Some of the answers to these FAQ’s may require more in-depth information than provided. For additional information relating to the designs and technical aspects of our products, please refer to the appropriate sections of our White Paper - 2008, comments contained in many of the reviews written about our products and information shown on the individual "drop down" boxes for each product.

FAQ’s Specifically Relating To Our Octaphase™ Interconnect Cables

Q - Why does your Octaphase™ interconnect cable design make a difference in component and sound performance compared to many other more expensive cables from your competitors?

A - Our patented Octaphase™ "Alpha Series" non-shielded and "Omega Pro-Line Series" shielded interconnects each have eight individual conductors (4 positive and 4 negative) in our exclusive and patented Progressive Geometric Multi-conductor/Multi-Gauged™ design. This design, combined with our patented "Ultra Low Mass" 24 Kt. Gold Plated RCA jacks, promotes full frequency flow, allowing all frequencies to seek the "path of least resistance" when traveling from termination to termination between system components. The result is a crisp, clean signal transfer allowing for maximum accuracy and minimum distortion.

Q - What is so special about your RCA Plug that it has a patent?

A - The design of our patented "Ultra Low Mass" RCA Plug precludes having to solder the conductors to the center pin and grounding shell, which is common with traditionally styled RCA plugs. It is also has an absolute minimum amount of metal content, allowing for fast, accurate and maximum frequency flow through each of the eight individual multi-gauged-multi-stranded conductors.

Q - What are the differences between your patented RCA plug and traditionally styled RCA Plugs?

A - Our patented RCA Plug is designed with an absolute minimum of metal content. We use 24 Kt. gold plated Beryllium copper throughout. The center pin is surrounded and protected by a "cage" of spring tensioned 24 Kt. gold plated Beryllium copper that rotates 360° around the center pin, protecting it from bending and insuring proper metal to metal contact. The outer housing is an attractive, low mass finely cured Coca Bola wood with an internal 24 Kt gold plated Beryllium copper screw-on insert for maximum protection and ease of assembly. Traditionally styled RCA housings are made out of die cast metal or injection molded die cast plastic and metal with the cable conductors soldered to the center pin and housing. There are no solder points connecting the Octaphase™ conductors to our RCA plugs. The conductors are crimp connected, further enhancing overall cable and system performance.

Q - What do we mean by "Ultra Low Mass™?"

Q - How about the performance compared to other brands from your competitors?

Q - Does the Coca Bola wood housing really make a difference and why?

A - These questions are very closely related and therefore grouped together and answered as follows: "Ultra Low Mass™" means that the plug was designed with an absolute minimum of metal content and NO SOLDER POINTS. Less metal equates to less potential interference and better performance. It will not detract from the cable's ability to maximize frequency flow through the conductors. The Coca Bola wood housing is an extension of the "less metal" design, while also providing an eye catching, rich looking esthetic appearance.

FAQ’s Relating To All Soundstring™ Products In General

Q - Does directionality really make a difference?

A - The direction in which the copper windings of the individual conductors of a cable travel insures maximum frequency flow and accuracy in the cable. These windings should always "point" away from, or travel from the power source to the delivering component (CD player to Amplifier, Amplifier to Speakers, Pre-Amp to Amplifier, etc.) to maximize your system's performance. Without establishing directionality, the overall component and system performance can and will be compromised.

Q - Do I really need to have all three types of power cords to correctly match the current draw of my system's components?

A - Yes, unless you prefer to spend your money unnecessarily. Our patented Tricormaxial™ premium 30 Amp High Out-put power supply cord has #10.5 gauge composite conductors and is specifically designed for power draws in the 30 Amp range. The Medium Out-put power supply cord has #15 gauge composite conductors, perfect for power draws in the 10 - 20 Amp range. The Low Out-put "Digital" power supply cord has #19 gauge composite conductors, perfect for power draws up to 10 Amps. The Digital Power Cord was specifically designed for higher speed small transformer devices, Outboard Phono Pre-Amps, DACS, CD/DVD/SACD players and other digital equipment applications where the speed of voltage delivery is greatly enhanced.

       Theoretically, you can use the 30 Amp High Out-put power supply cord for all three applications, but why spend a lot more than is necessary? Different sized cars require different sized tires, depending upon weight, performance, wheel base, etc. Why put the biggest, best and most expensive tires on a compact car if you only need to use the recommended size by that car's manufacturer? Match the power cords to fit your individual component's power requirements. It saves money while allowing each component to achieve maximum performance potential. Bigger is not always better!

Q - Except for your "Omega Pro-Line Series" of shielded interconnects, none of your cables and power cords are shielded. Doesn't that create possible noise problems that will affect my overall system performance?

A - The unique, patented "Progressive Geometric Multi-conductor/Multi-gauged™" design and cabling of our products precludes the need for shielding in almost all circumstances. Conventional shielding increases the capacitance of cables by more than 50%. Higher capacitance affects the high frequency flow in a cable and retards the cable's ability to let you hear all the musical "information" in the recording. Shielding is required for "balanced" systems using XLR connectors. It is also used for single ended systems with magnetic phono cartridges or components with internal components that may create outside interference. If there are other sources of interference in your local environment that create problems for you, then using single ended shielded cables would be a better option than the non-shielded types.

