AudioQuest Black Beauty Interconnect Cable - 3.0 Meter - RCA to RCA - Pair

Black Beauty Brings AudioQuest's ZERO-Tech Below a Thousand Dollars

AudioQuest's Black Beauty opens the Mythical Creatures range, the family that runs up to Dragon. It is a two-cable design with one lead per channel. ZERO-Tech, a carbon and graphene mesh, and Hanging-Silver plugs over Red Copper all arrive here.

Other length & termination options are available. Call us to discuss your needs.

Solid Perfect-Surface Copper+, Direction-Controlled

The wires are solid Perfect-Surface Copper+, AudioQuest's highest grade of copper. AudioQuest says the ultra-smooth surface cuts distortion from grain boundaries. Solid wire removes strand interaction. Each wire sits in Foamed-Polyethylene, which is mostly air.

The wire is also direction-controlled. AudioQuest says drawn wire has a grain with a direction. It listens to every batch, picks the direction, and marks the jacket with arrows. Point the arrows at the amplifier and noise drains where AudioQuest intends.

ZERO-Tech and Level 6 Noise-Dissipation

ZERO-Tech is AudioQuest's name for a cable with no characteristic impedance. AudioQuest says it removes the electric field between the two signal wires. So there is nothing to mismatch with the gear at either end. Radio noise drains evenly from octave to octave.

AudioQuest calls the shield Level 6 Noise-Dissipation. A mesh of carbon and graphene, direction-controlled wire and silver-plated drain wires work together. AudioQuest says this cuts the masking that radio noise lays over fine detail.

The Hanging-Silver Red Copper Plug, Explained

Black Beauty ends in what AudioQuest calls its finest plug. It is Hanging-Silver over extreme-purity Red Copper. The parts hang in the plating bath instead of tumbling, which AudioQuest says gives a more even coat. The barrels are copper plated and grounded, so they cannot couple radio noise into the wire.

What Reviewers Are Saying

Mark Blackmore reviewed Black Beauty for The Audio Beat on December 5, 2024. The cables "certainly live up to their name," he wrote, with "the most luxurious look and feel of all the wires sent in for review."

He confirmed the build: "the RCA barrels are copper-plated, and the RCA plugs are silver-plated red copper." He placed Black Beauty one step above Yukon in AudioQuest's range.

Who Is This Interconnect Best For?

• You want AudioQuest's upper-range design — ZERO-Tech and the carbon mesh come from the same family as Dragon, so the ideas are shared
• Your home is full of WiFi — AudioQuest built the Level 6 shield for a world of cellular and WiFi, so radio noise drains before it masks detail
• Your left and right jacks sit far apart — Black Beauty is two separate cables, so mono amplifiers and wide racks are no problem
• You want AudioQuest's finest plug — Hanging-Silver over Red Copper with copper-plated barrels, so the last inch matches the rest
• Your components both offer XLR — Black Beauty is single-ended RCA. If both components have balanced jacks, choose the AudioQuest Black Beauty XLR instead. Or call us

How Does It Connect to Your System?

Run Black Beauty from a line-level output, a DAC, streamer, CD player or phono stage, to a line-level input on your amplifier or preamp. Point the arrows on the jacket toward the amplifier. Push each plug straight on until it seats. Pull it off by the barrel, never by the cable.

Then listen.

Measure the Path, Then Add a Little Slack

Measure the route the cable will really take between your components, around shelves and behind the rack. Then add a little slack. As Cardas puts it, "A cable that's just long enough usually turns out to be just not long enough." Keep the left and right cables the same length. Cardas recommends a matched pair.

RCA or XLR? Check Both Ends

If both components offer balanced XLR jacks, Cardas suggests using XLR. If one has only RCA jacks, use RCA, and skip the adapter. Cardas notes you only get the possible benefits of a balanced output with a pure XLR-to-XLR connection.

A Long Run Between Components?

If your amplifier and speakers sit far from your source, Cardas suggests a long interconnect over a long speaker cable. In its words, "a really long interconnect will affect system performance less than a really long speaker cable."

When Is It Time to Upgrade?

An interconnect often stays in a system for years, so it is easy to overlook. Look again when something else changes: a new DAC, streamer or phono stage, a better amplifier, or a move to components with balanced XLR jacks.

Pairs Well With

An interconnect is one link in the chain. It usually joins these categories.

• Integrated Amplifiers — the usual input end
• Digital-to-Analog Converters — DAC output to amplifier
• Phono Preamplifiers — phono stage to line input
• Speaker Cables — the last link to the speakers

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ZERO-Tech?

AudioQuest's design for a cable with no characteristic impedance. AudioQuest says it removes the electric field between the signal wires. Nothing then mismatches the source or the load, and noise drains evenly across the band.

What is a Hanging-Silver plug?

AudioQuest's plug with silver plated over a body of extreme-purity Red Copper. The parts are hung in the plating bath rather than tumbled, and AudioQuest says the result is a more even silver layer.

Does the RCA version have a DBS pack?

Not this one. AudioQuest fits the Dual-72v pack to the XLR versions of Pegasus and above. The RCA Black Beauty relies on ZERO-Tech and the Level 6 shield.

Which way do the arrows point?

Toward the component that receives the signal, normally the amplifier or preamp. AudioQuest sets the direction of the wire and says the arrows let noise drain the right way.

What warranty does AudioQuest give?

A limited lifetime warranty to the original owner, for cables bought from an authorized US dealer. AudioQuest will repair or replace a defective cable that has not been abused. Keep your proof of purchase.

Is there a step up?

AudioQuest Angel is the next rung. It moves to solid Perfect-Surface Silver wires with FEP air tubes and a 72-volt Dielectric-Bias System.

Need a Different Length or Connector?

The most popular configurations are shown on this page. If your system requires a different length or termination, call our audio experts. We’ll help you choose the right configuration and arrange a custom cable for your system.

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