AudioQuest Yukon RCA Interconnect Cable (Cinch/RCA)

The AudioQuest Yukon RCA interconnect cable (Cinch/RCA) is the unbalanced flagship of the River series: solid PSC+ conductors in Triple-Balanced geometry, insulated with polyethylene air tubes. It's precisely this air insulation that sets the Yukon apart from the smaller River cables – and it's the reason it plays so relaxed and rich in colour.

Why the Yukon?

Below the Yukon, the River series works with foamed polyethylene. Here, the conductors sit in genuine air tubes, and air is hard to beat as a dielectric because it stores hardly any energy and releases it back with a delay. On top of that comes the Triple-Balanced geometry with its own return conductor – the shield never has to help out as a conductor. A carbon-based 3-layer Noise-Dissipation System keeps high-frequency junk away from the ground point of your devices.

What you get

A fully terminated stereo pair in the length of your choice, from 0.5 to 6 metres, with cold-welded connectors – nothing is soldered here. Special lengths we can clarify on request. If you're wired balanced, you'll find the Yukon also as an XLR version.

Who is the Yukon suitable for – and who isn't it for?

To be blunt: on a solid entry-level system, the Yukon is too much of a good thing. The Red River or Mackenzie get more out of every franc spent there. Its home is on resolving systems where source and amplifier are already well matched. For the run from the turntable to the phono stage, you're better off with a dedicated phono cable – that's built specifically for that job.

Our verdict

The Yukon is the mature culmination of the River idea: calm, rich in colour, effortless. Whether your system exploits that fully, or a ZERO-tech cable would be the smarter step, we'll tell you honestly. HD Zürisee in Wädenswil – 044 680 22 00, WhatsApp 076 534 22 00 (text only, no calls) or shop@hdzuerisee.ch.

Technical data

• Type: analog interconnect cable, stereo pair, unbalanced (Cinch/RCA), River series
• Conductors: solid, PSC+ (Perfect-Surface Copper+), direction-oriented
• Geometry: Triple-Balanced, own return conductor
• Dielectric: polyethylene air tubes
• Noise dissipation: carbon-based 3-layer Noise-Dissipation System
• DBS: not present
• Connectors: Cinch/RCA, cold-welded, Hanging Silver over pure copper
• Lengths: 0.5 / 0.75 / 1 / 1.5 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 m (price per pair)
• Included: 1 stereo pair of Cinch/RCA cables, terminated

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between the Yukon and the Mackenzie?
The insulation. The Mackenzie works with foamed polyethylene, the Yukon with polyethylene air tubes, i.e. genuine air tubes around the conductor. Air stores hardly any energy, so the background sounds calmer and the tonal colours richer. Solid PSC+ and the carbon-based 3-layer system are used by both. The step up is worthwhile above all on resolving systems.

Does the Yukon have a DBS?
No. AudioQuest only uses the Dielectric-Bias System in its higher series. The Yukon does without it and therefore doesn't need a battery that eventually runs flat. Its calm comes from the air tubes and the three-layer carbon construction. In everyday use, that's no drawback.

Which length should I get?
As short as possible, as long as necessary. Measure the run between source and amplifier including the cable bend behind the rack and add a bit of a margin. Ex-works lengths run from 0.5 to 6 metres, special lengths are possible on request. Tell us your setup, and we'll work it out.

Cinch or XLR?
That depends on your devices. Only if source and amplifier have genuine balanced inputs and outputs does XLR play out its advantage over longer runs. If they're RCA sockets, you're exactly right here. An adapter, by the way, doesn't turn an unbalanced connection into a balanced one.

Why buy the Yukon at HD Zürisee?
Because we tell you where your money brings the most benefit – sometimes that's a different cable than the most expensive one on the shelf. Our specialist team in Wädenswil matches length, level, and connector shape to your system and supports you through the setup. Call us: 044 680 22 00.

Goes well with

An interconnect cable connects source and amplifier. Browse the RCA cables, take a look at the XLR cables, or go on a discovery tour through the entire AudioQuest world.