Audioquest HDMI Forest 48Gbps 3m

At a time when the HDMI 2.1 standard is becoming the norm in home cinema and gaming setups, AudioQuest is offering the Forest 48, an Ultra High Speed certified cable that incorporates the brand’s proprietary noise-dissipation technologies. This model occupies the second rung of the American manufacturer’s 48 Gbps range, just above the Pearl 48, and marks the entry point into silver-plated conductor cables.

Solid silver-plated conductors

The Forest 48 uses solid conductors made of LGC (Long-Grain Copper) coated with a layer of silver that accounts for 0.5% of the total thickness. This plating technique is no trivial detail: in a high-frequency digital cable, the signal travels mainly along the surface of the conductor, a phenomenon known as the skin effect. Placing silver, which conducts better than copper, on this surface optimizes transmission without requiring a cable made entirely of solid silver.

The choice of solid conductors instead of stranded ones eliminates the electrical and magnetic interactions between the different strands that would otherwise make up the conductor. AudioQuest applies the same treatment to the conductors dedicated to eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel), which is not always the case with other manufacturers, who sometimes reserve their best materials for the main audio/video pairs only.

Level 1 noise dissipation

AudioQuest structures its noise-dissipation technology in several levels. The Forest 48 benefits from level 1, which is based on directional control of the cable’s 19 conductors. The principle starts from an observation: traditional shielding, even when rated at 100%, struggles to protect against radio-frequency interference generated by Wi‑Fi networks, Bluetooth, and mobile phones.

The granular structure of drawn metal presents an asymmetry that creates a preferred direction for draining noise. By controlling this orientation across all A/V pairs, eARC pairs, control and power conductors, AudioQuest directs captured interference towards the least sensitive circuits. Arrows on the connectors indicate the installation direction, from source to screen or amplifier.

Bandwidth ready for 8K

Ultra High Speed certification guarantees a bandwidth of 48 Gbps, made possible by four balanced audio/video pairs, each capable of carrying 12 Gbps. This capacity allows the transmission of 4K streams at 120 frames per second, 8K at 60 frames per second, and even 10K at 30 frames per second over the shortest lengths.

The Forest 48 supports dynamic HDR in its various forms (HDR10+, Dolby Vision) and eARC, which can return uncompressed audio streams such as Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio, or DTS:X from a TV to an amplifier or soundbar. Older generations of ARC were limited to compressed 5.1-channel audio; eARC removes this limitation.

A cable suited to recent consoles

All the gaming features of the HDMI 2.1 standard are supported: VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) to synchronize the screen’s refresh rate with the source, ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) to automatically activate the TV’s game mode, and QFT (Quick Frame Transport) to reduce latency in fast-paced action scenes. These features fully tap the potential of the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and recent graphics cards.

Construction and installation

The black PVC jacket with green stripes gives the cable greater stiffness than typical consumer cables, which can make routing through tight spaces more challenging but ensures good impedance stability over the entire length. The type A connectors are carefully assembled and feature the directional arrows characteristic of AudioQuest cables.

For an ARC connection between a TV and a soundbar, the cable must point towards the TV on both ends: the ARC conductors are wired internally to operate in the opposite direction to the main A/V pairs. This particularity is documented by AudioQuest but is worth keeping in mind during installation.

Technical Specifications

Connectivity and performance

• Cable type: Ultra High Speed HDMI 2.1
• Bandwidth: 48 Gbps
• Supported resolutions:
  • 4K at 120 Hz
  • 8K at 60 Hz
  • 10K at 30 Hz
• Video formats: dynamic High Dynamic Range (HDR)
• Audio return channel: eARC (enhanced Audio Return Channel)
• Certification: Ultra High Speed HDMI 2.1 48 Gbps

Conductor technology

• Audio/video conductors: 0.5% silver-plated long-grain copper, solid conductors
• eARC conductors: 0.5% silver-plated long-grain copper
• Ground reference: tinned copper
• Total number of conductors: 19, all direction-controlled
• Advantages of solid conductors:
  • Elimination of electrical and magnetic strand-to-strand interaction
  • Reduced distortion
  • Improved signal accuracy
  • Optimal transmission for high-quality picture and sound

Noise management

• Dissipation level: AudioQuest Level 1 Noise-Dissipation
• Technology:
  • Directional control of all 19 conductors
  • Effective reduction of radio-frequency interference (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular networks)
  • Designed to dissipate noise rather than simply block it
• Benefits:
  • More precise and detailed image
  • Cleaner, more natural sound
  • Exceptional stability in heavily noise-polluted digital environments

Gaming features and HDMI 2.1

• Compatibility: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, high-performance gaming PCs
• Supported features:
  • 4K120 (4K at 120 Hz)
  • VRR (Variable Refresh Rate)
  • ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode)
  • QFT (Quick Frame Transport)
• Use: perfectly suited to next-generation consoles and high-performance gaming

Build and standards

• Jacket: CMG (CL3 / FT4) for all lengths
• Design: robust, reliable, and engineered for intensive daily use
• Durability: AudioQuest construction ensuring reliability and long service life