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AudioQuest's Sydney cables feature Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+) conductors and an insulation system built around Polyethylene Air-Tubes for a marked sonic upgrade over standard iPod cables, improved dynamic response, and a truly uplifting listening experience. While theoreticians debate whether the true nature of the universe is analog or digital, one constant in our audiophile galaxy is that the music, dialogue, and sound effects which reach our ears is analog. In order to preserve this precious cargo, AudioQuest has designed a range of analog interconnects optimized for the single-ended world. Sydney takes advantage of years of carefully balancing design and material selection in order to bring you a series of interconnects which, as much as possible, "Do No Harm" to the original audio signal.

Solid Core Conductors
Sydney, like virtually all of AQ’s cables, uses solid-core conductors for the analog pathway. Solid-core conductors are more efficient at transmitting small signals than stranded cables and are also vastly lower in distortion, a difference that is clearly audible from the first instant; the system sounds like someone turned up the volume! This efficiency also translates to more music coming through, plug in a Sydney and hear things in your music you’ve never heard before, literally!

Perfect Surface Copper + (PSC+)
Sydney receives AQ’s best copper, PSC+. A higher grade of copper than PSC, PSC+ receives the same proprietary Perfect Surface polishing process which, as the name implies, smoothes the surface of the conductors. Since treble and midrange frequencies travel very close to the surface in a solid-core conductor, eliminating even microscopic roughness on the surface of the conductor greatly reduces distortion. Sonically, PSC+ is vastly more resolving than PSC, like lifting a sheet off of the speakers, offering greater resolution, greater presence, far more extension top to bottom and far better grip in the lower octaves. For those who value a high level of resolution in their system, PSC+ is the ideal conductor.

Carbon-Based 3-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. Metal and Carbon-Loaded synthetics prevent most RFI from reaching the equipment’s ground plane.

Polyethylene Air-Tube Insulation
Any solid material adjacent to a conductor is actually part of an imperfect circuit. Wire insulation and circuit board materials all absorb energy (loss). Some of this energy is stored and then released as distortion. All of Victoria’s conductors use PE Air-Tube Insulation because air absorbs next to no energy, and Polyethylene is low-loss and has a benign distortion profile. PE Air-Tube Insulation causes much less of the out-of-focus effect common to other materials.

Direct-Silver 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 ground shells are stamped instead of machined, the metal can be chosen for low distortion instead of machinability. Purple-Copper offers a cleaner, clearer sound over nickel-plated or OFHC metals commonly found in competing manufacturers' plugs. Direct-Silver Plating offers one more important step toward greater clarity and doing no harm to the signal.