AudioQuest Cinnamon USB

USB cable for digital audio with 1.25% silver plating

Cinnamon USB raises the silver layer on its conductors to 1.25%, thicker than on the models below it. It is a cable for the link between digital source and converter, offered in five terminations that cover computers, streamers, USB-C laptops and compact devices.

It carries digital audio and computer data, and its signal conductors are oriented for the direction in which digital audio flows.

Conductors

At digital signal frequencies the current gathers on the skin of the conductor, so a more substantial silver layer over the Long-Grain Copper (LGC) improves noise dissipation right at the point that matters. Solid conductors remove magnetic and electrical interaction among strands, lowering distortion and jitter; in the USB-A > USB-C termination the conductors are Semi-Solid Concentric, a solution pursuing the same goal.

Shielding and insulation

Covering the cable 100% with a shield is not enough, since the captured noise would end up on the equipment ground. Metal-Layer Noise-Dissipation absorbs and reflects it to a large extent ahead of the layer tied to ground. The Hard-Cell Foam insulation, injected with nitrogen, limits the energy stored and later given back as distortion, and thanks to its stiffness preserves a stable impedance over the full length. Direction-Controlled conductors let induced noise flow away from sensitive circuits.

Terminations and lengths

USB-A > USB-B joins a computer or streamer to a tabletop DAC; USB-C > USB-B is the alternative for sources with a USB-C port. USB-A > USB-C and USB-C > USB-C are intended for converters and devices with a USB-C input, USB-A > Micro-B 2.0 for those with a Micro-B socket. Lengths offered for each version: 0.75 m, 1.5 m, 3 m and 5 m.

Key features

• Long-Grain Copper (LGC) with 1.25% silver plating
• Metal-Layer Noise-Dissipation against radio interference
• Nitrogen-injected Hard-Cell Foam insulation
• Direction-Controlled conductors
• Terminations: USB-A > USB-B, USB-A > USB-C, USB-A > Micro-B 2.0, USB-C > USB-B, USB-C > USB-C