Q&A from an interview with TRE’s chief designer

Feb 2, 2024 | Blog

Interviewer: Can you tell us more about your invention? 

Chief Designer: Certainly. I have developed cables with specific tonalities, designed to serve specific tonal “jobs”. While cables themselves are not a new invention, the concept of designing them with specific tonal characteristics is unique. 

Interviewer: Some argue that cables should be neutral. What are your thoughts on that? 

Chief Designer: The belief that cables should be neutral stems from the idea that they should adhere to general rules developed for long-distance radio and telephone lines in the early 20th century. However, this assumption is incomplete and does not hold true for all cases. In reality, no cable is truly neutral in tone. My cables are meticulously designed to enhance tone, unlike other cables that prioritize marketing goals over sound quality. 

Interviewer: What about impedance, resistance, and capacitance? Aren’t these important measurements for cables? 

Chief Designer: While impedance, resistance, and capacitance are important measurements, they do not directly correlate with how a cable “sounds good”. Too often, measurements are used as a benchmark for quality without considering the actual sound produced. It’s like saying a road is of the highest quality, so any destination it leads to must automatically be better. This approach seems arbitrary to me. Shouldn’t the destination be more important than the road itself? 

Chief Designer: It’s important to remember that a combination of top-notch features does not guarantee a top-notch result. Just like in Indy and F1 racing, where all cars have top-notch engineering, some win and others don’t. The same principle applies to cables. My cables are designed to directly create better sound, not just possess features that supposedly lead to better results. Others may focus on 20th-century features based on price points, but my philosophy aligns with that of Leo Fender – 95% of the cost is dedicated to performance, while only 5% is for aesthetics. 

Chief Designer: The 21st century Third Rail Electric cables I have designed aim to deliver superior harmonic complexity and musically solid realism. This is their sole intended feature, surpassing any other cable on the market.”