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Locus Design Philosophy
"reprinted from Locus Design Website" |
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A few words about
our USB cables, New FireWire! and our philosophy We
have been humbled and overjoyed at the response to our
USB cables Since their introduction, our cables are
considered by many to be the "Best in Class" and are
used by many reviewers and musicians as their reference
USB cables
This overwhelming response is most
gratifying as we expended a great deal of effort
researching, prototyping and testing our USB cables
before their release almost two years ago, and it is
nice to know that many appreciate all the hard work,
effort and money that was spent to develop them Thank
you to all who have purchased our cables and are
currently enjoying them, and welcome to those of you who
are just now investigating the difference a well
designed USB cable based on solid engineering principles
can make
USB cables are tough to get right, and
the overall performance of the cable depends on much
more that using good quality parts, braiding or twisting
some wire together, covering the whole thing in some
type of sleeving/jacketing or Techflex, and getting some
fancy heat shrink made up Locus Design is recognized as
the leader in the audiophile USB cable field, we have
been producing audiophile USB cables longer than any
other cable company, and continue to try and advance the
state of the art
As an aside, costs on raw
materials are continuing to rise, however, instead of
raising the price on the below cables, we will forgo
fancy packaging that is designed to encourage "pride of
ownership" We give our customers more credit than that,
as ultimately, the sound is what matters, not how nice
the box it came in is Your cables will be simply
packaged, with an owners manual and an identifying
labelthat's it Simple packaging means less cost for
you, less trash to dispose of, and less of an
environmental impact |
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New!
Cynosure V2 USB Cable $3549 3Ft |
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| Reprinted from
Locus Design Website: |
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Comments on the
Cynosure
I have moved progressively up the Locus line, finally
culminating in my purchase of a 3 ft Cynosure cable As
much as I liked the Nucleus, and I liked it a great
deal, I still thought I should sample Lee's statement
cable and go all the way to the top
This is as close to "right there in your room"
reproduction as the USB standard will allow, and I'm
absolutely getting the last ounce of performance my gear
will permit When you get to a point where only a
$10,000 plus DAC can possibly provide additional gains,
you've climbed to the ever elusive peak of the cable
mountain I've gone from achieving nine-tenths of the
possibilities (Nucleus) to ten-tenths (Cynosure)
I grant that this cable requires a sizable financial
commitment But if you care about your computer setup
yielding the best possible results, I can confidently
state that the Locus Design Cynosure cable has gotten MY
system as close to the ideal as I can possibly expect
And, a few days later, after I wrote him to thank him
for the kind words:
You're extremely deserving of at least this much praise,
not only for the final product but for the extensive R&D
that I know goes into something like this As an
audiophile, I'm lucky to even have someone like you
aroundotherwise, I could VERY easily give excess
markup to some mass producing company where I py for
packaging and "pride of ownership" and all that crap
When I see people on AudiogoN or wherever acting like it
costs too much and they haven't even heard it, those of
us fortunate enough to be familiar with your work damned
well ought to stand up and say sootherwise, the Lee
Weilands of the world, FEW that there are, might just
abandon ship and leave us at the mercy of xxxxxxx xxxxx
So in all seriousnessthank YOU for everything you do!
