Atlas Mavros Ultra L RCA Grun RCA Cable

Atlas Mavros Ultra L RCA Grun RCA Cable

DESCRIPTION AND FEATURES

Wide-bandwidth OCC copper interconnect.

The latest generation of our highly regarded Mavros RCA interconnect cable, based on the design objectives and manufacturing techniques originally developed for our Asimi range, but utilizing very high-purity OCC copper rather than silver conductors.

The Mavros Ultra L RCA Grun has been designed from the ground up to complement the performance of ‘high-end’ audio systems by achieving maximum signal transfer with minimum susceptibility to spurious interference.

The Mavros Ultra L RCA uses the very highest quality ‘6N’ (99.99997% purity) copper manufactured using the OCC ‘Ohno Continuous Cast’ technique. The cable consists of a pair of conductors, each made up from six bundles of 12 multi-conductor wires, plus a thicker center core. This in turn is covered by a continuous electrostatic screen with copper shielding braid, ensuring minimal susceptibility to EM and RF interference and noise, giving Mavros an exceptionally low noise-floor, particularly when utilizing the supplied Grun adapter. (The optional Grun Mains Adapter offers a further performance gain.

The ultra-low-mass, wide bandwidth, cold-weld Ultra L (Latik) RCA plug benefits from an innovative and extremely stable non-conductive 3D-printed geometric lattice structure. The cable also incorporates our precision dd (dual drain) system and Atlas’ Grun Coherent Earthing System (Grun lead & spade adapter included).

Atlas Ultra L (Latik) RCA.

Less is more. That’s certainly true regarding the design of analogue audio cables, where the goal is to render the cable effectively ‘invisible,’ or more accurately, inaudible, in terms of impact on the signal.

Ideally, cables shouldn’t add or subtract anything, but in reality, numerous factors combine to have an audible and measurable effect — which is a form of distortion.

One of the essential elements in the mix is the connector plug. Atlas recognized over a decade ago that the traditional CNC-machined metal-bodied RCA connector was a weakness, with demonstrably significant performance loss.

Our research showed that a Polycarbonate, and latterly ABS, for the plug body was a superior material, allowing us to create an RCA plug with a low dielectric constant, low-mass, non-conductive body but retaining the physical resilience and stability of a CNC-machined product.

The outcome was our original Integra connector, used in our entry-level Element and Equator cable ranges, but we quickly came to realize the superiority of the approach for all our cables, with further R&D resulting in the development of the Ultra RCA plug for our higher performance ranges.

The original Ultra was constructed from solid PTFE, a more complicated material to work with, but which immediately reduced the dielectric constant further and offered improved bandwidth and fidelity.

Ultra Latik. The ‘Next Generation’

In the spirit of continuous improvement, we’ve taken a keen interest in materials development and manufacturing techniques not previously available, bringing the opportunity to experiment further to minimize any impact of the plug on the dielectric, always a compromise in comparison to the ideal dielectric, air itself.

So, to design a plug with less material and more air content, we investigated new additive manufacturing techniques. Utilizing the latest 3D printing techniques, we incorporated a new ‘lattice’ structure in the Ultra design, reducing mass by 25%, increasing the amount of air in the plug body and dramatically improving the plug’s bandwidth.

During our research we experimented with many different printing materials, both natural (hardwood) and synthetic, and numerous structural variations, gaining knowledge and experience which will be invaluable on other projects in the future.

The resulting connector, the Ultra Latik RCA, represents a significant step forward in itself and has allowed us to create a new generation of designs acclaimed as setting new benchmarks.

When you effectively eliminate any residual plug character from the cable's true performance, all that remains is the music.

Less is indeed more.

Grun Coherent Earthing System

Zeno is supplied as standard with a 1m Grun cable and spade tag adapter for connection to the ground post on your amplifier.

The benefit of an independent system ground.

One of the biggest obstacles to achieving the performance levels our equipment is capable of is noise. Low levels of RFI (radio frequency) and EMI (electro-magnetic interference) and noise on the signal ground each subtly modulate and degrade the overall noise levels of the system.

Although our cables are all designed to minimize the invasion of external interference, it’s not possible to completely eliminate it.

But the audible benefits of substantially reducing it via our Grun products are considerable.

And the impact of Grun is cumulative. Adding additional Grun-enabled products reduces the impact of unwanted ‘noise’ still further.

Grounding critical components via the Grun system doesn’t alter the tonal balance or character of the system but audibly removes the effect of noise you probably didn’t realize was there.

The result typically reveals a greater level of fine detail, enhanced stereo soundstage and an improved ‘ease’ and naturalness.

Ohno Continuous Casting Copper (OCC Copper)

In 1985, Professor Ohno, from the Chiba Institute of Technology, developed his patented method for the extrusion of a grain-free copper wire. (Technical papers are available from the Japan Inst. Metals and from Chapman & Hall, publishers.)

When a pure metal solidifies, its crystals grow in a specific geometrical pattern (typical to that metal) emanating from a nucleus, rather like the dendritic growth pattern of a tree. The size of the metal crystals grown can be varied by repeatedly annealing metal such as is done in the LC-OFC process. The structure of a strand of copper may be likened to that of a bag of sugar. Every grain of sugar has a crystal boundary. In a conductor, these crystal boundaries (potential barriers) act as a non-linear resistance to the flow of electric current. It follows that, the fewer the boundaries, the less the effect there is on an electric signal as it propagates from one end of the conductor to the other. Atlas cables such as the Arran and Mavros use OCC copper, whereas the top of the range Asimi uses pure OCC silver.

The Ohno continuous casting method reheats the extrusion as the molten copper is forced out of the mold, and very slowly and gradually draws the grain or crystal down the conductor‘s length, creating a ‘single crystal structure.’ Actually, because no copper is 100% pure, there will always be a few boundaries produced by impurities. The frequency of boundaries created are quite insignificant. A typical crystal in a copper conductor drawn to 0.3 mm diameter, using the OCC process is 125.00 meters long!

The benefits are obvious, with almost no crystal boundaries, the audio signal is no longer impeded down the copper wire and more information and detail is delivered faithfully to the receiving equipment.

SPECIFICATIONS

Construction: Symmetrical/Stranded

Conductor: OCC ‘6N’ (99.99997% purity) Copper

Dielectric: Microporous PTFE/PEF

Screen: Foil/OFC braid; Dual Drain

Capacitance: 35.22 pF/m

Inductance: 0.472 µH/m

Resistance: 0.0192 Ohms/m

Outside Diameter: 10.8 mm

Color/Finish: Black Fabric/Luxe options

THE ATLAS DIFFERENCE

Conductor Purity

Manufacturing Consistency

Signal Screening

Harmony of Materials

Acclaimed in 30+ Countries

Custom Made & Shipped: 14-21 days

These cables are custom made to your specifications. The process takes 14-21 days. The cable is packaged and shipped via UPS Ground from New York. Custom-made cables cannot be returned.

ATLAS CODE, LENGTH

MAV-IC-RCA-0.5, 0.5M

MAV-IC-RCA-0.75, 0.75M

MAV-IC-RCA-1, 1M

MAV-IC-RCA-1.5, 1.5M

MAV-IC-RCA-2, 2M

MAV-IC-RCA-2.5, 2.5M

MAV-IC-RCA-3, 3M