AudioQuest Yukon Interconnect Cable - RCA to RCA

Yukon Is the Top of AudioQuest's Rivers Series

AudioQuest's Yukon is the most refined cable in the Rivers series. It is a two-cable design, one lead per channel. It takes the Mackenzie recipe one step further: the copper moves out of foam and into tubes of air.

Other length & termination options are available. Call us to discuss your needs.

Solid Perfect-Surface Copper+, Direction-Controlled

The wires are solid Perfect-Surface Copper+, AudioQuest's highest grade of copper, which it calls PSC+. The wire is drawn with an ultra-smooth surface, and AudioQuest says this cuts the distortion caused by grain boundaries. Solid wire also removes strand interaction.

The wire is also direction-controlled. AudioQuest says drawn wire has a grain with a direction. It listens to every batch, picks the direction, and marks the jacket with arrows. Point the arrows at the amplifier and noise drains where AudioQuest intends.

Polyethylene Air-Tubes and a Separate Ground Conductor

Each wire runs inside a Polyethylene Air-Tube. The wire touches almost nothing but air. Air stores almost no signal energy, and AudioQuest says this leaves far less of the out-of-focus effect that solid insulation causes.

Each cable carries one signal conductor and a separate ground-reference conductor. The ground has its own wire, so the shield never has to double as a signal path.

The Hanging-Silver Purple Copper Plug, Explained

Yukon ends in a Hanging-Silver plug. The body is pure Purple Copper. The parts hang in the plating bath instead of tumbling, which AudioQuest says gives a more even coat of silver. The plug is cold welded to the wire. There is no solder in the path.

Around the cable is a three-layer shield with a carbon layer. AudioQuest calls it Carbon-Based 3-Layer Noise-Dissipation. An ordinary shield drains radio noise into the ground, and AudioQuest says that dirties the reference the signal is measured against. The carbon layers soak up the noise first.

What Reviewers Are Saying

Christiaan Punter reviewed the RCA version for HiFi-Advice on December 9, 2015 and called Yukon "very open and airy. It really digs out the smallest details, without ever sounding harsh."

He summed it up as a "very natural sounding cable" with "a very open, airy, and refined sound." The upper bass, he noted, could carry more substance.

Who Is This Interconnect Best For?

• You listen for the smallest details — HiFi-Advice heard Yukon dig them out without harshness, so nothing is buried
• Your left and right jacks sit far apart — Yukon is two separate cables, so mono amplifiers and wide racks are no problem
• Your sources sit near power supplies — the carbon shield and a separate ground wire drain noise, so the shelf stays quiet
• You want silver at the contact — the plugs are Hanging-Silver over pure Purple Copper, so the last inch is silver
• Your components both offer XLR — Yukon is single-ended RCA. If both components have balanced jacks, choose the AudioQuest Yukon XLR instead. Or call us

How Does It Connect to Your System?

Run Yukon from a line-level output, a DAC, streamer, CD player or phono stage, to a line-level input on your amplifier or preamp. Point the arrows on the jacket toward the amplifier. Push each plug straight on until it seats. Pull it off by the barrel, never by the cable.

Then listen.

Measure the Path, Then Add a Little Slack

Measure the route the cable will really take between your components, around shelves and behind the rack. Then add a little slack. As audio legend George Cardas puts it, "A cable that's just long enough usually turns out to be just not long enough." Keep the left and right cables the same length. We recommend a matched pair.

RCA or XLR? Check Both Ends

If both components offer balanced XLR jacks, we recommend using XLRs. If one has only RCA jacks, use RCA, and skip the adapter. You only get the possible benefits of a balanced output with a pure XLR-to-XLR connection.

A Long Run Between Components?

If your amplifier and speakers sit far from your source, we recommend a long interconnect over a long speaker cable. A really long interconnect affects system performance less than a really long speaker cable.

When Is It Time to Upgrade?

An interconnect often stays in a system for years, so it is easy to overlook. Look again when something else changes: a new DAC, streamer or phono stage, a better amplifier, or a move to components with balanced XLR jacks.

Pairs Well With

An interconnect is one link in the chain. It usually joins these categories.

• Integrated Amplifiers — the usual input end
• Digital-to-Analog Converters — DAC output to amplifier
• Phono Preamplifiers — phono stage to line input
• Speaker Cables — the last link to the speakers

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Hanging-Silver plug?

AudioQuest's plug with silver over a body of pure Purple Copper. The parts hang in the plating bath instead of tumbling. AudioQuest says the result is a more even coat of silver.

Why a separate ground wire?

Each cable has one signal wire and a separate ground-reference wire. AudioQuest says this keeps the shield out of the signal path.

Why air tubes instead of foam?

AudioQuest says any solid next to a wire stores some signal energy and releases it late as distortion. Air stores almost none, so a tube of air keeps the signal cleaner than the foam in Mackenzie.

Which way do the arrows point?

Toward the component that receives the signal, normally the amplifier or preamp. AudioQuest sets the direction of the wire and says the arrows let noise drain the right way.

What warranty does AudioQuest give?

A limited lifetime warranty to the original owner, for cables bought from an authorized US dealer. AudioQuest will repair or replace a defective cable that has not been abused. Keep your proof of purchase.

Is there a step up?

AudioQuest Yosemite is the next rung. It is a Bridges & Falls cable with FEP air tubes, a 72-volt Dielectric-Bias System and silver plugs over Red Copper.

Need a Different Length or Connector?

The most popular configurations are shown on this page. If your system requires a different length or termination, call our audio experts. We’ll help you choose the right configuration and arrange a custom cable for your system.

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