Audioquest Angel Jack/Jack DBS 5m

AudioQuest Angel: mini-jack cable with silver conductors and DBS biasing

A 3.5 mm analog cable that combines AudioQuest’s high-end 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 the other models in the series: solid silver conductors and the DBS dielectric-bias system, two technologies usually reserved for much more expensive RCA or XLR cables.

Solid silver conductors: the choice of the purest material

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

The conductors are solid (not stranded), which eliminates strand interaction, a major source of distortion in traditional cables. This configuration allows small signals to be transmitted more efficiently than with 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-board materials absorb energy, then release it as distortion. To limit this phenomenon, AudioQuest surrounds the conductors with air-filled FEP (fluoropolymer) tubes. Air absorbs virtually no energy, and FEP is the extrudable insulation that absorbs the least.

The treatment differs according to polarity: the positive conductors benefit from near-air insulation to minimize interference, while the negative conductors use deliberately “lossy” insulation that optimizes their return function.

DBS 72V system: permanent dielectric biasing

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

The principle: unpolarized 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 molecules of the insulation. This minimizes energy storage in the insulation and the resulting nonlinear time delays.

The DBS pack includes 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, about as long as if they had remained on a shelf, since they create an electrical potential without current flow. A test button and LED make it possible to check their status.

NDS shielding and noise dissipation

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

This structure absorbs and reflects most RF energy before it reaches the layer connected to ground. The shielding protects the signal from ubiquitous high-frequency interference (phones, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth).

Asymmetrical double-balanced geometry

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

Bridges & Falls format: compact and versatile

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

The 60 cm format suits compact setups: a connection between a portable player and a headphone amplifier, a smartphone connected to a portable DAC, or a source connected to nearby powered speakers. However, the connectors are close together by design: if the L and R inputs of your components are spaced 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 covered with silver by direct plating, without a nickel underlayer (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 related to heat input.

Technical Specifications

Conductors

• Solid Perfect-Surface Silver (PSS) conductors
  • Limited electrical and magnetic interactions
  • Reduced distortion and linear dissipation of RF noise

Insulation

• FEP air-tube insulation
  • Air-insulated positive conductors 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-based noise dissipation with NDS system
  • Alternating layers of metal and carbon-loaded synthetics
  • Absorption of most RF noise before it reaches ground
  • Protection of the shield against high-frequency interference

Dielectric biasing

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

Geometry

• Asymmetrical double-balanced geometry
  • Separation of shield and ground for cleaner, quieter performance
  • Optimized impedance for richer, more dynamic sound reproduction

Terminations

• Silver-plated pure red copper connectors
  • Cold-welded

Audio performance

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

Use

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