AudioQuest Athena Speaker Cable w/ ZERO-Tech for Full-Range or Treble
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AudioQuest Athena Speaker Cable w/ ZERO-Tech for Full-Range or Treble

  • ZERO-Tech (No Characteristic Impedance): The only way to prevent characteristic-impedance mismatch-effects between a cable and its attached source and load circuits is for the cable not to have a characteristic-impedance. ZERO-Tech accomplishes this by eliminating any electrostatic field between the cable’s high and low signal conductors — enabling uncompressed current transfer. All-important transient current is unrestricted and RF Noise-Dissipation is more effective and linear.
  • Solid No-Grain Copper (NGC) Conductors: Solid conductors prevent strand-interaction, a major source of dynamic distortion. No-Grain Copper dramatically minimizes distortion caused by grain boundaries and maximizes RF Noise-Dissipation.
  • Linear Noise-Dissipation: The Earth is permeated with RF-Noise from satellites, cellular, WiFi, etc. Athena’s Graphene+Carbon Mesh-Network, ZERO-Tech, direction-controlled No-Grain Copper (NGC) conductors, 72v DBS, and Perfect-Surface Silver (PSS) NDS shield drains effectively minimize damaging RF-Noise.
  • 72v Dielectric-Bias System (DBS) with RF Noise-Trap: Insulation is also a dielectric that acts like a shunt-filter. Biasing the dielectric both minimizes dielectric-noise and linearizes the filter, significantly improving wide-bandwidth dissipation of induced noise.
  • Perfect-Surface Silver Shield Drains: Dramatically aid the efficient dissipation of RF-Noise.
  • Permanent Molecular Optimization (PMO): By optimally and efficiently applying a high-frequency AC signal many times greater than any audio system could possibly provide over any length of time, transient intermodulation distortion and the cable burn-in process are significantly reduced.
  • Cold-Welded Red-Copper Spades or Bananas: Cold-Welding avoids the introduction of heat and distortion-causing materials like solder. The bare parts are submerged (hung) in silver instead of tumbled in a lower-grade solution. Speaker breakouts and plug casings are synthetic, not metal, to avoid inducing RF Noise into the conductors.
  • Athena speaker cables may be used in one of two ways: either as ideal Full-Range cables, or, in combination with a dedicated Bass-Only cable, BigFoot, in a high-performance BiWire cable assembly.
  • Directionality: All drawn metal strands or conductors have a non-symmetrical, and therefore directional, grain structure. AudioQuest controls the resulting RF impedance variation so that noise is drained away from where it will cause distortion. A fundamental aspect of AudioQuest’s multifaceted Noise-Dissipation technology, Direction-Controlled Conductors ensure induced noise is dissipated and drained properly.
  • Part NumberATHENA15SM
    UPC092592197701
    Product NameAudioQuest Athena Speaker Cable w/ ZERO-Tech for Full-Range or Treble
    Retail Pricing
    TaxonomyAnalog Cables > Speaker Cables > Full-Range > Folk Heroes
    SeriesFolk Heroes
    Comparison Products
    • Lone Ranger
    • Brave Heart
    • ThunderBird XTRM
  • Key Feature Title
    Key Feature Description
    • Cables - Conductor > Solid conductors prevent strand-interaction, a major source of dynamic distortion in cables.
    • Cables - Metal > AudioQuest’s No-Grain Copper (NGC) comprises an extreme-purity copper plating around a Perfect-Surface Copper+ core, dramatically minimizing distortion caused by grain boundaries and maximizing RF Noise-Dissipation.
    • Cables - Geometry > ZERO-Tech eliminates the electrostatic field between the cable’s high and low signal conductors, enabling linear Radio Frequency (RF) Noise-Dissipation, and uncompressed transients.
    • Cables - Noise Dissipation > Alternating layers of graphene, carbon-loaded synthetics, and metal "shield the shield," minimizing RF noise before it reaches the layer attached to ground.
    • Cables - Drain > 100% Perfect-Surface Silver (PSS) drain wires are used for optimal Noise-Dissipation.
    • Cables - Insulation > Foamed Polypropylene Insulation used for the positive conductors only in a ZERO-Tech cable achieves outstanding noise-dissipation.
    • Cables - Technology > 72v Dielectric-Bias System (DBS) saturates and polarizes insulation, allowing clear, dynamic sound against a quiet “black” background.
