AudioQuest Cinnamon USB Cable - USB-A to USB-B - 5.0 Meter

AudioQuest Cinnamon USB Cable - USB-A to USB-B - 5.0 Meter

What It Does in Your System

The Link Between Your Computer and Your DAC — With Room to Spare

This is the cable that carries your music from a computer, server, or streamer to an outboard DAC. Standard USB-A on one end, the square USB-B connector on the other, in a generous 5-meter (16 ft 5 in) length for when the computer isn't sitting next to the rack.

Cinnamon sits in the middle of AudioQuest's digital range. It's the step where the silver content jumps meaningfully — from Forest's 0.5% to 1.25% — and it's the model most people land on when a stock USB cable isn't cutting it.

Silver Where the Signal Actually Travels

High-frequency digital signals travel almost entirely on the surface of a conductor, not through its core. AudioQuest exploits that directly: Cinnamon's solid Long-Grain Copper conductors carry a 1.25% silver plating right where the signal lives, so you get performance close to a solid silver cable at a fraction of what solid silver would cost.

Solid conductors also eliminate strand-to-strand interaction. The practical payoff is lower jitter and lower distortion — cleaner transient attack and a less brittle top end from the same files you're already playing.

Shielding and Geometry That Hold Up Over Sixteen Feet

A long USB run near a computer is surrounded by RF noise, and the risk isn't dropped data — it's that noise rides into your DAC's ground reference. Cinnamon's Metal-Layer Noise-Dissipation System shields the shield, absorbing and reflecting most RFI before it reaches the layer attached to ground.

Hard-Cell Foam insulation does double duty: its nitrogen-injected air pockets absorb almost no energy, and the material's stiffness holds the signal pair in a fixed relationship down the full length of the cable for stable impedance.

Is This Right for You?

A quick check before you add it to your cart:

• Confirm your DAC uses a USB-B input. USB-B is the square connector found on most desktop and component DACs and audio interfaces. If your DAC takes USB-C or micro-USB, you need a different cable — AudioQuest builds Cinnamon in those terminations too.
• Five meters is the long end of USB. The USB 2.0 spec allows runs up to about 5 meters, so this is right at the practical limit. It works, but order the shortest length that actually reaches — excess coiled behind a desk buys you nothing.
• This is a data cable, not an analog interconnect. It carries digital audio between a computer and a DAC. It won't replace an RCA or XLR run between components.

Setup & Installation

Plug the USB-A end into your computer, server, or streamer and the USB-B end into your DAC. Most DACs are recognized automatically; some require selecting the device as your audio output, and a few need a driver installed first — check your DAC's documentation. AudioQuest's signal conductors are direction-controlled for digital audio, so orient the cable per the arrows, running from computer toward DAC.

At 5 meters, route the run away from AC power cords and power supplies where you can, and cross at right angles where you can't. If your DAC is bus-powered rather than self-powered, a run this long is worth testing before you commit — bus-powered devices are more sensitive to cable length.

Features & Specifications

Solid 1.25% Silver-Plated Long-Grain Copper Conductors
Silver on the conductor surface, where high-frequency digital signals actually travel, reduces jitter and distortion.

Metal-Layer Noise-Dissipation System
Absorbs and reflects RFI before it can modulate your DAC's ground reference — the noise path that matters most on a USB link.

Hard-Cell Foam Insulation
Nitrogen-injected air pockets absorb negligible energy, while the material's stiffness maintains stable signal-pair geometry along the full run.

Direction-Controlled Conductors
Conductor directionality is determined by listening to every batch of metal, with arrows marked so noise drains away from where it causes distortion.

Specifications

• Type: USB digital audio cable, USB-A to USB-B
• Length: 5.0 meters (16 ft 5 in)
• Conductors: Solid Long-Grain Copper with 1.25% silver plating
• Insulation: Hard-Cell Foam, nitrogen-injected
• Noise dissipation: Metal-Layer Noise-Dissipation System
• Terminations: Gold-plated USB-A and USB-B plugs
• Directionality: Signal conductors direction-controlled for digital audio
• Included: One USB-A to USB-B cable

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a USB cable really change the sound? It's just data.
The bits generally arrive intact — that's not the variable. What differs between cables is how much radio-frequency noise rides along the shield into your DAC's ground reference, and how stable the signal timing is. That's what Cinnamon's silver plating, shielding, and Hard-Cell Foam geometry address, and it's why the effect shows up as lower jitter and quieter backgrounds rather than missing data.

Is 5 meters too long for USB audio?
It's right at the USB 2.0 spec's practical limit, and it works with self-powered DACs. If your DAC draws power from the USB bus rather than its own supply, a shorter run is the safer choice — call us and we'll help you pick.

How does Cinnamon compare to Forest and Carbon?
The line steps up primarily through silver content and shielding. Forest uses 0.5% silver plating; Cinnamon moves to 1.25%; Carbon and above add more silver and more sophisticated noise dissipation. Cinnamon is the point where most listeners hear a clear step up from stock cable without moving into serious money.

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