USB cables are a critical interconnection between computers, servers and DACs. We've chosen the AQ Carbon to bring the best sound and highest value to PS Audio Stellar owners.

The AudioQuest Carbon USB cable is Paul's curated pick to run between our Stellar products and your computer when you're looking for the best price/value performance level. Solid conductors eliminate strand-interaction distortion and reduce jitter. Solid silver-plated conductors are excellent for very high-frequency applications, like USB audio. These signals, being such a high frequency, travel almost exclusively on the surface of the conductor. As the surface is made of high-purity 5% silver, the performance is 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 USB cables. AQ's conductors are controlled for RF directionality. Also featured is AQ's 3-Layer Noise-Dissipation System (NDS), incorporating alternating layers of metal and carbon-loaded synthetics that "shield the shield," absorbing and reflecting most of this noise/RF energy before it reaches the layer attached to ground.

Design

In the AQ Carbon, Solid conductors eliminate strand-interaction distortion and reduce jitter. Solid silver-plated conductors are excellent for very high-frequency applications, like USB audio, while Hard-Cell Foam (HCF) Insulation ensures critical signal-pair geometry. Noise reduction is critical to a cable's performance. In Carbon, all conductors are directionally-controlled for superior noise reduction. Keeping the noise and jitter in digital audio out of the DAC and isolated from the computer is critical to audio performance.

Application

Connecting computers to DACs is one of the more tricky applications in high-end audio. Here, it all matters. Great care must be taken to ensure the perfect interface between the noisy computer environment and that of a Digital to Analog Converter. The AQ Carbon is Paul's choice for high value, high performance in connecting digital audio sources to DACs

Technology

Solid conductors eliminate strand-interaction distortion and reduce jitter. Solid silver-plated conductors are excellent for very high-frequency applications, like USB audio. 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 USB cables.

While it's easy to accomplish 100% shield coverage, it's far more difficult to prevent captured Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) from modulating the equipment's ground reference. That 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.

Features

HARD CELL FOAM INSULATION

3-LAYER NOISE DISSIPATION SYSTEM

SOLID 5% SILVER-PLATED CONDUCTORS

DIRECTIONALLY CONTROLLED CONDUCTORS