AudioQuest Pearl USB Cable - USB-A to USB-B - 0.75 Meter

AudioQuest Pearl USB Cable - USB-A to USB-B - 0.75 Meter

What It Does in Your System

The Sensible First Upgrade From the Cable in the Box

Pearl is AudioQuest's entry point into USB digital audio, and this 0.75-meter length is built for the connection most people actually need: a laptop, streamer, or server sitting right next to the DAC it feeds. Standard USB-A on one end, the square USB-B connector on the other.

If you're currently using the generic cable that came with your DAC, this is the least expensive place to hear a real difference in your digital chain. The engineering that matters at higher price points is present here in its most affordable form.

Solid Long-Grain Copper for a Smoother, Clearer Sound

Pearl uses solid Long-Grain Copper conductors rather than the stranded, ordinary copper found in bundled cables. Solid conductors eliminate strand-to-strand interaction, which is a major source of distortion, and LGC itself has fewer oxides, impurities, and grain boundaries than standard OFHC copper.

The conductor's surface quality matters more than you'd expect, because the surface acts as a rail-guide for both the electric fields inside the conductor and the magnetic fields outside it. What reaches your DAC is better-timed data — you'll hear it as lower jitter, cleaner transient attack, and a less brittle top end.

Hard-Cell Foam and Shielding That Protect the Ground Reference

Pearl uses nitrogen-injected Hard-Cell Foam insulation rather than ordinary plastic. The air pockets absorb almost no energy, so little is stored and released back as distortion, and the material's stiffness holds the signal pair in a fixed relationship down the full length of the cable for stable impedance.

Around that sits a Metal-Layer Noise-Dissipation System. On a USB link the risk isn't dropped data — it's RF noise riding the shield into your DAC's ground reference. Metal-Layer Noise-Dissipation shields the shield, absorbing and reflecting most RFI before it reaches the layer attached to ground.

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 Pearl in other terminations too.
• 0.75 meter is short — about two and a half feet. Right for a computer or streamer beside the DAC. Measure the actual path with the plugs seated, including any drop behind the desk. If it's tight, step up to 1.5 meters.
• 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 conductors are direction-controlled with arrows marked on the connectors, so orient the cable running from computer toward DAC.

At this length there's little routing to do, but keep the run clear of power supplies and AC cords where you can. The cable delivers standard USB bus power at 5V and 500mA, so bus-powered DACs work normally over a run this short.

Features & Specifications

Solid Long-Grain Copper Conductors
Fewer oxides and grain boundaries than ordinary OFHC copper, with no strand interaction, for smoother and clearer sound.

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

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.

Direction-Controlled Conductors
Conductor direction 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
• USB version: 2.0 High Speed
• Data rate: Up to 480Mbps
• Power: 5V, 500mA
• Length: 0.75 meters
• Conductors: Solid Long-Grain Copper (LGC)
• Insulation: Hard-Cell Foam, nitrogen-injected
• Noise dissipation: Metal-Layer Noise-Dissipation System
• Connector plating: Gold
• Jacket: Black PVC with gray stripes
• Directionality: Conductors direction-controlled, arrows marked on connectors
• 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 Pearl's solid conductors, Hard-Cell Foam geometry, and Metal-Layer shielding address, which is why the effect shows up as lower jitter and quieter backgrounds rather than missing data.

Will this work with a bus-powered DAC?
Yes. Pearl delivers standard USB 2.0 bus power at 5V and 500mA, and at 0.75 meters you're well within comfortable range for a device drawing power from the port.

How does Pearl compare to Forest and Cinnamon?
The line steps up mainly through conductor metal and shielding. Pearl uses solid Long-Grain Copper; Forest adds 0.5% silver plating; Cinnamon moves to 1.25%. Pearl is where the fundamentals — solid conductors, Hard-Cell Foam, real noise dissipation — arrive at the most accessible price.

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