Audioquest NRG-X3 C5 3m

AudioQuest NRG-X3 is an improved version of NRG-Z3, AudioQuest’s highly regarded and great value entry-level AC power cable.

The new NRG-X cables use Direction-Controlled Long-Grain Copper (LGC) in superbly simplified semi-solid concentric conductors packing the same 12-amp (X3,120V) rating into 7 strands instead of the previous 37 strands. Direction-control, a crucial noise-dissipation technique, ensures that induced noise is properly dissipated and drained. These many material and design advantages allow significantly better performance than stock cords.

Regardless of the quality of an AC power source, there is always distortion in the power cord, especially if it is a stranded cord. Even the most sophisticated power filters and power supplies cannot eliminate this distortion induced in the cable.

Semi-solid concentric packed conductors are used in some of AudioQuest’s AC and speaker cables as a flexible, cost-effective alternative to typical stranded conductors. Semi-solid concentric packed conductors have fewer, larger strands that do not change position down the length of the cable. While solid conductors are the ultimate solution to strand interaction distortion, semi-solid concentric packed conductors eliminate a number of distortion mechanisms found in stranded conductors.

LGC has a clearer and more consistent sound than cables using standard Oxygen-Free High-Conductivity (OFHC) copper. OFHC is a general metal industry specification regarding “loss” without any concern for distortion. LGC has fewer oxides within the conducting material, less impurities, less grain boundaries, and definitively better performance. NRG-X3 cables use LGC strands in a semi-solid concentric conductor configuration.

The relationship between conductors defines a cable’s most basic electrical parameters (capacitance and inductance). However, even when those variables are kept in a reasonable balance, the relationship between conductors can be varied in ways that greatly affect the sound. The spiral construction (such as a round spiral) allows for significantly better dynamic contrast and clarity than if the same conductors were run in parallel or as multiple twisted pairs.

The innovative plug design allows for a perfect low-distortion connection between cable and plug. The connection between the plug and conductors is made using AQ’s Cold-Weld system, which provides a superior contact that ensures that the structural integrity of the conductor is kept completely intact. The Cold-Weld system refers to a combination of high pressure at the point of contact and the use of a paste impregnated with copper or silver.

• Long Grain Copper (LGC)
• Semi-solid concentric conductors
• Connector: 2-pole wall plug to IEC C5
• Length: 3 m