Q - I have bi-wire speakers. Will the sound quality be the same, better or worse if I use your regular speakers cables with bi-wire jumpers compared to the more expensive regular bi-wire cables?

A - Our bi-wire jumpers are constructed with a similar "Progressive Geometric Multi-conductor/Multi-gauged" design used in our regular speaker cables. The difference is that we split the positive and negative conductors into individual cabled and jacketed units for the bi-wire speaker cable connections. Using our regular Tricormaxial™ speaker cables in conjunction with the bi-wire jumpers will not degrade the sound quality. Some customers prefer to use the true bi-wire speaker cables regardless of cost. This is a personal choice, not a choice between performance levels and/or total cost.

Q - Why are your cables so soft and flexible compared to many of the cables sold by your competitors?

A - We achieve maximum flexibility in all of our products by using a combination of multi-gauged and multi- conductor designs, each having many very finely stranded individual copper "singles" within each multi-stranded wire. Each conductor is coated with a soft, flexible thin wall insulation and all conductors are then cabled together. Finally, a very soft, low durometer outer jacket insures maximum flexibility for all of our cables.

Q - I recently read about your company and would like to try some of your cables. Do you have a return policy, or a program that allows buyers to demo your cables before deciding to purchase them?

A - As with all high end cable companies and products, there are some buyers that want to achieve a particular sound which some cable designs may not fulfill. We have confidence that our cables will perform to almost everyone's satisfaction. If requested, we will accommodate you with a 30 day "demo" trial period on any of our products before committing to purchasing them. You must pay in full for all "demo" products ordered, including shipping and handling costs. You have 30 days from the time the cables are delivered for installation, break- in and to evaluate their total performance before deciding if you want to keep them or return them to us.

       If you choose to return any of the demo products purchased on the 30 day trial, you must contact us via telephone or e-mail for an MRA (materials return authorization) number. You must re-pack everything being returned in its original shipping cartons, and then into the master carton(s) they were shipped in, using the protective bubble wrap or other packing materials used for protection in shipping. They must then be returned prepaid via UPS, Fed-Ex or the U.S. Postal Service priority first class package mail, at your option. We also suggest you insure all returns for full value in the event of damage or loss. Upon receipt, we will inspect and test each item returned. If they are in 100% perfect re-saleable condition, we will issue a full credit to the credit card used for payment, or mail a check for a full refund of the product costs only. Your responsibility is for the full payment of shipping, handling and insurance costs to you and for the return to us.

Q - What kind of warranties or guarantees do you have?

A - All products purchased new from any of our distributors, dealers or direct factory are unconditionally warranted and guaranteed against all defects in materials and workmanship only. At our option, we will repair or replace any defective product at no charge, for as long as the original purchaser owns them. Products purchased through re-sale are not covered. However, we will repair any of our cables purchased through re-sale for a modest charge that covers replacement parts, labor and shipping costs.

Q - Does the performance justify the higher cost of our cables compared to lower priced more traditional styles and imports available in many large retail electronic stores and discount retailers?

A - Performance is subjective. Every "high-end" cable company attempts to incorporate distinctive design features that will enhance the overall listening experience. Traditional low cost generic power supply cords, speaker wires and interconnect cables will work simply because they make positive contact between system components. What really matters is the overall quality of sound reproduction achieved through the design parameters of each product and its interaction with your system's components. The bottom line is that you get what you are paying for both in quality and performance.

       To maximize component performance, the cables must allow all signals, frequencies and voltage flow to travel virtually unimpeded, creating a more cohesive, distortion free listening experience. Our patented Progressive Geometric Multi-conductor/Multi-gauged™ designs create special "paths of least resistance" allowing all signals, frequencies and voltage to travel and flow over or through them at incredibly fast speeds. There is no discontinuity. Full frequency profiled alignment is the key - you hear a mirror image of the recording being played. All these attributes are present when Soundstring™ cables and power supply cords are connected to your systems components.

A final thought . . . . . 

Since all phases of the design, manufacturing, packaging and marketing of our cables and power supply cords are performed in-house, we are able to price our products significantly lower than most of our competitors. Also, we do not manufacture several "grades" of cables, each designed to have better performance characteristics as their costs increase. We have just one grade and one pricing structure. Our products provide top of the line performance, design and reliability at reasonable and affordable costs. Jason O., a recent Soundstring Cable buyer from Maryland recently e-mailed us to say: “Amazing performance, amazing prices, amazing service. You guy's are just simply amazing! I wish I had your cables in my audio system years ago. It would have saved me a lot of time and money."

Thanks Jason, we appreciate your feedback and encourage all of our customers to let us know how they are enjoying the improved overall quality of sound reproduction in their systems using Soundstring™ products.