AudioQuest Carbon Series
The AudioQuest Carbon AES/EBU Digital cable is a magnificent cable at a modest price considering that it is designed to match up with some pretty cool components. Like all name-brand products in this arena, it is designed to minimise distortion across an extremely wide bandwidth and is a smart way to connect your high-performance digital gear.
For many applications, the speed of digital communication is important. Most visibly, "speed" is about transferring large files as quickly as possible, or carrying enough data for HD video. For Digital Coax audio "speed" is critical not because of how-much how-fast, but because time relationships within a digital stream are critical to the reconstruction of the analog waveform that brings information, music and joy to our ears. Time-based damage (jitter) to this information within the data package makes the sound small and flat instead of 3D, harsh and foggy instead of smooth and clear.
Solid 5% Silver Conductors: Solid conductors eliminate strand-interaction distortion and reduce jitter. Solid silver-plated conductors are excellent for very high-frequency applications. These signals, being such a high frequency, travel almost exclusively on the surface of the conductor. As the surface is made of high-purity silver, the performance is very close to that of a solid silver cable, but priced much closer to solid copper cable. This is an incredibly cost effective way of manufacturing very high-quality digital coax cables.
Hard-Cell Foam Insulation: Hard-Cell Foam insulation is used exclusively in most of AudioQuest's video and digital audio cables. Similar to Foamed-PE, it is nitrogen injected to create air pockets. 'Hard' foam is used because the stiffness of the material allows the conductors in the cable to maintain the same relationship with each other along the full length of the cable, thus ensuring that the characteristic impedance of the cable is consistent.
100% Shield Coverage (FOIL + Tinned Braid): Shielding always plays an important role in any cable design, but the shield on coax interconnect plays an especially important role because it functions not only as a shield but a return path as well. Because of this, AudioQuest pays special attention to the shield's metal quality and the fabrication techniques as both will affect the sound and the picture.
Carbon Based, 5-Layer Noise-Dissipation System (NDS): 100% shield coverage is easy. Preventing captured RF Interference from modulating the equipment's ground reference requires AQ's Noise-Dissipation System. Noise-Dissipation System prevents a significant amount of RFI from reaching the equipment's ground plane.
Cold-Welded, Hanging-Silver Directly Over Pure Purple Copper Terminations: This plug design allows for a connection devoid of solder, which is a common source of distortion. Because the ground shells are stamped instead of machined, the metal can be chosen for low distortion instead of machinability.
About AES/EBU
These cables are designed to minimise distortion across an extremely wide bandwidth and is a smart way to connect your high-performance digital gear. AES/EBU, developed jointly by the Audio Engineering Society and the European Broadcast Union, established a two-channel digital standard for interconnecting digital devices in the professional world. But, AES/EBU also has its application in the domestic environment as well. While AES/EBU can be single-ended, balanced, or optical, here we refer to the balanced-digital interconnect.
Main Features & Specifications
- Product Description: Digital Audio Cable
- Terminations: Cold-Welded, Hanging-Silver Directly Over Pure Purple Copper
- Conductors Size/Gauge: 24 AWG
- Conductor Material: Solid 5% Silver Conductors
- Geometry: 110Ohm Triple Balanced
- Dielectric/Insulation: Nitrogen-Injected Hard-Cell Foam
- NDS: Carbon Based, 5-Layer Noise-Dissipation System
- Shield: Foil + Tinned Braid Shield
- Jacket: Dark Grey/Black Braid
- Available Lengths: 0.75, 1.5, 2.25 & 3 metres
- Manufacturer's Australian Warranty: 5 Years - Does not cover misuse or abuse
Note: Features & Specifications Subject To Change Without Notice. E&OE