BDD, Washington, DC |
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"We are proud to announce
the v2 version of the Remarkable Cynosure USB cable"
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| Over the past 4
years of building USB cables, I have learned a great
deal, and am now applying this knowledge to improve the
already stellar performance of the Nucleus and Cynosure
USB cables The v2 version of both is available now |
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| The Cynosure v2 is a
statement on ultimate USB cable design The ultimate
realization of my USB cable construction philosophy
using a core of my custom manufactured braid of my
customer ultra pure CFDCT-UP-OCC-Ag conductors This new
wire is a great step up from my previous efforts, and
allow the "should" of the original Cynosure to stay
intact, while allowing the cable to be even more quiet
than before, and reveal even more inner details As in
the previous version, I surround the core with multiple
layers (how many=proprietary) of damping and shielding
The layers consist of cotton, carbon fiber, Teflon,
Mylar, Nylon, silver plated copper braid, and many more
materials that I will not reveal All Cynosure's are
hand built, burned in, and evaluated in one of my
reference systems, by me personally |
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| Locus Design was one of
the first, if not the first, to come out with an
"audiophile" USB cable The Cynosure v2 utilizes many of
the new techniques I have learned, tested, and proven,
over the past four years about USB cable design |
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all starts with raw materials, I have a vendor partner
who I have have taught (and wasted more money than I
want to think about teaching them) to make my wire
exactly like I want it made, and exactly to my specs,
which I then treat with my CryoFreeze™ process as soon
as I receive it So, the raw materials are without
peer |
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then braid this masterpiece of a wire into a proprietary
braid so that the conductors are evenly spaced, and
arranged in the configuration I want them to be |
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Around this core, I then add many different layers of
shielding and damping Some of the materials I use are
carbon fiber, cotton, SPC braid, ERS fabric, Nylon,
Teflon, and many more This damping/shielding
arrangement ensures that the inner cores that carry the
data and VDC lines are isolated not only from each
other, but from any external influences to the cable, be
they mechanical, or electrical In addition, these
layers damp the conductors themselves, and prevent micro
vibrations inside the cable from affecting the signal
These layers are one of the reasons that the cable takes
a while to "settle" back in after it has been moved, or
unplugged |
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use two of these "assemblies" above, one carries the VDC
and ground, the other carries the data +/- signal These
two assemblies are then braided around a core of
different materials to further damp them, space them,
and isolate them from each other |
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| Over
the whole tri-braided assembly I then add more layers of
shielding and damping in order to damp the whole
internal build of the cable, and further isolate the
inner assembly from the outside world |
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Everything about the Cynosure is custom, the connectors,
the wire, the way I damp and shield it, and even how I
terminate it with the best Mundorf solder and a special
adhesive material that not only does not negatively
impact the sound, but makes the ends very strong and
durable |
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of the above took me a great deal of money, listening
time, and experimentation to find the optimum balance to
build the finest USB cable I currently know how to
build The Cynosure is incredibly labor intensive, all
of the materials are of the highest quality and very
expensive, and the development took quite a long time
So, while the cable is expensive, the price is what it
is, and if one wants the best, well |
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$3549 for 3FT
$880 per additional Please allow
10-14 days to
build the cable |
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New!
Nucleus V2 USB Cable - $1549
1-3Ft |
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| Reprinted from Locus
Design Web Site: |
"Building on the remarkable success of the
Nucleus v1 USB cable, we are proud to announce the new
Nucleus v2 USB cable"
Incorporating the knowledge we have gained over the past
4 years building the Nucleus and Cynosure USB cables,
the new Nucleus, while retaining the "soul" of the
original, is a step forward in transparency
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- In order to set a new standard of performance
and improve on the remarkable Nucleus v1 USB cable,
this design is utilizing my newest custom
manufactured CFDCT-UP-OCC-Ag wire This mono-crystal
silver wire is drawn by a manufacturer that I have
hand selected and have worked with closely with for
years to ensure the wire is drawn, tempered and
insulated exactly to my specifications In addition,
an integral part of the manufacturing process, and
exclusive to Locus Design/CryoParts, is our world
renowned CryoFreeze™ process This new wire is a
milestone
As developed and perfected in the previous versions
of the Nucleus and Cynosure USB cables, close
attention is paid to mitigating mechanical noise and
triboelectric effects The core of the Nucleus USB
is a special dual braid of ultra pure
CFDCT-UP-OCC-Ag conductors; this precise,
reproducible, and expensive computer controlled
braid is proprietary and only available from Locus
Design This remarkable geometry is designed to
mitigate degradation and interference with/to/of the
data and VDC lines of the USB signal
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- For the Nucleus USB v2, we have have improved
our proven special methods; the shielding is now
comprised of a silver plated copper weave, carbon
