AudioQuest Dragon High Current C15

• Solid Perfect-Surface Silver (PSS)/Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+) Conductors
  
• Uncompressed High-Current Transfer
  
• Ground-Noise Dissipation (US Patent No. 9,373,439)
  
• ZERO (no) Characteristic Impedance (50Hz – 1MHz)
  
• 72v DC Dielectric-Bias System (US Patent No. 7,126,055)
  
• Direction-Controlled Conductors
  

Alternating Current (AC) is anything but perfect. AC power is a compromise dating back more than a century, and it was never intended to fulfill the demands of current high-resolution audio/video components. AC noise is sourced from the utility, then it’s exacerbated by high-frequency noise picked up by your AC cable, and then it is delivered to component power supplies and circuit grounds. This creates distortion, and through the “masking effect,” it causes a loss of low-level signal. In addition, power amplifiers can require large reserves of peak current, so that their power supplies can react and then stabilize during dynamic audio passages. Most AC cables, AC power conditioners, and power regenerators, while helpful to some extent, are ultimately not up to the task.

Power amplifiers present a real challenge for any AC power source, as the current demand peaks (though short in duration) can be many times the average (RMS) current draw. Power amplifiers are distinctly different from all other components in that the current draw is not constant or static; it varies with the volume and dynamic content of the audio. Many AC cables exhibit high DC resistance to accommodate some of this demand; however, the AC cable’s characteristic impedance is equally responsible for ensuring uncompromised performance. In many premium AC cables, audio transients are curtailed or compressed as current peaks are limited by their characteristic impedance.


SOLID PERFECT-SURFACE COPPER+/PERFECT-SURFACE SILVER CONDUCTORS (PSC+/PSS)
Solid conductors prevent strand interaction, a major source of distortion. Surface quality is critical because a conductor can be considered as a rail guide for both the fields within a conductor and for the magnetic fields outside the conductor. The astonishingly smooth and pure Perfect-Surface Copper+ eliminates harshness and greatly increases clarity compared to OFHC, OCC, 8N and other premium coppers. Extremely high-purity Perfect-Surface Silver further reduces distortion caused by the grain boundaries that exist in any metal conductor.

GROUND-NOISE DISSIPATION TECHNOLOGY
AC power cable ground wires provide protection from fault currents, but they also act as antennas. Thus, they are subject to induced radio-frequency (RF) noise. This RF noise bypasses component power supplies and is typically coupled directly into a system’s most sensitive audio/video circuits. AudioQuest’s patented Ground-Noise Dissipation greatly reduces distortion and provides an unprecedented level of noise dissipation across the widest possible radio-frequency bandwidth. Our unique circuit topology employs a common-mode phase-cancellation array in conjunction with proprietary dielectric materials that provide additional linear differential filtering. (US Patent #9,373,439)

UNCOMPRESSED HIGH (VARIABLE) CURRENT TRANSFER – DRAGON
With a 20 amp RMS at 125 VAC 50/60Hz (16 amp RMS at 220-240 VA 50/60Hz) current capacity, the Dragon High (Variable) Current can handle current transients many times its continuous (average) RMS rating. This makes Dragon High (Variable) Current ideal for a wide assortment of AC power conditioners, regenerators, AC isolation transformers, and AC battery back-up devices, as well as any power amplifier, powered subwoofer, powered loudspeaker, AV receiver, or integrated amplifier.

72V Dielectric-Bias System (DBS) with Level-X RF Trap
Every insulator is also a dielectric whose electrical properties affect the integrity of the signal. When the insulation is unbiased, dielectric-induced signal distortion (absorption and non-linear release of energy back into the signal flow) causes varying amounts of time delay (phase shift) for different frequencies and energy levels — a significant problem for very time-sensitive multi-octave audio. AudioQuest’s multi-patented DBS creates a strong, stable electrostatic field that saturates and polarizes (organizes) the molecules of the insulation, minimizing the non-linear time delays and resulting in clearer sound from a “blacker” background. The Level-X RF Trap (a technology developed for AudioQuest’s Niagara series) in the DBS battery pack “pulls” RF noise out of the cable, preventing RF from being introduced into the electronics. DBS battery packs will last for approximately 10 years. Test their condition using the test button.

DIRECTIONALITY
All drawn metal strands or conductors have a non-symmetrical and, therefore, directional grain structure. AudioQuest controls the resulting RF impedance variation so that noise is drained away from where it would cause distortion. The correct direction is determined by listening to every batch of metal conductors used in every AudioQuest audio cable. Where applicable, arrows are clearly marked on the connectors to ensure superior sound quality. For most AQ cable models, the arrows not only indicate the direction that optimizes noise dissipation by taking advantage of the metal's directional RF impedance, but also indicate asymmetrical attachment of shield and ground to optimize performance.