High-end audio cables: a cable guide for beginners
Want to get the most out of your HiFi system and wondering how important the right cables really are? Maybe you've heard about high-end cables but aren't sure what truly matters. This guide will walk you through everything beginners need to know — from key terms and cable selection to practical installation tips. You'll also learn how our new S25 cable series offers a high-quality yet affordable way to get started.
Why does cable quality matter in hi-fi audio systems?
Audio cables are much more than just “connections” — they carry the music signal throughout your entire hi-fi system. Their job is to transmit the signal as precisely and losslessly as possible — just as the musicians and sound engineers intended in the studio.
Contrary to popular belief, cables don’t have a “sound” of their own — but they do affect how well a signal gets through. Every cable behaves electrically like a filter — a network of resistance, inductance, and capacitance. These characteristics determine whether subtle details are preserved or whether treble loses brilliance and bass loses punch.
Key factors include materials like high-purity copper, insulation, shielding against interference, and the overall construction — such as the multicore design of our S25 speaker cables. In today’s living spaces filled with Wi-Fi, power supplies, and smart home tech, a cable must not only conduct well but also protect the signal.
Our goal with the S25 series: a cable that doesn’t beautify the sound, but preserves it — a stable bridge between your components.
Tips for buying and installing hi-fi cables
- Consider your investment relative to your system’s value: A good rule of thumb is to invest about 10% of your Hi-Fi system’s total value in cabling. Cheap cables can significantly affect sound quality, while luxury high-end cables usually don’t make an audible difference in beginner setups.
- Optimize room and speaker placement first: Before investing in cables, ensure good room acoustics and correct speaker placement. Cables only maximize the performance of a well-tuned system—they cannot fix fundamental acoustic problems.
- Plan cable routes carefully: Plan ahead how you want to route your cables. Avoid running power and signal cables in parallel as this can cause interference. If cables must cross, try to do so at a 90° angle.
- Install cables loosely and without tension: Cables should never be installed under tension. No kinking or pulling—this keeps the conductors intact and extends cable life.
- Separate different cable types: Keep analog audio cables, speaker cables, digital cables, and power cables apart. This reduces electromagnetic interference and improves signal quality.
- Maintain plugs and contacts: Even gold-plated contacts require maintenance. Occasional cleaning or simply unplugging and plugging back in can help avoid contact resistance.
The most important terms related to hi-fi cables
Conductor cross-section
The conductor cross-section refers to the area through which current flows in the cable. It is especially important for speaker cables: a larger cross-section means lower resistance and therefore better signal transmission — particularly over longer distances and with powerful speakers. For interconnect cables (e.g. RCA cables), the cross-section is less critical, as only very small currents are involved.
Dielectric
The dielectric is the insulating material between a cable’s conductors. It plays a key role in how efficiently the signal is transmitted with minimal loss. Air is the best dielectric, followed by foamed polyethylene (PE), which is used in the interconnect, subwoofer, and digital cables of the S25 series. A high-quality dielectric ensures that the audio signal reaches the receiver as clearly and loss-free as possible.
Shielding
Shielding protects the signal inside the cable from external electromagnetic interference such as Wi-Fi, mobile networks, Bluetooth, or nearby power supplies. Especially for interconnect and digital cables, dense and high-quality shielding is crucial to avoid interference, noise, or crackling. The S25 series uses tightly woven, high-density copper braiding for optimal protection and clean signal transmission.
Skin effect
The skin effect causes current at high frequencies to flow mainly along the surface of the conductor, which reduces the effective cross-section and increases resistance. This can lead to signal loss, especially in high frequencies. The S25 series uses fine-stranded conductors that offer a larger surface area, helping to reduce the skin effect and enable clear transmission of high-frequency signals.
Resistance
A cable’s resistance determines how much signal energy is lost along the way. It mainly depends on the conductor cross-section and cable length: the larger the cross-section, the lower the resistance; the longer the cable, the higher the resistance. Excessive resistance can reduce sound detail and dynamics. The S25 series offers suitable cross-sections for various applications to minimize loss.
Characteristic impedance
Characteristic impedance refers to the ratio of voltage to current in high-frequency signals. For digital cables, precise impedance is critical: deviations can cause reflections, jitter, and data loss. Coaxial cables used for digital audio connections require 75 ohms — as implemented in the S25 series — to ensure lossless signal transmission.
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S25: Interpreter
A good cable is like an interpreter between the artist and the listener — the more neutral and precise it works, the closer you are to the original. That’s exactly what we wanted to make affordable for everyone with the S25 series.
Learn more -
S25: Thoughtful technology
The S25 series combines high-quality materials, thoughtful engineering, and handcrafted production into an audiophile cable concept that makes high-end sound accessible to beginners.
Learn more
Inductance
Inductance describes a cable’s property of generating a magnetic field when current flows through it. This magnetic field can create voltages that oppose the original signal — especially during rapid signal changes. High inductance can cause high frequencies to be attenuated and details to be lost. In the speaker cables of the S25 series, inductance is deliberately reduced through a special multicore design: multiple conductors run in parallel so that their magnetic fields partially overlap and cancel each other out. This minimizes total inductance and ensures an open, precise sound with plenty of detail and brilliance — even with complex music.
