Monsoon XTRM uses many of the same ingredients and technologies found in Monsoon—a carefully finessed combination of Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+) & Long-Grain Copper (LGC) Conductors, RF/ND-Tech, and ZERO-Tech—but surpasses its namesake model with our best AC plugs, featuring Hanging-Silver over Red and Beryllium Coppers, for lower distortion and improved dissipation of high-frequency noise. This is Monsoon taken to the XTRM.
High-Purity True-Concentric PSC+ & LGC Conductors
With only Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+) on the outside, Monsoon’s conductors are essentially all PSC+ even though the conductor core is Long-Grain Copper (LGC). Both superior metal and conductor geometry greatly reduce ear-fatiguing Transient Intermodulation (TIM) Distortion.
Uncompressed Current Transfer
While many AC power cables feature low DC resistance in order to accommodate the demand for high current, a cable’s characteristic impedance is also crucial for optimal performance. Unlike most AC cables that constrict or compress an audio-provoked transient, AudioQuest AC cables combine low DC resistance and ZERO (no) characteristic impedance in order to deliver uncompressed high-current transients on demand.
RF/ND-Tech (Patented Radio-Frequency Ground-Noise Dissipation) Minimizes Circuit Misbehavior by Cancelling Induced RF Noise
Though a cable’s ground leads are integral to a component’s signal transmission, they also act as an antenna. Thus, they are subject to induced Radio-Frequency (RF) noise. RF noise is a parasitic signal that is typically coupled directly into a system’s most sensitive audio/video circuits. AudioQuest’s RF-on-ground Noise-Dissipation (RF/ND-Tech) greatly reduces resulting distortion and signal masking, yielding unprecedented levels of Noise-Dissipation across the widest bandwidth (range) of radio frequencies possible. Our unique circuit topology uses a common-mode phase-cancelling array, providing linear noise dissipation across the entire length of the cable (US Patent # 8,988,168).
Wind XTRM Plugs: Cold-Welded Hanging-Silver over Red and Beryllium Coppers
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 will cause distortion. The correct direction is determined by listening to every batch of metal conductors used in every AudioQuest audio cable. When applicable, arrows are clearly marked on the connectors to ensure superior sound quality. For most models of AQ cable, the arrows not only indicate the direction that optimizes metal-directionality as part of Noise-Dissipation, but also indicates non-symmetrical attachment of shield and GND in order to optimize full-system performance.
