EDL Audio, no solder audio cable philosophy

Having made audio cables for more than twenty years for himself and audiophile friends, Gareth John, a scientist from Swansea UK, created EDL Audio south of Clermont Ferrand in the Auvergne region of France in 2018.

The fundamental requirement of high quality cables to unleash the full potential of your hi-fi system components is well established. Audio cables made by EDL Audio belong to the high-end sector, despite the current range of cables being voluntarily limited. Certain cables are finalized only after undergoing several years of research and development. In order to obtain the best possible signal conduction, pure copper multistrand OCC (Ohno Continuous Cast, after the eponymous Japanese inventor) wires are employed without solder. Solder introduces a mix of metals and thus a mix of conductances into a cable, leading to a potential degradation of audio quality. This is the reason why EDL Audio chose not to employ solder in any of its products, preferring cold-clamping. Connectors and their assembly, as well as those of dielectric materials, are chosen and tested with extreme care and attention. Besides conventional electrical testing, blinded, multiple crossover listening is the principal method of validating the quality of an EDL Audio cable. R&D is unavoidable in cable making because listening tests can spring surprises, amaze and even raise questions on theory.

Standard shallow metal alloy USB connectors (right) used for soldering compared to 24 carat gold-plated pure OCC copper USB connectors (left) made for EDL Audio for cold-clamping

The Tenrai USB cable is EDL Audio’s star product. Inspired by the Japanese translation for heavenly or divine, this cable is the result of a research collaboration with the Toulouse-based engineer, Remi Dumas, PhD. For the first time, space technology has been incorporated into an audio cable to optimise connector pin holding in the absence of solder. Connector pins are made of 24 carat gold-plated pure copper OCC which are cold-clamped to multistrand pure copper OCC wires. Choosing the best dielectrics and assembly method required manufacturing dozens of prototype cables and hundreds of hours’ listening. The resulting USB cable provides an exceptionally relaxed, natural and aired listening experience with detail and amazing dynamics.

EDL Audio also proposes other exceptional audio cables, notably network and symmetric XLR, which are also handcrafted in Auvergne, always avoiding the use of solder. Although other audio cables are currently being tested, EDL Audio has chosen to expand its range of cables only if a « plus » can be introduced over and above existing high-end products on the market which in some cases are fantastic.