Capacity
Capacity refers to a cable’s ability to store electric charges between the conductors and the insulating material. A cable with high capacity acts like a small capacitor and can especially dampen or distort the signal over long cable runs—particularly the high frequencies. Therefore, low capacity is important to transmit the signal as cleanly and accurately as possible. The S25 series uses high-quality dielectrics such as foamed PE in the audio, subwoofer, and digital cables to keep capacity extremely low, enabling clear and natural sound reproduction.
The S25 series: handcrafted quality at an affordable price
A good cable is like an interpreter between the artist and the listener — the more neutral and precise it works, the closer you are to the original. That’s exactly what we wanted to make affordable for everyone with our S25 cable series.
With the S25 series, we present a line of cables specially designed as an entry into the world of high-end hi-fi — 100% made in Germany. Each cable is created in our in-house workshop: carefully developed, crafted, and finished by hand. This way, we guarantee every detail is right — for uncompromising quality you can rely on.
Technology instead of fuss: Our philosophy is clear: we prefer to invest in premium materials, solid know-how, and genuine craftsmanship — not in excessive packaging. That’s why the S25 series comes in simple, sturdy cardboard packaging that protects the essentials and underscores our commitment to resource conservation.
For us, above all, one thing matters: your listening experience. And that doesn’t start with glossy foil or shiny brochures, but with the sound — honest, direct, and authentic.
A key technical highlight of the S25 speaker cables is the so-called multicore construction. In the multicore principle, several individual conductors (wires) are run in parallel inside one cable, instead of using just a single thick conductor. These wires are arranged so that their magnetic fields partially cancel each other out.
- Reduced inductance – The parallel arrangement ensures that the magnetic fields generated by the individual conductors overlap and neutralize each other. This minimizes the cable’s inductance, allowing especially high frequencies and fine details to be transmitted without loss.
- Better signal fidelity and dynamics – Thanks to the lower inductance, the music signal remains clear, precise, and open even during complex and dynamic passages.
- Less interference – The multicore structure reduces susceptibility to electromagnetic interference and minimizes crosstalk between the conductors.
Connector joints are critical points in the signal chain. Copper oxidizes over time – which degrades conductivity. That’s why we use gold-plated contacts in the S25 series:
- Perfect contact – Gold is extremely resistant to corrosion and oxidation, ensuring a permanently stable and interference-free signal transmission.
- Low contact resistance – While gold is not the best electrical conductor (silver would be better), its corrosion resistance ensures the contact remains optimal over time without the need for regular polishing.
- Durability – The contacts remain reliable and sonically consistent even after many plugging cycles.
The dielectric is the insulating material in the cable – and it significantly affects how cleanly a signal is transmitted. The lower the dielectric constant, the better. Air has the best values here – that’s why we use foamed polyethylene (PE) in the audio, subwoofer, and digital cables of the S25 series, where microscopic air bubbles are incorporated into the material. Advantages:
- Low dielectric constant – The trapped air bubbles reduce the electrical conductivity of the insulator, which lowers signal loss and improves the cable’s impedance.
- Low capacitance – The signal remains clear and undistorted, especially at high frequencies and over longer cable runs.
- Flexibility & durability – The material is lightweight, flexible, and resistant to moisture and chemical influences – ideal for everyday use.
OFC stands for “oxygen-free copper.” This material is characterized by a particularly high purity level (at least 99.95% to 99.99%) and contains very little oxygen or other impurities. The result:
- Excellent conductivity – The signal is transmitted with minimal resistance, ensuring lossless and detailed sound reproduction, especially over longer cable runs.
- High corrosion resistance – Less oxygen means less oxidation, making the cable more durable and sonically stable.
- Maximum purity – The high material quality minimizes interference and signal loss, which is especially important in the high-end sector.
- We use only OFC copper for the cables in the S25 series.
Before an S25 series cable leaves our manufactory, it is individually tested for complete signal continuity. This ensures that every connection from the plug to the conductor functions flawlessly. This final inspection is part of our uncompromising quality philosophy – because even when entering high-end hi-fi, every detail counts for us.
Crimping: Maximum Stability for Speaker Cables
For speaker cables, mechanical stability and minimal contact resistance are crucial – which is why we rely on professional crimping with 1.5 tons of pressure. Whether cable lug or ferrule: the fine strands are connected gas-tight, preventing corrosion and creating a durable, vibration-resistant connection. For the BFA banana plug, the crimped sleeve is additionally securely screwed – ensuring an even contact surface, optimal conductivity, and reliable hold even with frequent movement or changing loads.
Soldering: Precision for Sensitive Music Signals
For RCA and XLR cables, we rely on careful hand soldering – the best method for loss-free signal connections. The solder joints are not only electrically continuous and stable but also resistant to micro-vibrations that can cause interference in inferior connections. We use a lead-free alloy with a high silver and copper content (Sn96.5Ag3.0Cu0.5 according to DIN EN ISO 9453). It offers excellent conductivity, long durability, and sonically neutral performance – perfectly in line with our S25 philosophy.
FAQs: The most frequently asked questions about HiFi cables
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