Subwoofer Cables

In some ways, the subwoofer cable interconnect is the least demanding application in home theater. While HD video demands cables able to carry high-bandwidth signals, at tight impedance tolerances, the subwoofer cable has the relatively easy job of carrying a very low-frequency, very low-bandwidth signal. But a subwoofer cable has a critical job to do, and needs to do it well: keep out hum. Hum can come from ground loops (cable won't help you if that's the case, but see our isolation transformer below) or, often, from EMI (electro-magnetic interference). High-energy, low-frequency noise, like the 60-cycle hum from nearby power cords, fluorescent lights, and other miscellaneous sources, is the hardest type of interference to shield against, and the best defense here is a dense and highly-conductive braid shield. Our recommended subwoofer interconnect cables have not one, but two, dense braid shields, and in our testing we've found this to be the best shield configuration, outperforming conventional single-braid, braid-and-foil, and unbalanced twisted-pair cables when it comes to hum rejection.

NEW (and on sale)! Introducing Blue Jeans Cable LC-2 Low Capacitance Audio Cable

For years our principal unbalanced audio interconnect cable has been our proprietary LC-1, designed for low capacitance and high shield effectiveness. We've tweaked the design a bit, getting the cross-sectional profile more consistent, but keeping the cable size, conductor size and shield characteristics the same, dropping capacitance slightly and lowering the price to boot. The new cable, LC-2, is now our recommended cable for general audio interconnect use (barring special circumstances and requirements). For a short time we are offering this new cable at a 15% discount from our regular pricing.

The most important attributes of a line-level unbalanced audio cable are (1) shielding, and (2) capacitance. Heavy shielding protects audio signals from interference from outside sources. LC-2 Audio Cable uses a heavy double-braid shield, with one bare copper braid laid directly over another for extreme high coverage and high conductivity to ground; this is the identical shield configuration to Canare LV-77S, which tested best in our review of audio cable hum rejection characteristics (LC-2 hadn't been designed yet so wasn't tested at that time). By shrinking the center conductor to 25 AWG and foaming the polyethylene dielectric, we were able to get capacitance down below 11 pF/ft, much better than LV-77S at 21 pF/ft. Capacitance can be important, particularly in long cable runs, because it contributes to rolloff of higher frequencies. The softer dielectric material and smaller center conductor, meanwhile, make the cable highly flexible and easy to route.

For in-wall installations: Blue Jeans Cable LC-1 Analog Audio Cable

Our original low-capacitance unbalanced interconnect, LC-1, isn't entirely superseded by the new LC-2. The one attribute LC-1 has which LC-2 lacks is an in-wall installation rating. If you need to run cable inside of walls or cable trays, LC-1 carries a CM rating (higher than the more common CL2 or CL3). LC-1's capacitance is a little higher than LC-2's, but still excellent, typically about 12.2 pF/ft. For more information and specs on LC-1, read our "LC-1 Design Notes" article.