fiber, foil, strategic use of ERS fabric, and other
materials This shielding and damping is designed to
isolate the data and VDC lines from any external
influence, be it mechanical or electrical
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- Most USB cables are shielded (if they are not,
they SHOULD be), however it is very rare indeed to
find a USB cable that isolates the data lines from
the voltage lines We pioneered our novel approach
of isolating the +/- data lines from the +/- VDC
lines with the Axis USB cable, we now take it to
another level with the Nucleus
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Fully pre-conditioned via our custom CryoFreeze™
process, which includes deep cryogenic treatment,
and "cooking" via our custom adapters to allow use
on the latest version of the Audiodharma cable
cooker
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| $1549/1-3ft,
$480 each additional foot after three Please allow
10-14
days to build the cable |
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Axis USB Cable - $549 1-3Ft
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customer
Review:
Comments on the Axis
The Axis upgrade (from my
Polestar) promptly arrived and I’ve now spent about many
hours of time, listening back and forth The cable is
connected between a Mac Mini running the new Fidelia
player (from Audiophile Engineering) and a Wyrd-4-Sound
DAC-2 I thought that I might provide some feedback in
the context of prospective customers, who might be
contemplating an upgrade, as I did, from a Polestar
In the beginning I was using a standard, cheap usb
cable I read the reviews about the Polestar, and
decided to give it a try, despite the logical ¾ of my
brain saying this is a stupid waist of money… bits are
bits It took all of 5 seconds of listening to know that
this was the most amazing, and most difficult to
understand, audio component I had ever encountered The
increase in musical purity over a stock cord was simply
breathtaking With that victory secured, the emotional ¼
of my brain, that was responsible for that win, started
to suggest that an Axis upgrade would be a good idea
The logical ¾ of my brain objected again It held the
position that it can’t really get any better than what
the Polestar did… really After all, we are no longer
comparing to a no-name cable, but a Polestar! The
full-trade in allowance program allowed the minority to
prevail, again
So, how does it compare? The emotional ¼ brain is once
again celebrating its victory over the logical ¾! The
differences I hear are once again improved in all the
usual audiophile terms But more importantly, the music
is clearly served better by the Axis Most notably, the
music has taken very significant step toward a relaxed,
at-ease, analog-like quality The music feels
emotionally real, purer, with significantly reduced
sense of digitalness (not that it was bad before!) But
the amazing thing, and the reason this cable is staying
here, is that all the above happens while the resolution
and fine detail are increased Yes no kidding, the holy
grail of high-end audio (IMHO)… achieving
live-performance detail, without harshness and long-term
listener fatigue Live acoustical music is full of fine
details, has a sense of purity, and is never, ever
glaring Live acoustical music never makes you gringe
This ever-so-difficult, often mutually exclusive combo
is what the Axis brings to the table The Polestar is
amazing in its own right, but it doesn’t deliver this
kind of resolution and it doesn’t sound as musically
“right” as the Axis does So should you upgrade or stick
with a Polestar? I’d upgrade to the Axis again in a
heartbeat But that’s the
trouble with us (you know who you are), we are always
wondering what if… as in what if a Nucleus? Help! Make
it stop! DB, USA |
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Reprinted from Locus Design
website:
This is not a reworking of an existing cheap mass produced USB cable, the
Axis is a true audiophile grade product, constructed one at a time
In order to set a new standard of performance, this is an entirely new
design, utilizing my custom manufactured DCT-UP-OCC wire Drawn, tempered,
and insulated to my specs this wire also boasts as integral part of the
manufacturing process is our world renowned CryoFreeze™ process, an
exclusive to Locus Design/CryoParts
Close attention is paid to
mitigating mechanical noise and triboelectric effects The core of the Axis
USB is a special braid of ultra pure DCT-UP-OCC conductors and Teflon air
tubes; this precise, reproducible, and expensive computer controlled braid
is proprietary and only available from Locus Design This remarkable
geometry is designed to mitigate degradation and interference with/to/of the
data and VDC lines of the USB signal
For the Axis USB, we have have
developed a new special shielding comprised of a tinned copper weave and
strategic use of ERS fabric This shielding and damping is designed to
isolate the data and VDC lines from any external influence, be it mechanical
or electrical This shielding technique is unique to Locus Design
Most USB cables are shielded (if they are not, they SHOULD be), however it
is very rare indeed to find a USB cable that isolates the data lines from
the voltage lines We pioneered our novel approach of isolating the +/- data
lines from the +/- VDC lines with the Axis USB cable |
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Latest Review
POSITIVE FEEDBACK ONLINE - ISSUE 49
USB Mini
Survey by Victor Chavira
"This cable is virtually handmade
with select materials and individually shielded strands The
Axis opened up spaces within the recording even more The
lifelike orchestral image and depth of perception produced by
the Axis was quite very impressive I could perceive sound
reverberating into the far corners of the hall Musical details
were now laid out in clear
daylight French horns were now unquestionably muted The
complimentary musical lines played by violins and violas were
precisely rendered and engaging An assortment of rattles and
shakers are used to great effect to drive the rhythm along and
swell to a dramatic peak punctuated by sharply struck tympani
drums"
Ken Micallef 6Moons Review!
