AudioQuest Black Lab

AudioQuest Black Lab

MASSIVE LONG-GRAIN COPPER (LGC) GUIDERS: Solid conductors prevent mutual interference between wires in twisted pair cables. The solid Long-Grain Copper in the Black Lab provides a smoother and brighter sound than is possible with cables using ordinary OFHC (Oxygen-Free High-Conductivity) copper. OFHC is a generic specification in the metal industry that looks only at "loss" without regard to distortion. LGC has fewer oxides in the conductive material, fewer impurities, fewer boundary areas between copper atoms, and certainly offers better audio performance.

CLOSED-POLYETHYLENE ISOLATION: Any solid material adjacent to a conductor is basically part of a non-perfect circuit. The insulation of cables and the materials from which circuit boards are made absorb energy (loss). Some of this energy is stored and then released as distortion. Black Lab uses air-foamed polyethylene for the insulation of both conductors because air absorbs almost no energy and polyethylene gives little loss and has a harmless deformation profile. Thanks to the air in foamed-PE, it causes far fewer out-of-focus effects than other materials.

METAL-LOW NOISE-DISSIPATION SYSTEM (NDS): 100% shielding is easy. Preventing captured RF interference from modulating equipment ground potential requires AQ's Noise-Dissipation System. Noise-Dissipation System prevents much of the captured RFI from reaching the equipment ground potential.

SYMMETRIC COAX GEOMETRY: Identical conductors for + and - avoid having to use the shield as an inferior audio conductor.

COLD WELDED RCA PLUGS: This plug design allows for a connection without solder, a common source of distortion. Because the plugs are not machined but pressed, a metal with low distortion can be chosen without having to consider machinability.