Golden Proportion.
In Golden Section Stranding, strands are arranged so that every strand is coupled to another, whose note is irrational with its own, to dissipate conductor resonance. This creates a silenced conductor, allowing Cardas cable to produce the purest possible audio signal. No other cable geometry, no other conductor design, can create the listening magic of Golden Section Stranding.
The root or power plant of conductor oscillation is stored and reflected energy. The progressively layered constant Q conductors effectively attenuate this energy.
Cardas cables employ a unique stranding method where the smaller strands are placed towards the interior of the conductor in Golden Proportion. This is called constant "Q" stranding. It is a very effective method for reducing the inductively stored and reflected energy that fuels cable resonance.
Cardas uses pure copper, Litz wire, pure PFA and air dielectrics, ultra pure eutectic solders, custom made rhodium plated connectors and each cable is terminated by hand. It is this meticulous attention to the details of design and care in construction that have made Cardas the heart of the most uniquely musical systems in the world.
LUG® connectors are low mass, high end, connectors that are designed to seamlessly fit the internal geometry of each individual cable that they house. HOLO
