audioquest Angel Audio cable

Angel
Venezuela's Angel Falls is the world's highest waterfall, with a height of 979 meters (3,212 ft) and a plunge of 807 meters (2,648 ft). The Spanish name "Salto Ángel," and the English name "Angel Falls," come from Jimmie Angel's surname. Angel was a US aviator who was the first to fly over the falls. In addition to its singular status as a waterfall, and the above-and-beyond status of angels, pure-silver Angel cable gets its name in part because Ag is the chemical name for silver.

SOLID 100% PERFECT-SURFACE SILVER CONDUCTORS (PSS): Perfect-Surface Technology applied to extreme-purity silver provides unprecedented clarity and dynamic contrast. Solid conductors prevent strand interaction, a major source of cable distortion. Extremely high-purity Perfect-Surface Silver minimizes distortion caused by the grain boundaries which exist within any metal conductor, nearly eliminating harshness and greatly increasing clarity compared to OFHC, OCC, 8N and other coppers.

FEP AIR-TUBE INSULATION (FEP is a Fluoro-Polymer): Any solid material adjacent to a conductor is actually part of an imperfect circuit. Wire insulation and circuit board materials all absorb energy (loss). Some of this energy is stored and then later released as distortion. All of Angel’s conductors use Air-Tube insulation because air absorbs next to no energy, and FEP is the best extrudable solid insulation and absorbs less energy than other materials. The FEP Air-Tubes used in Angel have almost nothing but air around the solid PSS conductors.

DIELECTRIC-BIAS SYSTEM (DBS, US Pat #s 7,126,055 & 7,872,195 B1): All insulation slows down the signal on the conductor inside. When insulation is unbiased, it slows down parts of the signal differently, a big problem for very time-sensitive multi-octave audio. AudioQuest’s DBS creates a strong, stable electrostatic field which saturates and polarizes (organizes) the molecules of the insulation. This minimizes both energy storage in the insulation and the multiple nonlinear time-delays that occur. Sound appears from a surprisingly black background with unexpected detail and dynamic contrast. The DBS battery packs will last for years. A test button and LED allow for the occasional battery check.

CARBON-BASED 3-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. Metal and Carbon-Loaded synthetics prevent most RFI from reaching the equipment’s ground plane.

DOUBLE-BALANCED ASYMMETRICAL GEOMETRY: Purpose designed for single-ended applications, Double-Balanced Asymmetrical 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 DIRECT-SILVER PLATED PURE "RED-COPPER" RCA PLUGS: 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. Red-Copper offers a cleaner, clearer sound over nickel-plated or OFHC metals commonly found in competing manufacturers' plugs. Direct-Silver Plating offers one more important step toward greater clarity and doing no harm to the signal.