The good people at Locus Design also
supplied two different USB cables to check out: Axis and
Polestar The latter was a huge improvement over the Kimber USB
cable, offering a full rich sound and spot-on tonality All was
well Not until I dropped in the Axis did I realize that still
more information was availableThe Axis simply fleshed out the
music a bit more, adding a bit of hyper realism to the
proceedings
Ken
Micallef, 6Moons
The best recommendation I can give is that
I refuse to part with my review sample, "--
Michael Mercer, PFO,
Issue 44
The best USB cable on the planet IMO
Locus-Design knows what they are doing for sure"--
Steve N
Empirical Audio
Satfrat at AudioCircle
"In a query to What was the
best money you ever spent on audio?"
Up to this point for
me in my system, hands down the Locus Design Axis USB cable
Surprised The Axis totally redefined my computer audio system
and I do mean totally after 3 days i knew I would be paying
the $459 But I waited for 3 weeks just so I wouldn't be jumping
on 1st impressionsI do that alot I just paid the bill
yesterday after doing A/B comparisons with my K***** USB cable
this week Going back to the K***** was like taking the Gibson
headers/Magnaflow high flow catalytic converters/Borla catback
exhaust system off my Dodge Magnum and going back to stock
Laughing It won't happen on my car and it's not happening with
my audio system Thumbs up!
Jeff
Day's Positive Feedback Review!
Sonically the Axis is
in a class by itself, excelling in resolution, imaging,
soundstaging, soundspace--Jeff Day, Positive Feedback, Issue
40
Read Dave Clark of Positive Feedback's review of the
Axis USB Cable The word is getting out!
The Locus Design
Axis is something to write home about Mating it to any of the
convertors, especially the Off-Ramp, allowed them to really
strut their stuff This cable was a great equalizer and while it
is a bit over the top to use a cable that sells for several
times the price of the convertor, it is highly recommended just
the same Hey the other two are very good as well (either the
CryoParts or ***** USB cables), but they simply are not in the
same league as the Axis This cable will get you all…no
trade-offs or concessions here--Dave Clark,
Positive Feedback, Issue 39
Polestar USB Cable
NEW Jacket! $249
1-3Ft
Comments about the Polestar USB Cable!
At least with my Mac Mini and my ***** DAC, the Polestar is
an absolute requirement If I were *****, I'd figure out a
way to include a Polestar in every box Otherwise, people
have no idea of how good that DAC really is Without the
Polestar, the music looses its purity, its richness, its
magic, and things fall back to "oh, this is a just a very
good stereo system" The boundary/transition between "it's a
high-end stereo" and this is a "live musical event" is
indeed a fragile one, that is very difficult to cross
"Bit's are bits," just isn't true My brother's jaw hit the
floor and he almost passed out when I took the Polestar out
of the system The Polestar is the most amazing (and hardest
to understand) high-end discovery I've ever experienced and
I've been toying with this stuff for 3 decades D B, USA
The Polestar adds more body, PRAT, air, and broadens my
soundstage in every direction Michael, USA
The Nucleus Cables are indeed fantasticthe sound is very
rich and musical, spacious, airy, holographic, lack of
hardness and edginess, sound more organic
J L, USA
Color me skeptical - but I just put a Locus
Polestar in my rig and the difference is dramatic
This is the proverbial window wiped clean kind of change - best I can figure
is that Lee and his buddies have managed to eliminate a whole lot of trash
and grunge in the mids and upper regions The effect is much more detail,
more air and as a result a much more layered and nuanced presentation
The reason I find this so surprising is that the Polestar is attached to my
battery powered Optics fiber cable - there is obviously much more to this
design then just isolating the 5v lines coming from the USB port on the
computer
And to think I was a data is data guy
ckorody, AudiogoN
New! Michael Mercer from
http://wwwpositive-feedbackcom/Issue40/usbhtm
