AudioQuest Yosemite Interconnects (Pair)
 
AudioQuest's Yosemite interconnects feature Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+) conductors, an insulation system designed with FEP Air-Tubes, and AudioQuest's brilliant 72V Dielectric-Bias System (DBS) for a marked sonic upgrade over standard interconnects, 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.
 
Yosemite 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
Yosemite, 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 Yosemite and hear things in your music you’ve never heard before, literally!
 
Perfect Surface Copper + (PSC+)
Yosemite 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.
 
FEP Air-Tubes
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 later released as distortion. All of Yosemite’s conductors use Air-Tube insulation because air absorbs next to no energy, and FEP is the best extrudable solid insulation and absorbs less energy than other materials. The FEP Air-Tubes used in Yosemite have almost nothing but air around the solid PSC+ conductors.
 
Direct-Silver Plated Pure "Red-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. Red-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.
 
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.
 
Dielectric Bias System (DBS)
DBS is an AudioQuest patented system which does some pretty extraordinary things to the electrical properties of the cable yet operates completely outside the signal path. DBS simultaneously eliminates the
 
“Dielectric Effect” as well as external interference.
The Dielectric Effect, simply put, is a form of phase distortion caused by the tendency of insulation material to randomly and unpredictably absorb and then release the electrical energy passing through the conductors.
 
This causes smearing of fine detail and distortion of tonal balance. DBS eliminates this distortion by using a high voltage potential from the battery packs to electrically saturate the insulating material. The difference is shocking (pardon the pun), bass extends deeper, voices become fleshed out and every instrument achieves a truly jaw-dropping level of realism.
 
While the positive pole of the DBS pack creates the high-voltage potential inside the cable, the negative pole of the DBS pack is connected to a shield which runs the length of the cable, creating a virtual vacuum for external interference; energy that strikes this shield is instantly and completely drained into the negative portion of the battery creating ultra-black backgrounds, greatly enhancing resolution and dynamic range.
 
The best part is that because the batteries are simply creating potential not current flow, they will last 3-5 years; about as long as they would if they were sitting on a shelf.