Audioquest DC cables - why are there almost no high end DC cables?


Hi everyone,

I noticed it's very difficult to get high end dc cables.

Why is that?

Surely a lot of components use DC connections: LPS, DAC/Streamers, HDD's, Switches.

I have been reading that a good DC cable need 2 things:

1. Geometry: starquad
2. Thick awg (12?)

Now I want have a DC cable made with audioquest wiring. These tick the above two requirements.

Can I use AQ type 4, CV4 or Rocket33 to make a DC cable?

The plug I will be using is Oyaide. Oyaide has high quality DC plugs in 2.1 and 2.5.

Ideas?
128x128richardhk

Good quality DC cable should have solid-core conductors. Also, you really don’t need 12awg. Actually, you should avoid solid-core conductors that are this thick. Even though it’s DC, it still has a very high frequency draw (for high frequency audio transients). Thicker gauge conductors will not be able to provide high frequency charges as well.

Your choices of Type 4 or CV4 would be perfect for DC cable. They use a combination of 20awg and 17awg in a star quad configuration, that gives you a total 15awg cable. You don’t need more than this for DC on a preamp/source device. The CV4 is discontinued, but it uses better copper (Perfect Surface Copper, which is Audioquest’s version of OCC). The Rocket 33 might give you more total AWG, but it’s not a star quad configuration. In my opinion, you really don’t need more than 15awg for DC.

I generally use 20awg solid-core conductors for both DC and A/C cable. It is the best compromise overall. The 17awg in the CV4 would help low end.

Hi guys! Thanks for the answers here! Alistair at Audioquest replied my email and he highly recommended me to NOT use the type4 or cv4 cable as a dc power cable.

He said that: "It’s not recommend to use these speaker cables as power cables due to the conductive insulation used on the negative conductors."

So now I am thinking of using the NRG 1.5 aq cable with the Oyaide plug. Will it work? What do you guys think?

It is copper and starquad.

2 x 16awg

http://www.audioquest.com/power-cables/nrg-1-5

Or do you still think that I should go ahead with type 4?

However, nrg1.5 seems safer?