Audioquest Mackenzie XLR 4m

Moving from an RCA connection to a balanced connection changes how noise travels between two devices. The principle is well known: two signals of opposite polarity, a separate ground, and an input stage that subtracts one from the other. The cable must still maintain that balance from end to end. This is the territory of the second tier in AudioQuest’s Rivers series, positioned between the Red River and the Yukon.

Three conductors and a separate ground

The Triple Balanced geometry is based on three independent conductors: one for the positive signal, one for the inverted signal, and a third reserved for the ground reference. The shielding covers the entire length and carries no signal. The distinction is far from cosmetic. On a cable where the shield serves as the return conductor, radio-frequency interference picked up by this outer layer modulates the devices’ ground reference, and this modulation ultimately becomes audible in the audio signal. By separating the two functions, the Mackenzie leaves the shield with its sole role as a barrier. The same geometry is found on the cable’s RCA version, where the two signal conductors remain separate from the ground.

Solid copper with surface treatment

The conductors are made of Perfect Surface Copper+, the finest copper in the AudioQuest catalogue, surpassed only by PSS silver reserved for higher series. The work focuses on surface condition: the wire is protected at every stage of drawing and manufacturing to remain smooth, with the brand aiming to reduce distortion associated with grain boundaries. This is where it differs from the Red River, which remains a step below in metallurgy.

All conductors are solid rather than stranded. AudioQuest’s argument concerns the electrical and magnetic interaction between adjacent strands, which a solid conductor eliminates by design. It is best understood for what it is: a matter of purity and geometry, not cross-section. At audio frequencies, skin effect remains marginal with such thin conductors.

Three carbon layers against radio frequencies

Achieving full-coverage shielding costs nothing. Preventing captured radio frequencies from reaching the devices’ ground plane requires more, and that is the purpose of the in-house noise-dissipation system. Three alternating layers of metal and carbon-loaded synthetics “shield the shield”: they absorb and reflect most stray energy before it reaches the ground-connected layer. The Red River makes do with dissipation through a metal layer; the move to the three-layer carbon network is the other structural difference between the two models.

In a contemporary hi-fi cabinet, the benefit is tangible: switch-mode power supplies, internet boxes, Class D amplifiers, and lighting dimmers saturate the radio spectrum around the equipment, and this pollution eventually enters through analogue interconnects.

Firm nitrogen-injected insulation

Hard-Cell Foam insulation is polyethylene expanded by nitrogen injection, creating gas pockets around the conductor. Nitrogen absorbs virtually no energy and therefore does not release it as distortion, unlike solid PVC. The foam’s rigidity serves a second purpose: it keeps conductor spacing constant along the entire length, stabilising the cable’s characteristic impedance.

The trade-off is noticeable during installation. The Mackenzie is a firm cable, sheathed in a black and brown braid, requiring a few centimetres of clearance behind the rack and poorly suited to tight bends. In constrained cable runs, it is better to allow some slack than force the bend radius close to the connectors. The Yukon, one step above, uses polyethylene air tubes.

Cold-welded connectors on purple copper

The male and female XLR connectors are assembled without solder. AudioQuest cold-crimps the conductor onto the pin, as solder is a foreign alloy inserted into the signal path. The ground bodies are stamped rather than machined: the metal can therefore be selected for its electrical properties rather than its machinability. The contact is silver deposited directly onto high-purity purple copper, without the nickel underlayer commonly found on standard connectors.

This construction has a practical consequence: the cable is made to order in the Irvine, California workshops and cannot be re-terminated at home. Non-catalogue lengths and terminations must go through the dealer, with a lead time. The conductors are oriented in a direction determined by the manufacturer through listening tests, and an arrow printed on each connector indicates the connection direction, from source to destination.

Balance does not depend on the cable alone

One point deserves to be stated clearly: common-mode noise rejection is the work of the receiving component’s differential input stage, not the cable. The Mackenzie cleanly carries both polarities; it does not create balance. Some devices fitted with XLR sockets convert the signal back to unbalanced immediately behind the connector; the connection works, but the expected benefit is reduced. Checking what the electronics actually do upstream and downstream avoids disappointment.

Where balanced connections deliver on their promise, they tolerate long lengths without significant degradation, something RCA connections handle less well. By convention, the XLR output delivers a level around 6 dB higher than the RCA output on the same device, a difference that becomes apparent when comparing two inputs by ear.

Where the Mackenzie fits in

The cable connects any device fitted with analogue XLR sockets: digital-to-analogue converter to preamplifier, preamplifier to power amplifier, network player or CD player to integrated amplifier, audio interface or console to active speakers. A stereo connection requires two cables, one per channel.

One caveat to keep in mind: this is an analogue cable. A digital AES/EBU connection, which also uses XLR connectors, requires a characteristic impedance of 110 ohms and a cable designed for that purpose. Using an analogue interconnect in this application sometimes works, but may lead to read errors depending on length and sampling frequency.

Technical Specifications

Materials

• Metal: PSC+ (Perfect-Surface Copper+)
• Dielectric: Hard-cell foam
• Sheath: Quadruple braid in black, brown

Construction

• Geometry: Triple-balanced with dedicated ground conductor
• Noise dissipation system with triple-layer carbon

Connectors

• Terminations: Cold-welded, silver-plated

Dimensions

• Length: 4 m