Audioquest Angel Jack/Jack DBS 1m

AudioQuest Angel: Mini-Jack Cable with Silver Conductors and DBS Bias System

A 3.5 mm analog cable that combines AudioQuest’s top-tier technologies. The Angel sits at the top of the Bridges & Falls series, a range designed for connections between portable devices, DACs, headphone amplifiers, or active speakers. What sets it apart from other models in the series: solid silver conductors and the DBS dielectric bias system — two technologies usually reserved for far more expensive RCA or XLR cables.

Solid Silver Conductors: The Purest Material Choice

The Angel uses Perfect-Surface Silver (PSS) solid silver conductors, the highest-quality metal in the AudioQuest lineup. PSS ultra-high-purity silver minimizes distortion caused by grain boundaries present in any metal conductor. The Perfect-Surface technology applied to extremely pure silver delivers remarkable clarity and dynamic contrast.

The conductors are solid (non-stranded), which eliminates interaction between strands — a major source of distortion in traditional cables. This configuration transmits low-level signals more efficiently than a multi-strand cable.

FEP Air-Tube Insulation: A Minimalist Dielectric

Any solid material adjacent to a conductor is part of an imperfect circuit. Insulation and circuit materials absorb energy, then release it as distortion. To minimize this effect, AudioQuest surrounds the conductors with air-filled FEP (fluoropolymer) tubes. Air absorbs virtually no energy, and FEP is the extrudable insulator that absorbs the least.

Treatment differs by polarity: positive conductors benefit from near-air insulation to minimize interference, while negative conductors use deliberately “permeable” insulation that optimizes their return function.

72V DBS System: Permanent Dielectric Biasing

The Dielectric-Bias System (DBS) is a patented AudioQuest technology (US patents 7,126,055 and 7,872,195 B1). The DBS acts on the cable’s electrical properties while remaining completely outside the signal path.

The principle: unbiased insulation slows certain parts of the signal differently — a major problem for multi-octave audio that is highly time-sensitive. AudioQuest’s DBS creates a strong, stable electrostatic field that saturates and polarizes the insulation molecules. This minimizes energy storage in the insulation and the resulting non-linear time delays.

The DBS housing incorporates an RF trap (developed for AudioQuest’s Niagara series) that prevents radio-frequency noise from being induced into the signal conductors. The batteries will last 3 to 5 years — roughly as long as they would sitting on a shelf — since they create an electrical potential with no current flow. A test button and LED allow their status to be checked.

NDS Shielding and Noise Dissipation

100% shield coverage is easy to achieve. The real challenge is preventing captured RF interference from modulating the equipment’s ground reference. AudioQuest addresses this with its NDS (Noise-Dissipation System), a three-layer structure alternating metal and carbon-loaded synthetic materials.

This structure absorbs and reflects the majority of RF energy before it reaches the grounded layer. The shielding protects the signal from the ever-present high-frequency interference (phones, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth).

Asymmetrical Double-Balanced Geometry

Conventional single-conductor cables use a single path for both ground and shielding. The Angel’s asymmetrical double-balanced geometry separates these two functions. This geometry, designed specifically for asymmetrical (single-ended) applications, offers a relatively lower impedance on the ground path.

Bridges & Falls Format: Compact and Versatile

All Bridges & Falls series cables place their left and right channels within a single jacket and use the asymmetrical double-balanced geometry with separate high-quality positive and negative conductors. This design results in a thin, flexible, and versatile cable.

The 60 cm length suits compact setups: connecting a portable player to a headphone amplifier, linking a smartphone to a portable DAC, or hooking up a source to nearby powered speakers. The connectors are, however, closely spaced by design: if the L and R inputs on your components are more than 7.6 cm apart, you should consider models from the Rivers or Elements series.

Silver-Plated Red Copper Connectors

The 3.5 mm plugs use pure red copper directly plated with silver, with no nickel undercoating (which would introduce distortion). This design enables a solder-free connection, which is a common source of distortion. The cold-weld process avoids any sonic degradation associated with heat application.

Technical Specifications

Conductors

• Solid Perfect Surface Silver (PSS) conductors
  • Limitation of electrical and magnetic interactions
  • Reduction of distortion and linear RF noise dissipation

Insulation

• FEP Air Tube insulation
  • Positive conductors air-insulated to reduce interference
  • Negative conductors with intentionally lossy insulation for a complementary role
  • Preservation of signal dynamics and clarity

Shielding and Noise Dissipation

• 3-layer Carbon Noise Dissipation with NDS system
  • Alternating layers of metal and carbon-loaded synthetics
  • Absorption of the majority of RF noise before ground
  • Protection of shielding against high-frequency interference

Dielectric Polarization

• 72 V Dielectric Bias System (DBS)
  • Maintenance of dielectric stability to prevent phase shift
  • Integrated RF trap to prevent noise from entering the signal
  • US Patents No. 7,126,055 and 7,872,195 B1

Geometry

• Asymmetrical Double Balanced geometry
  • Separation of shielding and ground for cleaner, quieter performance
  • Optimized impedance for richer, more dynamic sound reproduction

Terminations

• Pure red copper connectors with silver plating
  • Cold solder

Audio Performance

• Lossless high-fidelity audio transmission
• Reduction of noise and interference
• Clearer, more natural and dynamic sound reproduction

Usage

• Plug one end of the cable into the audio output of the source device
• Connect the other end to the audio input of the playback device