DHC Chaperone Flagship Interconnects – RCA, XLR

DHC Chaperone Flagship Interconnects

The alpha and the omega. There are few interconnects out there where such attention is paid to preserving the purity of the signal. Inspired by the design of the “Complement” flagship headphone cable, which takes a cost-no-object, exhaustive approach in the design and configuration of each layer. The components of the cable are specifically designed to isolate each conductor from each other, the other channel, and the outside world, while preventing static buildup, electromagnetic, and vibrational pollution. This is a cable that will disappear into your system, elucidating all the details of the music without changing the character of your existing components.  Like its namesake the chaperone protein, the DHC Chaperone exists to provide a stable link in an audio system in the same way the protein would in a biological system.  It enables the elements of the music come into fruition in a manner that parallels a chaperone protein’s assembly of a protein’s building blocks into a functional whole.

Technology overview and concept:

The Chaperone² uses an unprecedented design to keep the analog signals for audio components separated from one another and protected from harm.  The Chaperone is more than just the sum of its parts – the synergy between the layers is the secret.  The dampening layers reduce capacitance due to the shielded design and the concentric layers exert force on the central cable core, preventing detail-robbing vibration.  

Design:

The Chaperone² features DHC’s most neutral and accurate wire. The DHC “Peptide” wire is only available here and is a custom type 2 litz construct.  It features more than 100 ultra-fine strands of individually enameled ultrapure Ohno continuous cast copper, with multiple sub-bundles in a type 2 “bundle of bundles” arrangement.  This strand arrangement and individual strand insulation is thought to reduce AC losses and minimize skin and proximity effect, offering an improvement over conventional stranded wire.  A practical benefit of DHC “Peptide” is that it will stay beautiful forever as each strand is sealed in clear enamel and thus the conductive surfaces of each strand maintain their integrity.  In the context of USB cables, such a wire maintains its impedance throughout its length and losses are minimized.   “Peptide” has a unique rope-like appearance from the complex of strand bundles inside, with a flexible polyethylene jacket that keeps the type 2 litz construct inside rigidly locked in its configuration, ensuring a lifetime of reproducible service.  DHC “Peptide” is the first PE-insulated type 2 litz OCC copper wire in the headphone world and is the highest-performing stranded wire we know of. 

The Chaperone² features a reproducible, computer-controlled central core rather than a hand-twisted assembly, keeping electrical performance consistent throughout the length of the cable.  Every aspect of the Chaperone², from the twist rate to the insulation profiles to the dampening materials layout has been agonizingly pored over.

Twice the typical amount of textile dampening has been employed in the Chaperone² to prevent microvibrational energy from interfering with the signal. This approach also prevents static buildup as this dampening material is triboelectrically neutral – it will not build a charge when it rubs against something.

A newly developed carbon-infused composite is directly applied onto each strand of Peptide wire, providing further protection against a wide bandwidth of interference.  The individual carbon shielding on each wire takes the place of the single carbon fiber shield used in the original, less-effective design.  The material is highly compliant, absorbing mechanical energy and draining static buildup by acting as a semiconductor.

Super-thin custom mylar foil shielding against low-frequency interference and a non-magnetic super-high-coverage copper braid for iron-curtain isolation from high-frequency noise – don’t let your cable become an antenna for signals traveling through the air! The Chaperone² is one of the most protected interconnect cables on the market today, and provides a sense of quiet, black space – an empty canvas for music.  The foil layer helps to compact the inner layers and prevent vibration.

To keep it simple and durable, Chaperone has a glossy black outer jacket that’s maintenance-free.

PRICED PER PAIR

For even higher performance, pick Chaperone³.

It features a 22awg “Fusion” design with many unprecedented features adding refinement and detail.  There are seven OCC silver litz bundles and seven OCC copper litz bundles arrayed in a cylinder around a core of semiconductor material, which disperses and drains excess energy and static buildup, converting it to heat.  Each wire has a conductive carbon secondary insulation for wide-bandwidth noise protection and dampening, with additional cotton dampening stabilizing the internal braid.  There are dual foil shields instead of one, around a OFC copper braid shield.  Like the Complement2, each channel is isolated into its own independent cable. To order just pick Chaperone³ under wire type below, with the corresponding length to the cable length chosen.