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They are important as the links from battery to the head unit and amplifiers and from amplifiers to speakers. Understanding their technical aspects is as critical as knowing other components of your audio system.

Price of interconnects vary from a few hundred baht to a few thousand baht a metre. What makes them different is not the size, but the design and technology. A large cable does not necessarily mean a higher price. In fact, some cables may be smaller in size, but are expensive due to their braiding techniques and signal propagation.

The major problem for most cables is oxidisation in the conductor. Some cable manufacturers use special wiring techniques such as slow-drawn wiring to reduce oxidisation and allow for a more consistent structure with better conductivity. A slow-drawn copper wire will apparently sound better than a hurried wire. Some manufacturers use low-capacitance dielectric insulation for lowest attenuation and mechanical vibration.

Almost all cable manufacturers apply polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as their main insulation material. PVC has many drawbacks as it is basically a hard material. By adding a plasticiser, the composition obtains its soft properties and then is easy to be extruded as an external insulator around any kind of electrical conductor. But after a while the plasticisers disappear to some extent, especially when the temperature is high, and the outer jackets break down over time.

This allows air and chemical impurities in the atmosphere to enter the cable, which causes the conductors to oxidise resulting in an unpleasant and harsh sound. This problem is compounded if the cable is bent. Therefore, the cable jacket needs to be flexible enough to maintain a closed system even while being subjected to the stresses of bending.

Van den Hul, one of the great cable manufacturers in the Netherlands, recognised that internal oxidation was a common problem ruining the performance of high-quality audio cables and decided to find a solution.

It developed and patented Hulliflex, a unique material used in the outer jackets of VDH interconnects and speaker cables, and in some cases as an internal insulator as well. Hulliflex, a non-metal cable, is an inert material which provides a 100-per-cent closed environment to the cable and is durable to heat, chemical substances, vibration and any form of electrical and magnetic interference.

In the pursuit of buying the best cables possible, we need to first understand the technical and scientific rationale behind good cables. In many cases, we have found that expensive cables made with sophisticated technology deliver better quality. Van den Hul adheres to a design principle where materials must be of very high purity as impurities lead to oxidation, which inhibits electron flow and leads to a harsh sound.

Bear in mind that high-quality cables are the final link in the signal path from head unit and amplifier to speakers and thus the heart of great sound. Large-sized cables are not always better than smaller ones. Take time to understand the cable manufacturer's design philosophies, cable construction, wiring technology, insulator material and the quality of the conductor before you buy it.

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