Product Review
(January 2003)
Ultralink - High Performance
Audio and Video Cables
Platinum
Series
Ultima Mk II Audio
Cable (4m)
Videophile Pro Composite Video Cable (3m)
Videophile Pro Component
Video Cables (3m)
Advanced
Performance Series
S-Video
Cable (4m)
Any
audio or home theater system depends heavily on the type of the cables used in
the system. While many may argue about a significance difference between high-end
cables and mainstream cables, few would disagree that quality engineered materials,
solid connections, good shielding and proper impedance matching affect the quality
of the signal, whether it's for audio or video. Apparently that's exactly how
the Canadian-based company Ultralink approaches their cable design. They engineer
their cables with a common sense approach and follow the basic laws of physics.
As a result, the company produces affordable cables that perform extremely well.
Although Ultralink products are manufactured and assembled in Ontario, Canada,
they have a full distribution facility right here in Southern California.
Ultralink provided us with a wide range of products for review. They included both audio and video cables in the Platinum and Advanced Performance Series. The design of the Ultralink cables is impressive. The RCA style barrel has a unique design that grips the mate exceptionally well preventing a bad connection. Moreover, 24K gold-plated contacts are used throughout. The large backshell is convenient to grab with your fingers making it easy to disconnect the cable from the unit. The cable is large in diameter yet still has adequate flexibility to route through cabinetry. My previous experience with some overly rigid high-end cables that are difficult to connect to components had left me frustrated. The Ultralink design appears to be practical and well built while still providing great performance.
Audio
Cables (ULTI-4M)
We tested the Platinum
Series® ULTIMA® Audio Interconnect Cables provided to us straight from
the factory. The design uses a dual balanced audio interconnect cable with Time-Aligned™
multiple gauge 6N OFHC copper conductors. The two-conductor twisted-pair construction
uses a proprietary winding geometry comprised of three precisely wound wire networks
with a single large conductor for deep bass along with six intermediate sized
conductors. The ultra-low capacitance nitrogen-injected polyethylene insulation
is said to provide a faster signal transfer. The doubled shielded design with
full aluminum mylar foil coverage and 95% braid 6N OFHC copper shield is grounded
at the source end making this a unidirectional cable design for optimal performance.
This high-performance cable is terminated with precision machined, Teflon®
insulated RCA connectors with exclusive patented Vacuum Spring-Lock® technology
for a solid connection.
We installed five separate four meter cables between our Parasound AVC-2500U Processor and Parasound HCA-2205AT Five-channel Amplifier. This was a great test to see just how well they perform over long runs, especially because unbalanced cables are suceptible to picking up hum. We were pleasantly surprised with the results of our setup and noticed very little hum even with our ear close to the speaker. The sonic performance was excellent. The imaging was as accurate as we've heard in our system and the soundstage was wonderfully large. We also used some shorter two meter Ultima Mk II cables for our multi-channel SACD player during some of our listening tests.
Video
Cables
UltraLink also supplied us with
their composite, s-video and component video cables for review. It was nice to
see such well built cables connected to our video equipment. Video bandwidths
are becoming increasingly high these days especially with the abundant supply
of high-definition products entering the market. Ultralink's unique designs are
ready for the challenges ahead with excellent performance with uncompromised build
quality.
Composite
Cable (VPR-3M)
We auditioned
the Ultralink Platinum Series VIDEOPHILE PRO® Composite Video Cable. This
cable uses a proprietary winding geometry and encompasses multiple gauge 6N OFHC
copper center conductors. The ultra-low capacitance nitrogen-injected Teflon®
dielectric insulation is said to provide the most accurate signal transfer. The
design is doubled shielded with full aluminum mylar foil coverage and high density
braid 6N OFHC copper shielding. The precision machined, Teflon® insulated
75 Ohm RCA connectors with exclusive patented Vacuum Spring-Lock® technology
and Ultralink® 24K mil-spec direct gold-plating not only looks good, but provides
a truly solid connection for the antiquated RCA connectors that exist on all consumer
products.
We tested the composite
video cable with our Sony DVP-NS900V DVD player. While this is not an optimal
way to connect up to a DVD player, we wanted to use a good high resolution video
source. We also tried it with our now outdated, but still loved Pioneer CLD-D704
laserdisc player. The performance was excellent with both sources using our iScan
Ultra deinterlacer. The Vacuum Spring-Lock® design works amazingly well and
made it easy to mate and de-mate the cables to our units.
S-Video
Cable (ULVS-4M)
The S-Video
cable provided to us is called the Ultralink Advanced Performance Series VIDEOPHILE®
S-Video Cable. This design features an ultra low-loss, high performance 75 ohm
S-Video interconnect cable with precision machined S-video connectors. The design
uses 24K gold-plated contacts throughout. In addition, the cables are triple shielded
with 100% aluminum mylar foil and separate 6N OFHC copper braid. The low capacitance
dielectric insulation is said to allow high velocity signal transfer for maximum
signal strength. The multi-stranded 6N OFHC copper conductors offer true 75 ohm
impedance to minimize signal reflections.
The results we experienced with this S-Video cable design were excellent. Solid build quality along with exceptional video performance made this cable highly desirable in our system. We tested the signal integrity over the long 4 meter (over 13 feet) distance and with our Sencore VSA794 Video Signal Analyzer to observe any changes in the chroma and luminance signals. We measured very little loss in the luminance and virtually no change in the phase of the chroma signal. This result was a near perfect signal transfer with superb picture fidelity and color accuracy. The ULVS cable is also available with a CL3 jacket for in-wall use at no additional cost and comes in lengths of up to 30 meters (98.40 feet).
Component
Video Cables (CVP-3M)
The VIDEOPHILE
PRO® Component Video Cables were connected to our new JVC HM-DH30000U High
Definition D-VHD D-Theater VCR and Pioneer Elite PRO-610HD HDTV. The video resolution
of this high definition D-VHS machine is truly amazing and the UltraLink video
cables delivered high-bandwidth performance producing a reference quality image.
We sampled HDNet's Bikini Destinations on Location in Lake Powell to see
the accuracy of flesh tones and there's plenty of flesh to see in this video.
The performance of this setup impressed all of those who had the opportunitty
to see it. Next, we played a review sample of U-571 and Fight Club.
Deep blacks, with high resolution and excellent color fidelity were maintained
with these cables.
All
of the cables we received from UltraLink had excellent build quality. We found
that the backshells could even be removed to see just how well these cables are
put together. Few competitors offer this level of quality and performance for
the dollar. I was thoroughly impressed with the design, quality and performance
and would highly recommend them to anyone in need of A/V cables for their audio
or home theater system. We'll be reviewing two of their 15-pin VGA-style high
definition video cables in an upcoming review, so stay tuned.
-
Kevin Nakano