Mackenzie: analogue interconnect in solid PSC+ copper with Hard-Cell Foam insulation
AudioQuest Mackenzie is an analogue interconnect for linking sources, preamplifiers, power amplifiers and AV receivers. It can be ordered with RCA or XLR connectors, and either way it is built around three solid copper conductors.
Sold as a pair: the pack holds the two cables needed for the right and left channels.
Conductors and geometry
The conductors are single-strand Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+). Compared with a bundle of fine strands, one solid wire removes the electrical and magnetic interplay between neighbouring strands, while the carefully finished copper surface lowers the distortion tied to grain boundaries. The Triple-Balanced layout hands the ground reference to a dedicated third conductor: the shield never carries the signal, and the positive and negative legs travel on paths of matching quality in both the RCA and the XLR version.
Insulation and noise reduction
Hard-Cell Foam is a stiff foam into which nitrogen is injected to form tiny gas cells: the gas does not hold energy, so nothing is handed back to the conductor as distortion. The stiffness of the material keeps the spacing between conductors constant from end to end, which helps the impedance stay stable. The three-layer Noise-Dissipation System alternates metal with carbon-loaded synthetic layers that soak up and reflect most radio-frequency interference before it gets to the layer tied to ground. The conductors are Direction-Controlled: arrows on the connectors show which way to fit the cable.
Terminations and lengths
The RCA version suits unbalanced connections, the most common ones on players, turntables with line output, DACs and amplifiers; the XLR version is meant for equipment with balanced inputs and outputs. The plugs are high-purity Purple Copper with silver applied straight onto it, joined to the cable by high-pressure cold welding. Lengths: 0.5 m, 0.75 m, 1 m, 1.5 m, 2 m, 3 m, 4 m, 5 m and 6 m.
Key features
- Conductors: solid Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+)
- Geometry: Triple-Balanced with three conductors
- Insulation: nitrogen-injected Hard-Cell Foam
- Shielding: carbon-based three-layer Noise-Dissipation
- Connectors: RCA or XLR, silver on Purple Copper, cold-welded
