AudioQuest Big Sur (Jack-Jack)

AudioQuest Big Sur

The AudioQuest Big Sur uses PSC+ copper which is even purer than the PSC copper used in the Golden Gate. In addition, the plugs use "Pure Purple Copper". This copper is, like the PSC+, even purer than OFHC copper which many other cables often use.

SOLID PERFECT-SURFACE COPPER+ (PSC+) CONDUCTORS: Perfect-Surface Copper+ has an astonishingly smooth and pure surface. Proprietary metal-processing technology protects the wire’s surface at every stage of drawing and fabrication. When high-purity, low-oxide copper is kept as soft, pure and smooth as possible, it becomes a wonderfully low-distortion PSC+ conductor. The resulting sound quality is even more focused and simply less in the way. For over 30 years AudioQuest has pioneered the use of superior metals; yet even we were surprised by the huge leap in performance made possible with Perfect-Surface Technology. PSC+ simply outperforms all previously available copper metals at any price. All of Big Sur’s conductors are solid. Electrical and magnetic interaction between strands in a conventional cable is the greatest source of distortion, often causing a somewhat dirty, harsh sound. Solid conductors are fundamental to the Big Sur's very clean sound.

FOAMED-POLYETHYLENE INSULATION: Any solid material adjacent to a conductor is actually part of an imperfect circuit. Wire insulation and printed circuit board materials absorb energy (loss). Some of this energy is stored and then later released as distortion. Big Sur uses air-filled Foamed-Polyethylene Insulation on both of its conductors because air absorbs next to no energy, and Polyethylene is low-loss and has a favorable distortion profile. Because of the air in Foamed-PE, it causes much less of the out-of-focus effect than other materials.

METAL-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.

DOUBLE-BALANCED ASYMMETRICAL GEOMETRY: Specially designed for single-ended applications, it provides a relatively lower impedance to the ground for a richer, more dynamic experience. While most single-ended cable designs use the same conductor for both the ground and shield, Double-Balanced design separates them for cleaner, quieter performance.

COLD-WELDED GOLD-PLATED PURE 'PURPLE-COPPER' RCA PLUGS: This plug design allows for a connection devoid of solder, which is a common source of distortion. Because the plugs are stamped instead of machined, the metal can be chosen for low distortion instead of machinability. Purple-Copper offers a cleaner, clearer sound than the nickel-plated or OFHC metals commonly used in competing manufacturers' plugs.