Black Beauty features several AudioQuest design elements that work together to reduce distortion and efficiently dissipate radio-frequency noise. These include: Direction-Controlled Solid Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+) conductors, Carbon/Graphene Mesh-Network, 0.5% Silver-Plated RF Drain-Wires, Copper-Plated Plug Casings, and Hanging-Silver over Red-Copper plugs.

Cinnamon USB features high-purity 1.25% Silver conductors and a Metal-Layer Noise-Dissipation for the most efficient dissipation of radio-frequency noise.FeaturesLong-Grain Copper with 1.25% Silver-PlatingSemi-Solid Concentric ConductorsMetal-Layer Noise-DissipationDirection ControlledSemi-Solid Concentric 1.25% Silver ConductorsSemi-Solid Concentric Conductors greatly reduce strand-interaction distortion and reduce jitter. Solid silver-plated conductors are excellent for very high-frequency applications like USB audio and video. 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 100% silver cable but priced much closer to solid copper cable. This is an incredibly cost effective way of manufacturing very high-quality USB cables.Metal-Layer Noise-DissipationIt'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. 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. Noise-Dissipation "shields the shield" absorbing and reflecting most of this noise/RF energy before it reaches the layer attached to ground.Hard-Cell Foam InsulationHard-Cell Foam (HCF) Insulation ensures critical signal-pair geometry. 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. Hard-Cell Foam Insulation is similar to the Foamed-PE used in our more affordable Bridges & Falls cables and is nitrogen-injected to create air pockets. Because nitrogen (like air) does not absorb energy and therefore does not release any energy from o

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 an HD video. For USB audio (and for HDMI 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. AudioQuest USB Type-C cables featuring conductor materials and construction techniques that have allowed AQ’s other USB cables to achieve “Best-In-Class” recognition worldwide.With the newer USB Type-C connector quickly becoming commonplace on many devices AQ’s line of Type-C equipped USB cables will allow users to connect with Type-C enabled devices such as MacBook ChromeBook Pixel Galaxy Note 7 etc. In addition ALL of AudioQuest’s USB cables incorporate a newly developed strain-relief system to provide robust durability between the USB cable and plug.Solid 0.5% Silver ConductorsSolid conductors eliminate strand-interaction distortion and reduce jitter. Solid silver-plated conductors are excellent for very high-frequency applications like HDMI audio and video. 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 HDMI cables.DirectionalityAll drawn metal strands or conductors have a non-symmetrical and therefore directional grain structure. AudioQuest controls the resulting RF impedance variation so that noise is drained away from where it