Niagara 3000 Delivers Power, Protection, Performance
Power management is a hot topic in audio. Niagara 3000 loves the attention.
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Amplifier-End Connector: Multi-Spade, Banana, U-Spade, or V-Spade
Often, the choice between terminating your speaker cables with spade lugs or banana plugs will come down to personal preference. However, the EU-compliant isolated binding posts used on some power amplifiers often makes it difficult if not impossible to tighten spade lugs with high torque or pressure. In these applications, the AudioQuest banana connector is the superior choice, and may be the only choice.
AudioQuest has conducted a fairly extensive survey of contemporary amplifier manufacturers to determine whether spades or bananas will be most appropriate for a given brand and model of amplifier. Please contact us, provide the brand and model of the amplifier, and we’ll respond with the optimal connector type.
Given the girth and weight of our Mythical Creature Series speaker cables, a spade may be better capable of fully supporting the cable. This is particularly a concern with binding posts that do not allow a banana connector to fully seat into the post. The EU-compliant posts will neither accept our V-Spade nor allow our Multi-Spade to be fully seated. For these applications (or when you’re not certain), we highly recommend the U-Spade, as it can accommodate any binding post. The V-Spade is a specialty spade connector that works well with large wingnut binding posts (such as the Mundorf ), as it allows extra clearance.
Speaker-End Connector: Spade or Banana
Here we typically recommend the U-Spade or banana connector. However, even though there is less weight and pressure on this side of the cable (particularly for BiWire sets), it is nevertheless important to note the binding post’s design. If a banana connector cannot seat all the way into the binding post, we recommend one of our spade connectors.
Key Features & Technology Explained
Specifications
Specifications
Description
Description
Solid 10% Silver Conductors
Solid conductors minimize the harmful effects of both electrical and magnetic strand-to-strand interaction. For digital cables, whose signals are of such high frequency that they travel almost exclusively on the surface of the conductor, increasingly thick layers of silver plating are applied to AudioQuest’s Long-Grain Copper (LGC) conductors to further improve Noise-Dissipation. Placing the superior metal on the outside of the conductor produces the greatest benefit on overall performance—a superbly cost-effective way to maximize a digital cable.
Carbon-Based 5-Layer Noise-Dissipation
It's easy to accomplish 100% shield coverage. Preventing captured Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) from modulating the equipment's ground reference requires AQ's Noise-Dissipation System (NDS). Traditional shield systems typically absorb and then drain noise/RF energy to component ground, modulating and distorting the critical "reference" ground plane, which in turn causes a distortion of the signal. NDS's alternating layers of metal and carbon-loaded synthetics "shield the shield," absorbing and reflecting most of this noise/RF energy before it reaches the layer attached to ground.
72v Dielectric-Bias System (DBS)
Insulation is also a dielectric that can act like a shunt-filter. Biasing minimizes dielectric-noise and linearizes the filter, significantly improving wide-bandwidth dissipation of induced RF noise.
Hard-Cell Foam Insulation
Hard-Cell Foam (HCF) Insulation ensures critical signal-pair geometry. Any solid material adjacent to a conductor is actually part of an imperfect circuit. Wire insulation and circuit board materials all absorb energy. Some of this energy is stored and then released as distortion. Hard-Cell Foam Insulation is similar to the Foamed-PE used in our more affordable Bridges & Falls cables, and is nitrogen-injected to create air pockets. Because nitrogen (like air) does not absorb energy and therefore does not release any energy from or into the conductor, distortion is reduced. In addition, the stiffness of the material allows the cable's conductors to maintain a stable relationship along the cable's full length, producing a stable impedance character and further minimizing distortion.
Cold-Welded, Hanging-Silver Directly Over Pure Red Copper
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Metal |
Solid 10% Silver
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Noise Dissipation |
Carbon-Based Mesh-Network + Directional RF Draining
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Insulation |
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Terminations |
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Signal Type |
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Shield |
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Cable Length |
0.75 m = 2 ft 6 in
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Jacket |
Brown on Black Braid
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Sold As |
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 Coffee CoaxFrom $595.00 View details |  Forest CoaxFrom $39.95 View details |  Cinnamon CoaxFrom $79.95 View details |  Carbon CoaxFrom $229.95 View details | |
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Metal |
Solid 10% Silver
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Solid 0.5% Silver
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Solid 1.25% Silver
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Solid 5% Silver
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Noise Dissipation |
Carbon-Based Mesh-Network + Directional RF Draining
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Metal Layer + Directional RF Draining
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Metal Layer + Directional RF Draining
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Carbon-Based Mesh-Network + Directional RF Draining
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Insulation |
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Terminations |
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Signal Type |
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Shield |
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Sold As |
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News & Reviews
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20 AudioQuest Products Named TAS Editors' Choice
We are delighted to announce that 20 AQ products — across a wide range of categories, all representing outstanding performance and value — have received TAS’s 2024 Editors’ Choice Award.
