News

Ethereal Home Theater Interconnects Revolutionize Cable Construction (22/9/2004)

Real science - not smoke and mirrors - corrects major design flaw that prevents optimum performance in audio/video components

When Metra Electronics decided to enter the highly competitive home theater interconnect market with its Ethereal brand, the company did so only after being satisfied that it could make a profound improvement in performance over other brands.

Ethereal product manager Brent McCall designed the new interconnect line informed by his years of experience as a custom home theater installer. Having used every brand of A/V interconnects from the most basic to the most expensive, McCall realized they shared a design flaw that prevented optimal performance - including near-total noise rejection.

Ethereal recognizes that the primary problem is not wire, but termination. Typical cables - even the most expensive, high-end brands - are terminated to two solder points. Regardless of the wire design or quality of materials used, the actual connection is a glob of solder - which creates an FM antenna effect, thus negating any intended benefit.

"No matter how high the quality of the cable materials and construction, the greatest amount of signal loss and distortion occurs at the cable termination point," says McCall. "At this point, the solder gap creates an FM antenna effect that pulls in distortion, which defeats any cable's performance features."

Ethereal's exclusive compression method eliminates this gap by making a firm, seamless connection between cable and termination for maximum unimpeded signal transfer and accuracy. Each cable fully performs to its specifications, resulting in breathtakingly detailed, vibrant pictures and precise audio reproduction.

Says Paul Brownlee of Parasound - which partnered with Ethereal at The Home Entertainment Show East, NY, NY, May 20 - 23, 2004: "I like the fact that Ethereal is based on real science, not smoke and mirrors. You can quote me on that. It is a value-oriented brand that fits well with the Parasound philosophy."

Ethereal includes the flagship Elite line (174 SKUs), the value-priced Premium line (68 SKUs), and the professional installation Economy line (eight SKUs). Ethereal Elite and Premium are available in both consumer clamshell packaging and poly bag packaging for industry professionals; Economy is available in poly bag packaging only.

Manufactured to strictly supervised specifications, Ethereal interconnects deliver the full performance potential of home theater equipment.

www.etherealhometheater.com