POLYETHYLENE AIR-TUBE INSULATION

Any solid material adjacent to a conductor is actually part of an imperfect circuit. Wire insulation and circuit board materials all absorb energy. Some of this energy is stored and then released as distortion. AudioQuest, however, uses Polyethylene Air-Tube Insulation on both conductors, for increased geometry stabilization and improved clarity. Because air absorbs next to no energy and Polyethylene is low-loss and has a benign distortion profile, Polyethylene Air-Tube Insulation, with its high air content, causes much less of the out-of-focus effect common to other materials.

DOUBLE-BALANCED GEOMETRY

Specifically designed for single-ended applications, Double-Balanced Geometry offers a relatively lower impedance on the ground for a richer and more dynamic experience. While many single-ended cable designs use a single path for both the ground and the shield, Double-Balanced designs separate the two for cleaner, quieter performance.

COLD-WELDED, GOLD-PLATED TERMINATIONS

This plug design allows for a connection devoid of solder, which is a common source of distortion. Instead of solder, the process employs a high-pressure technique. Because the ground shells are stamped instead of machined, the metal used can be chosen for low distortion instead of machinability.

CARBON-BASED 3-LAYER NOISE-DISSIPATION SYSTEM (NDS)

It’s easy to accomplish 100% shield coverage. Preventing captured Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) from modulating the equipment’s ground reference requires AQ’s Noise-Dissipation System (NDS). Traditional shield systems typically absorb and then drain noise/RF energy to component ground, modulating and distorting the critical “reference” ground plane, which in turn causes a distortion of the signal. NDS’s alternating layers of metal and carbon-loaded synthetics “shield the shield,” absorbing and reflecting most of this noise/RF energy before it reaches the layer attached to ground.