Connecting a turntable to an amplifier, carrying a coaxial S/PDIF stream, or transporting a composite video signal: three uses for a single connection. Van den Hul built The Wave around a 75-ohm impedance and a silver-plated copper center conductor, drawing on materials expertise refined over more than twenty-five years. The rest comes down to the details of its coaxial construction.
At the center is a solid conductor 0.9 millimeter in diameter, equivalent to AWG 19. The copper used is matched-crystal OFC (oxygen-free copper), coated with a dense layer of silver. This plating is not cosmetic: at high frequencies, current flows mainly on the surface of the conductor, due to the skin effect, and silver, being a better conductor than copper, then takes over on this outer layer. The core sits in a foamed polyethylene dielectric, whose air pockets lower the cable’s capacitance to 57 picofarads per meter. Low capacitance limits treble attenuation at the source output. As for the conductor resistance, at 2.7 ohms per 100 meters, it remains negligible over a 0.80-meter connection.
The shielding includes two silver-plated OFC copper braids, one with 96 strands and the other with 112, separated by a thin metallic foil. Van den Hul describes the assembly as triple shielding: the two braids and the intermediate foil form three successive layers. The logic lies in a dual role of coaxial cable shielding that is often overlooked. It serves both as the return conductor for the signal and as a barrier against external disturbances, whether radio frequencies or the magnetic field from a nearby power supply. By distributing these functions across several layers, the brand aims for better noise rejection without degrading conduction linearity. The braids use the same silver-plated copper as the central core, for the sake of electrical consistency.
The characteristic impedance of 75 ohms is the reference value for composite video, antenna and television connections, and coaxial S/PDIF digital audio. The Wave covers these uses just as well as an analog line-level audio connection, between a CD player and an amplifier for example.
One nuance should be noted. In analog audio, the signal wavelength remains immense compared with that of the cable, and impedance matching does not have the impact sometimes attributed to it: capacitance and shielding are what mainly matter. It is in S/PDIF digital and video, where frequencies rise and signal reflections become real, that a controlled 75-ohm impedance becomes truly meaningful. The Wave therefore remains coherent across all these connections, with a more pronounced technical advantage on the digital and video side.
The outer jacket, in green Hulliflex, measures 7.3 millimeters in diameter. This in-house, halogen-free material resists chemical attack and maintains a dielectric strength of at least 300 Vrms. Van den Hul developed it a quarter of a century ago, when moving away from halogenated compounds: it is the starting point of its GreenCare program, whose twenty-fifth anniversary The Wave celebrates. All the cable materials follow this line, halogen-free from end to end. Manufacturing takes place in the European Union.
The cable is terminated with gold-plated RCA connectors, Cinch C-7.3 type, factory-fitted. The stereo pair includes four of them, two per cable. The gold plating protects the contact against oxidation and preserves connection quality over time. The 0.80-meter length is intended for setups where source and amplifier are on the same piece of furniture or close together: a network player, CD player, or converter placed near the amplifier. For a connection to a distant subwoofer, this length will often be too short.
A cable does not have measurable electrical break-in in the sense commonly understood for a speaker or a phono cartridge. The changes sometimes reported in the first few hours are more a matter of listener acclimatization than of any evolution in the conductor. You can use The Wave as soon as it is connected without worrying about skipping a step. Above all, make sure the connector contacts are clean and secure, as that has more impact on the result than any amount of operating time.
The Name is the brand’s entry-level connection: solid silver-plated OFC conductor, double shielding, RCA connectors. The Wave builds on that foundation and adds an extra shielding layer as well as matched-crystal OFC copper for the central core. Both share 75-ohm impedance and a similar outer diameter. The difference lies in the rigor of the shielding and the quality of the central conductor. The Name remains the entry option in the range.
It all depends on where in the chain. Between a phono preamp and the amplifier, the signal is already at line level and The Wave is perfectly suitable. Directly from the turntable output, the phono signal is very weak and the turntable also requires a separate ground wire: since The Wave is a coaxial cable with two RCA connectors, it does not carry that separate grounding. For this part of the chain, a dedicated phono cable with a ground connection remains more suitable.
In terms of signal, yes: the LFE output of a home theater amplifier is an RCA line-level connection that The Wave handles without difficulty. The caveat is practical rather than electrical. At 0.80 meter, the cable assumes a subwoofer placed very close to the amplifier, which is rarely the case, since a subwoofer is often positioned away from it, in a corner or against a wall. For this need, a longer length of the same model avoids putting the connection under tension.
Yes, because the key factor here is impedance, and The Wave maintains the 75 ohms expected by the coaxial S/PDIF standard. A dedicated S/PDIF cable is, in practice, simply a 75-ohm coaxial cable terminated in RCA, a specification that The Wave meets. Digital transmission remains binary: either the stream passes intact, or errors appear. A cable with the correct impedance and good shielding puts the odds firmly on the right side over domestic lengths.
Jean-Louis
A bit like "The Name" in terms of quality, but with a bit more liveliness. To be adjusted according to your system. Good value for money.
Comment from March 13, 2025 — Experience from September 26, 2022
Bertrand
Well finished, correct sound (i.e. the minimum required), neutral and musical.
Comment from November 17, 2021 — Experience from November 06, 2021
