Meze Audio Premium silver-plated PCUHD cable (Cables for HI-FI Headphones)
The premium silver-plated PCUHD cable replaces the original cable on Meze Audio headphones. Its copper comes from Japanese manufacturer Furukawa: 99.99% pure PCUHD (Pure Copper Ultra High Drawability), with an oxygen content no higher than 5 ppm. This copper is ductile enough to be drawn into 0.04 mm strands, and each strand receives a silver coating. The 140 strands are braided by hand in Baia Mare, Romania, from eight wires down to four. This continuous twist limits the magnetic field emitted by each wire and the pickup of external interference.
The TPE jacket is made in the United States, and the solder joints use a Jensen alloy containing 4% silver. At the headphone end, two connector options are available: dual 3.5 mm mono for the 2nd-generation 99 Classics, 105 AER, 105 Silva, 109 Pro, Strada, Liric and Poet, or 4-pin mini XLR for the Empyrean, Empyrean II and Elite. At the source end, the versions with 3.5 mm plugs and balanced 2.5 mm and 4.4 mm plugs measure 1.3 m, a length suited to portable players and portable DACs. The 6.35 mm jack and 4-pin XLR versions extend to 2.5 m to reach a home amplifier.
A balanced termination is only useful if the amplifier has a balanced output. Over the length of a headphone cable, silver refines the sound rather than transforming it: this cable is chosen primarily for its build quality.