    • Cables - Technology > By optimally and efficiently applying a high-frequency AC signal many times greater than any audio system could possibly provide over any length of time, transient intermodulation distortion and the cable burn-in process are significantly reduced.
    • Cables - Connector & Plug > Cold-welding avoids heat and distortion-causing solder. The bare parts are submerged (hung) in silver instead of tumbled in a lower-grade solution. Speaker breakouts and plug casings are synthetic, not metal, to avoid inducing RF Noise into the conductors.
    • Cables - Noise Dissipation > A fundamental aspect of AudioQuest’s multifaceted Noise-Dissipation technology, Direction-Controlled Conductors ensure induced noise is dissipated and drained in the direction of least harm.
    • Cables - Gauge > Cable - 14 AWG
  • Noise-DissipationGraphene+Carbon Mesh-Network
    TechnologyZERO-Tech
    ColorBlue
  • Short DescriptionCombining the physical flexibility and relatively small size of its more affordable sibling, Lone Ranger, with the jet-black backgrounds, top-to-bottom coherence, and seductive effortlessness of AudioQuest's finest designs, Athena stands proud among the Folk Hero range — an outstanding choice for high-performance systems, environments, and listeners that value refinement and purity over ultimate scale and sheer brute force.
    Long Description
    Bullet Point Features
    • ZERO-Tech (No Characteristic Impedance): The only way to prevent characteristic-impedance mismatch-effects between a cable and its attached source and load circuits is for the cable not to have a characteristic-impedance. ZERO-Tech accomplishes this by eliminating any electrostatic field between the cable’s high and low signal conductors — enabling uncompressed current transfer. All-important transient current is unrestricted and RF Noise-Dissipation is more effective and linear.
    • Solid No-Grain Copper (NGC) Conductors: Solid conductors prevent strand-interaction, a major source of dynamic distortion. No-Grain Copper dramatically minimizes distortion caused by grain boundaries and maximizes RF Noise-Dissipation.
    • Linear Noise-Dissipation: The Earth is permeated with RF-Noise from satellites, cellular, WiFi, etc. Athena’s Graphene+Carbon Mesh-Network, ZERO-Tech, direction-controlled No-Grain Copper (NGC) conductors, 72v DBS, and Perfect-Surface Silver (PSS) NDS shield drains effectively minimize damaging RF-Noise.
    • 72v Dielectric-Bias System (DBS) with RF Noise-Trap: Insulation is also a dielectric that acts like a shunt-filter. Biasing the dielectric both minimizes dielectric-noise and linearizes the filter, significantly improving wide-bandwidth dissipation of induced noise.
    • Perfect-Surface Silver Shield Drains: Dramatically aid the efficient dissipation of RF-Noise.
    • Permanent Molecular Optimization (PMO): By optimally and efficiently applying a high-frequency AC signal many times greater than any audio system could possibly provide over any length of time, transient intermodulation distortion and the cable burn-in process are significantly reduced.
    • Cold-Welded Red-Copper Spades or Bananas: Cold-Welding avoids the introduction of heat and distortion-causing materials like solder. The bare parts are submerged (hung) in silver instead of tumbled in a lower-grade solution. Speaker breakouts and plug casings are synthetic, not metal, to avoid inducing RF Noise into the conductors.
    • Athena speaker cables may be used in one of two ways: either as ideal Full-Range cables, or, in combination with a dedicated Bass-Only cable, BigFoot, in a high-performance BiWire cable assembly.
    • Directionality: All drawn metal strands or conductors have a non-symmetrical, and therefore directional, grain structure. AudioQuest controls the resulting RF impedance variation so that noise is drained away from where it will cause distortion. A fundamental aspect of AudioQuest’s multifaceted Noise-Dissipation technology, Direction-Controlled Conductors ensure induced noise is dissipated and drained properly.
  • Cable Length - Formatted15 ft = 4.5 m
    Connector Configuration (Computed)2 x Male > 2 x Male
    JacketBlue Nylon Braid
    FinishSilver
    MetalSolid No-Grain Copper (NGC)
    Gauge14AWG
    GeometryZERO-Tech (No Characteristic Impedance)
    RF Drain MetalSolid Perfect-Surface Silver (PSS)
    ColorBlue
  • What's In The BoxAudioQuest Athena Speaker Cable w/ ZERO-Tech for Full-Range or Treble
    WarrantyLimited Lifetime
    Weights & Dimensions