on the Polestar USB Cable
It was as if I had removed a thick, dark cloth from the front of
my loudspeakers --Michael Mercer, PFO, Issue 44
Jerald
O'Brien from
Tone Audio, Issue 22
on the Polestar USB Cable
I
must say that their $249 Polestar USB cable does sound more
musical than the standard $20 item I bought from R**** S****
Again, I was very biased against the outcome of this test, but
even with a few of my favorite blind test guinea pigs, the most
untrained listeners could hear a difference between the two
cables and they all described the same effect The overall
presentation gets cleaner, with slightly more air on top and
everything overall sounds less congested and “digitallike”
--Jerald O'Brien, Tone Audio, Issue 22
New! We are
honored to have received a
5th Annual Positive Feedback Online's Writers' Choice
Awards
- for 2008 for the
Polestar USB Cable
"The Polestar is a hand-built
custom USB cable that uses cryogenically treated copper wire and
lots of other clever design innovations to deliver an enticing
combination of sonic excellence and superb musicality The
Polestar is a remarkable product, and one that unfailingly
serves the music, making it a stone-cold bargain at $249 If
you're still using a generic USB cable between your computer and
DAC, just go out and buy yourself a Polestar USB cable, you'll
be doing yourself a big favor I predict the Polestar will blow
you away just as it did me Way
recommended! --Jeff Day
New!
Michael Mercer's of Positive Feedback
preliminary comments on the Polestar:
"The biggest
upgrade however came when I inserted the Polestar USB cable from
the Locus Design Group Now I know what my peers here at PFO are
talking about! I have been admittedly very skeptical on whether
or not an aftermarket cable could enhance the sound of a signal
carried over USB Well, I was dead wrong in my skepticism The
Polestar increased the speed of everything I would love to
comment on the increase in transient, blah blah blah, but the
truth is everything got faster and more articulate!"
-Michael Mercer, Positive Feedback, Issue 43
New!
Nick Whetstone, TNT Audio
"But I was in for a surprise
The sound using this USB cable was clearly better There was
just a bit more of everything Tighter bass, more detail, more
'air'"--Nick Whetstone,
TNTaudiocom, April 10th, 2009
Jeff Day's Positive Feedback Review!
http://wwwpositive-feedbackcom/Issue40/usbhtm
"Now, as I
mentioned earlier, the Locus Design Group Polestar completely
blew me away when I listened to it in my system The Polestar is
impressive in its ability to convey both the musical and sonic
content of a recording in a very balanced fashion The musical
content of recordings comes across as completely natural,
musically convincing, and eminently enjoyable even in long
listening sessions All unnatural and a musical edge, grit,
glare, and other nasties that compromise sonics and contribute
to listening fatigue were eliminated The musical content of
recordings like timbre, meter, tonality, harmony, beat, tempo,
syncopation, and melody, all became more convincingly life-like
and expressive Overall, the presentation of the music became
warmer, rounder, and more deeply colorful tonally; with a
prowess in motional elements like beat, tempo, and melodic flow
that was truly exceptional" --Jeff Day, Positive Feedback,
Issue 40
Polestar USB Cable
This is not a
reworking of an existing mass produced cable, this is an
entirely new design, utilizing my DCT-UP-OCC wire and hand
constructed by Locus Design Group
Close attention is
paid to mitigating mechanical noise and triboelectric effects A
special braid of ultra pure DCT-UP-OCC conductors and Teflon air
tubes make up the inner design of the cable Over this base a
tinned copper weave and strategic use of ERS fabric is added for
shielding and additional damping Finally, a layer of
Multifilament nylon is pulled over the complete assembly for
extra damping and aesthetic appeal
$249/1-3ft,
$30 each additional foot after three allow 3-5 days to build
the cable
Polestar is now available with the "mini B" USB end, please
request when ordering
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