Furutech DAS-4.1 balanced interconnect cable

Balanced interconnects require an additional conductor within the screened cable, which is not needed with a standard unbalanced one. Such a cable is intended for use with balanced XLR connectors to accommodate the standard and inverted audio signals from the source equipment with respect to the earth.
The DAS-4.1 has two high-quality conductors, each of which comprises three layers braided in opposite directions. For these Furutech uses it’s Alpha-OCC copper together with Mitsubishi Materials’ DUCC Ultra Crystallised High Purity Copper.
Mitsubishi processes the high-purity oxygen-free copper and treats it to optimally align the copper’s crystals, and reduce the number of crystal grain boundaries. Each dual conductor configuration is then
further treated with Furutech’s

‘Alpha’ process, which is a two-stage cryogenic and demagnetisation treatment to further improve both purity and conductivity.
Furutech insulates the conductors in polypropylene and holds them in place with a polyester yarn filling.
Triple shielding is used to provide effective protection against external interference and the complete cable is protected by a double PVC sheath.
The cable’s final outer layer is an elegant blue and black braided polypropylene sheath.

Well connected
Using a pair of the DAS-4.1 cables terminated with XLR connectors, I connect a Studer A810 tape deck to a Stax electrostatic headphone amp powering a pair of Stax SR-009S electrostatic headphones. Playing a copy-master tape of Haydn’s ConcertoNo.1 in C Major played by I Solisti di Pavia really gives me goose bumps.
The realism and dynamics of this recording are incredible, and the energy of the performance comes
across beautifully. In particular, the strings are triumphantly clear and clean, without any trace of edginess.
The imaging and depth are superb, even listening on headphones. The DAS-4.1 is a fantastic cable and
certainly justifies its price tag.