AudioQuest Golden Gate Tonearm Cable - Straight Din -1.5 Meter

Solid Perfect-Surface Copper, Cold-Welded, With the Ground Wire in the Box

This is AudioQuest's Golden Gate tonearm cable at 1.5 meters, sold each. It runs from a JIS plug at the tonearm — the straight DIN connector most arms with a detachable cable present — to RCA plugs at the phono stage, and the ground wire is included.

Conductor surface is where a cable's character gets decided. Current density at the surface is 100% at every frequency, so what the outside of the wire is like is what the signal travels through. That single fact is the reasoning behind everything AudioQuest does to its copper.

Perfect-Surface Copper, Solid Core, No Solder

Fit and Materials

1.5 meters, JIS to RCA. It fits a tonearm presenting a JIS — straight DIN — socket at the base of the arm pillar, feeding a phono stage with RCA inputs. AudioQuest offers other lengths and terminations through its dealers.

The conductors are solid Perfect-Surface Copper. Solid core rather than stranded is deliberate: AudioQuest names strand interaction as the single greatest cause of distortion in cable, and a solid conductor has no strands to interact. The PSC process protects the wire's surface at every stage of drawing.

Insulation is foamed polyethylene, chosen because air is the best dielectric and foaming puts as much of it as possible into the insulation. A metal-layer noise-dissipation system handles high-frequency noise, and multi-layer RF and EMI shielding surrounds the whole run.

The terminations are cold-welded rather than soldered — the connection is made under pressure, with no solder in the signal path — and gold plated. The jacket is a black and red braid, and a separate ground wire is supplied.

Who Is the Golden Gate Tonearm Cable Best For?

• Your tonearm has a JIS or straight DIN socket — the plug at the arm end of this cable
• Your phono stage takes RCA — RCA at the other end, gold plated
• You want no solder in the signal path — AudioQuest cold-welds the terminations under pressure
• You want the ground wire included — it comes with the cable rather than as an extra
• Your arm presents RCA sockets instead — this cable will not fit; see tonearm cables

What Length Do You Need?

This one is 1.5 meters, which suits a phono stage on a different shelf from the turntable. Measure the route the cable will follow rather than the gap it crosses, and leave enough slack that it hangs in a loop. AudioQuest offers custom lengths and terminations through its dealers if 1.5 meters is wrong for your rack.

Pairs Well With

What most owners fitting a tonearm cable shop next.

• Phono preamplifiers — the other end of this cable, and the bigger variable
• Phono cartridges — the signal source everything downstream is serving
• Cartridge alignment tools — geometry first; no cable fixes a misaligned cartridge
• Tonearm cables — the other lengths and terminations in the range

Frequently Asked Questions

How many do I need?

One. A turntable takes a single tonearm cable, and this one comes with its ground wire.

Is JIS the same as a straight DIN?

In practice, yes — JIS is the standard AudioQuest names for the straight tonearm plug that most arms with a detachable cable use. Check the socket at the base of your arm pillar before ordering.

What does cold-welded mean?

The connection between conductor and plug is made under pressure rather than with solder, so there is no solder alloy in the signal path. AudioQuest uses the method throughout its range.

Why solid core rather than stranded?

AudioQuest calls strand interaction the single greatest cause of distortion in cable. A solid conductor has no strands, so the problem does not arise.

Is the ground wire included?

Yes, it comes with the cable. Connect it before deciding whether a hum is the cable's fault — an unconnected ground is the usual explanation.

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