Carbon Coax: digital coaxial cable with 5% silver plating and a five-layer shield
AudioQuest Carbon Coax links the coaxial digital output of a source to the input of a converter, an amplifier or a processor. Compared with the entry models of the range it raises the amount of silver on the conductor and adopts a carbon-based multilayer shield, two measures aimed at the same goal: keeping high-frequency noise away from the signal and from the ground of the components.
Solid conductors with 5% silver
The conductor is a solid wire of Long-Grain Copper (LGC) carrying a 5% silver plating. A single wire does not suffer from interaction between strands, which in stranded cables is one of the main causes of dynamic distortion. Because digital signals travel almost entirely on the outer skin of the metal, a thicker layer of silver at the surface improves conduction exactly where it matters and helps dissipate noise.
Five-layer Noise-Dissipation
A conventional shield intercepts radio-frequency interference and channels it into the component's ground, contaminating the reference plane on which signal accuracy depends. The Noise-Dissipation System (NDS) in Carbon Coax alternates metal layers with carbon-loaded synthetic materials, five levels in total: most of the RF energy is absorbed and reflected before it can get to the layer connected to ground. In practice, the shield itself is shielded.
Insulation, terminations and lengths
The insulation is Hard-Cell Foam, a rigid foam with nitrogen pockets. The gas neither absorbs energy nor passes it back to the conductor, so dielectric-related distortion drops; its stiffness keeps the spacing between conductors unchanged over the full run and makes the impedance stable. The terminations are cold-welded and made of pure Purple Copper with Hanging-Silver plating applied straight onto the copper. Carbon Coax is sold as a single cable in 0.75 m, 1 m, 1.5 m, 2 m, 3 m and 5 m lengths.
Key features
- Solid LGC copper conductors with 5% silver plating
- Carbon-based, five-layer Noise-Dissipation System
- Nitrogen-injected Hard-Cell Foam insulation
- Cold-welded terminations, Hanging-Silver on pure Purple Copper
- Lengths: 0.75 m, 1 m, 1.5 m, 2 m, 3 m, 5 m
