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Why PTL (Pure Textile Layered)?
Quite simply, it is the best design for headphone cables from our perspective. The best materials encompassing OCC + Litz stranding from a science based view with a great side benefit of the lightest weight design and the most flexible.
Combining 100% pure cotton primary layer (most neutral in tribo-electric series), flexible teflon wrap secondary and 100% cotton cores without any polymer jacket at all, PTL is the design type that we truly feel is the best achievable in headphone cables based on our nearly 14 years experience (in sound and fuction). As the first ever in the industry to combine OCC (Ohno Continous Cast) and Litz (enamel coated strands) in headphone cables back in 2011, we have do the most time and experience with this litz+occ combination. We have developed many design iterations over the last decade plus to try and maximize results with this combination. Combining PTL design with silver occ litz, copper occ litz or a combination of the two you get truly an unsurpassable cable. Silver occ litz or Copper occ litz are in fact the best metals you can use for a headphone cable, and there are no better metals from a science based view. We are proud to offer only superior metals from the ultimate factory (copper, silver or fusion mix) with the best possible design type in a variety of our series. Our Pure Textile Layered design type is now available on the Skollvar v3, Vygarde v2 (hybrid TPU+PTL).
Our History with PTL
In 2011 we were the first in the indstry to offer both OCC+Litz in a full-size headphone cable, but also the first to offer "zero polymer jacket" headphone cable conductors with that litz+occ combination. Through the years we revised our pure textile layered conductors from the Zoetic Series through the pure silver Silvergarde S2/S3 and S4 series. Now we are expanding this top pure textile layered design type to many series across our lineup. Vygarde v2, Skollvar v3, Silvergarde S5 / SC5 and soon also entry level options with smaller gauge conductors. Not only is it the best for headphone cables, but we feel it is the best for interconnects as well.
(new) Skollvar v3 PTL (Pure Textile Layered)
The Skollvar v3 now utilizes our unique and peerless Pure Textile Layered (PTL) Design, delivering what we feel are the best internal materials achievable for a headphone cable. The primary layer of our PTL design uses 100% pure cotton, followed by a secondary layer of very flexible teflon wrap. Internally (within our strand bundles) we utilize carefully structured and sized 100% pure cotton cores. Pure cotton is the best possible material when in contact with litz strands, being the most neutral in triboelectric series. We strongly feel that the biggest gauges will all benefit from a PTL (best materials) design not only in sound but also with a fantastic side benefit of top physical comfort. The design is a best of all worlds type. There is of course no better metal than silver occ litz and copper occ litz for headphone cables, and we feel there is no better design type than PTL (Pure Textile Layered).
Overview:
- 19awg per polarity with a total of 8-wires internally
- OCC (Ohno Continous Cast), the best metal type
- Litz (enameled strands, each strand insulated with a razor thin enamel until termination point, negating skin effect / oxidzing.)
- Fusion design with a larger 50% per polarity as true pure silver occ litz + the other 50% as copper occ litz.
- Peerless PTL Design type (Pure Textile Layered) - the ultimate headphone cable design type possible in our view
- Ultimate primary layer material of 100% pure cotton (most neutral in Triboelectric series) + thin teflon secondary wrap layer
- Specialized strand processing and the best strand bundle twist / pitch control for the most optimized results
- Utilizing precisely sized and structured 100% cotton cores in each conductor
- Benefiting from the best current factory on the planet for our OCC metal (head to head testing compared to all other OCC metal producing factories, ours ranked highest in our tests for sound)
- Each individual wire has carefully selected strand counts and composition to achieve our end-game goals.
- Each PTL fusion silver occ litz+copper occ litz conductor is sleeved by hand and formed into our 8 wire square braid, requiring more hand labor than most designs on the market. (noting that clear polymer jacket cables are the easiest to produce by far in 4/8wire)
- A resulting lighter and more ergonomic cable than other headphone cables design types, even in the largest gauge sizes (we eliminate the thick polymer jackets).
True Custom Sleeving:
For those seeking truly unique and one off custom sleeving beyond our wide in stock selection, please contact us at NorneAudioCables@gmail.com for a custom quote. For an added fee you can work with us to create something fully unique for your Skollvar v3 PTL 8-wire square braid in any combination of color choices (various patterns). Our sleeving is custom manufactured for us by a 60+ year old company in the USA, responsible for supplying some of the most premium brands in the fashion industry and elsewhere. We have yet to find a sleeve that can surpass the quality that this 60+ year old textile company produces.
Please stay tuned for more images to be added.
Image below: Sleeve #1 - Black + Sleeve #2 - Dark grey & Silver herring bone (single alternating braid pattern)
Please see our link for sleeving and splitter options listed here: click here to open the options in a new browser window
Shown above: Eidolic copper carbon rings. Skollvar v2 sleeve black/dark grey herring bone + black with dual metallic copper+green tracers
Shown above: Sleeve #1: Black - Sleeve #2: Black&Dark grey herring bone (8-wire braid pattern: "stripe")
Shown above: Black with dual metallic red+gold tracer (full cable)
Please see below for just some of our splitter options, you may specify any of these color options in checkout if you do not see it in the dropdown list.
If you want something truly custom please just email us via our contact page. We can do various logo fill color options in our raised silver inlay and raised black inlay splitters.
Combine any base color splitter with any inlay option.
