With the addition of AudioQuest’s patented Dielectric-BiasSystem, Cougar brings a level of low-level clarity and resolution rarely seenat this price. Perfect-Surface Copper+ is the icing on the cake, raisingCougar’s performance significantly above Wildcat’s. SOLID PERFECT-SURFACE COPPER+ CONDUCTORS (PSC+):Perfect-Surface Copper+ has an astonishingly smooth and pure surface. Proprietary metal-processing technology protects the wire’s surface at everystage of drawing and fabrication. When high-purity low-oxide copper is kept assoft, pure and smooth as possible, it becomes a wonderfully low-distortion PSC+conductor. PSC+ is manufactured by applying the same exceptional technology toan ultra-pure copper. The resulting sound quality is even more focused andsimply less in the way. For over 30 years AudioQuest has pioneered the use ofsuperior metals; yet even we were surprised by the huge leap in performancemade possible with Perfect-Surface Technology. PSC+ simply outperforms allpreviously available copper metals at any price. All of Cougar’s conductors aresolid. Electrical and magnetic interaction between strands in a conventionalcable is the greatest source of distortion, often causing a somewhat dirty, harsh sound. Solid conductors are fundamental toward achieving Cougar’s veryclean sound. FOAMED-POLYETHYLENE INSULATION: Any solid material adjacentto a conductor is actually part of an imperfect circuit. Wire insulation andcircuit board materials all absorb energy (loss). Some of this energy is storedand then released as distortion. Cougar uses air-filled Foamed-PolyethyleneInsulation because air absorbs next to no energy and Polyethylene is low-lossand has a benign distortion profile. Thanks to all the air in Foamed-PE, itcauses much less of the out-of-focus effect common to other materials. DIELECTRIC-BIAS SYSTEM (DBS, US Pat #s 7,126, 055 &7,872, 195 B1): All insulation slows down the signal on the conductor inside. When insulation is unbiased, it slows down parts of the signal differently, abig problem for very time-sensitive multi-octave audio. AudioQuest’s DBScreates a strong, stable electrostatic field which saturates and polarizes(organizes) the molecules of the insulation. This minimizes both energy storagein the insulation and the multiple nonlinear time-delays that occur. Soundappears from a surprisingly black background with unexpected detail and dynamiccontrast. The DBS battery packs will last for years. A test button and LEDallow for the occasional battery check. CARBON-BASED 2-LAYER NOISE-DISSIPATION SYSTEM (NDS): 100%shield coverage is easy. Preventing captured RF Interference from modulatingthe equipment’s ground reference requires AQ’s Noise-Dissipation System. Metaland Carbon-Loaded synthetics prevent most RFI from reaching the equipment’sground plane. TERMINATIONS: Cougar’s Cold-Welded Direct-Silver Plated RCAplugs use a proprietary design that eliminates the distortion caused by theextra contact inside most plugs. Because the ground shells are stamped insteadof machined, the metal can be chosen for low distortion instead ofmachinability. A combination of these major ingredients, and many more subtledetails add up to explain how Cougar can sound so clean, clear and dynamic. ]]>

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