See our sleeve list below for other combinations possible on this series. If not in the drop down, you may combine any two of the below sleeves by putting them in the checkout notes.
Shown above are various sleeve options available for the Skollvar v2.
If there is a particular amplifier or headphone end termination you do not see, odds are we can make it. Please just email us via contact form to confirm what you are after
and we will work out the details with you. For example Furutech 4-pin XLR or 1/4" TRS rhodium, etc.
Exotic Wood custom splitters:
Please note that all exotic wood splitters are hand crafted on a per order basis. These custom wood splitters take a lot of labor and will delay an order longer than a metal splitter.
If you are after the quickest shipping cables select the metal splitter option. Stay tuned in the near future for our wood with metal flush inlay options (coming soon, a perfect match to many wood+metal grill headphone cups)
Exclusive splitter inlays:
Our custom splitter inlays are precisely formed via CNC process and merged with any desired deep recess triangle splitter currently available (see images above). Stay tuned for more options to be added during Black Friday 2022 and beyond.
Custom Sleeves
We are proud to say that our outer textile sleeves are 100% made in the USA to the highest quality and standard. Our sleeves are not simply something you can find off the shelf and they have their own extremly nice quality and feel. The factory we are using in the USA only adheres to the highest standard of quality given their long list of other prestigious clientelle. Not only possessing a top feel, our sleeves are very durable with a lower level of mechanical noise (microphonics). Our special metallic fiber tracer sleeving is original to us in headphone cables, having spent years working to locate what we feel is the best sleeve out there. We are also the original source of this special sleeve with metallic fiber look for headphone cables.
Packaging:
Every Skollvar v2 Series headphone cable ships with our custom Black top metal zipper bag.
Please note: Page description under construction, check back soon for more details. See bottom for specs.
Please note: All cables are hand made on a per order basis and have a wait time, we cannot rush shipments on request currently. We have a vast amount of customization options meaning they must
all be built by hand from scratch on a per order basis (not premade). If you need to know a wait time, please contact us with your specifications for an ETA on your specific build before ordering.
Why OCC?
Used throughout the high end audio industry in most flagship cable products, occ provides the superior quality copper and silver possible today.OCC (Ohno Continuous Cast) is the name given to the casting process developed to help defeat annealing issues and virtually eliminate all grain boundaries in copper or silver with a unique patented process. The OCC casting method uses specialized heated moulds in order to draw a single crystal up to 125 meters in length. With only a single crystal in very long lengths, there is an unimpeded free path for the best possible signal transfer. Along with this superior single long crystal structure, OCC provides copper and silver with the least possible oxides and other impurities.
Why Litz?
With each strand utilizing a razor thin enamel coating, Litz based wire provides a cable that will last a lifetime (will not oxidize). Further with each strand acting independently until joining at the termination point, the design negates any bad effects typically associated with normal stranded wire (skin effect, proximity effect, etc.). As another side benefit durability and flexibility are both increased.
Combining OCC (purest metal) with Litz design you really have an end result that is the ultimate cable possible today.
Why Pure OCC Copper, OCC Silver and True Fusion OCC Silver + OCC Copper
We go by the numbers using science as the guideline. All metals have a conductivity rating as describe by the International Annealed Copper Standard (IACS). All metals are compared against Copper at the 100% IACS rating mark. OCC Copper is rated at 103% IACS and Silver 106% IACS. Gold is rated at 73% IACS or 27% lower conductivity as compared to standard OFC/ETP copper (given the exact same amount of each metal). Therefore it would take a significant amount more Gold to achievethe higher conductivity rating of copper.
We will never release anything less than OCC copper and will never release any alloys. So what is an alloy? An alloy is defined as a mixture of two or more different metals, making the original metal less pure with worsened electrical performance than the original pure metal. An alloy of 1% gold with 99% silver would yield around 89% IACS rating or 11% less conductivity than standard OFC/ETP copper. While cables made of metals/alloys that are inferior to copper may alter the sound in a specific way, that is not our goal. Norne Audio will always seek to utilize the absolute best materials (going by the numbers) in our pursuit of the absolute best cables possible today. We believe that the cables with the best specifications yield the best possible sound of ones system.
Please watch the above animation if you prefer a quick visual overview.
IACS (International Annealed Copper Standard)
The IACS rating is the metric used to describe a metals conductivity as compared to the standard of copper.
First take a look below at pure metals conductivity ratings.
(1) OCC Pure Silver - 107%
(2) OCC Copper - 103%
(3) Copper (common grade) - 100%
(4) Gold - 73%
Silver is the best there is, in pure form, period.
example:
If you take a 1"x 1"x 1" cube of pure silver and compare its conductivity to an identical 1"x 1"x 1" cube of gold, the gold is considered 32-35% less conductive than the pure silver.
Alloys
An alloy, by definition, is less pure than the original pure metals it is comprised of. Alloys are in existence largely for strength / hardness properties and are not meant for high end audio cables. When you alloy a metal, say gold with silver, you quickly decrease its purity and IACS rating. Even at just 1% gold alloyed with silver the IACS rating drops down well below plumbing grade copper. Alloys in the audio world came about purely as competition increased and there was desperation for new ways to try and market a cable to the uneducated masses.
Norne Audio will always utilize the purest form of a metal and will always use pure silver occ litz, pure copper occ litz, spc occ litz or mixes thereof. Our goal is the design that possesses the absolute top specifications of the highest possible quality.
