AudioQuest Pearl USB Cable - USB-A to USB-B - 1.5 Meter

AudioQuest Pearl USB Cable — USB-A to USB-B — 1.5 Meter

What It Does in Your System

The Cable Between Your Computer and Your DAC

If you play music from a computer or a streamer into an outboard DAC, this is the link that carries it. Pearl is AudioQuest's entry point into USB cables built specifically for audio rather than for printers.

At 1.5 meters — just under five feet — it reaches from a desktop to a nearby DAC or from a shelf to the component below it, without leaving a pile of slack behind the rack.

Solid Long-Grain Copper Conductors

Most USB cable uses many thin strands twisted together. Pearl uses solid conductors instead. Strands touch and separate along the length of a cable, and AudioQuest identifies that interaction as a source of distortion.

The metal is Long-Grain Copper, which has fewer grain boundaries and fewer oxides than standard OFHC copper. AudioQuest says the smoother internal structure lets the signal pass with less added noise.

Noise Dissipation and Controlled Direction

USB carries power alongside data, which makes it a common path for noise into a DAC. Pearl uses AudioQuest's Metal-Layer Noise-Dissipation System, a shield designed to drain radio-frequency noise away from where it would cause trouble.

The conductors are also direction-controlled. AudioQuest determines the preferred orientation by listening to each batch of metal, and marks the cable so you install it the same way they tested it.

Is This Right for You?

Quick checks before ordering:

• Check your DAC's input. USB-B is the square connector found on most desktop DACs and audio interfaces. Newer compact DACs often use USB-C instead — look at the port before you order.
• Your computer needs a USB-A port. Many recent laptops have only USB-C. You would need an adapter, which partly defeats the purpose of a dedicated audio cable.
• Expect a subtle change, not a transformation. USB carries data, and the data arrives either way. What a cable like this addresses is noise and timing at the receiving end. On a revealing system the difference is audible; on a modest one it may not be.

Setup & Installation

Plug the rectangular USB-A end into your computer or streamer and the square USB-B end into your DAC. Look for the arrow printed on the cable and point it toward the DAC — that is the direction AudioQuest tested and marked.

Where you can, route the cable away from power cords and wall-wart supplies. Crossing them at a right angle picks up less noise than running alongside them.

Features & Specifications

Solid Long-Grain Copper Conductors
Solid rather than stranded wire, which removes the strand interaction AudioQuest identifies as a distortion source.

Metal-Layer Noise-Dissipation System
Shielding designed to absorb and drain radio-frequency noise before it reaches your DAC.

Direction-Controlled Conductors
Marked with an arrow so the cable is installed in the orientation AudioQuest selected by listening.

Gold-Plated Contacts
Gold resists tarnish, so the connection stays consistent over years of plugging and unplugging.

Specifications

• Connectors: USB Type-A to USB Type-B, male to male
• USB version: 2.0 (High Speed)
• Data rate: Up to 480 Mbps
• Power delivery: 5V, 500mA
• Conductors: Solid Long-Grain Copper
• Noise dissipation: Metal-Layer Noise-Dissipation System
• Directionality: Direction-controlled, arrow marked
• Contact plating: Gold
• Jacket: Black PVC
• Length: 1.5 meters (approximately 4.9 feet)

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a USB cable really change the sound?
The data itself arrives intact — USB has error correction. What varies is the noise riding along the cable and the timing of the signal at the DAC's receiver. Those are the effects a cable like Pearl is built to address. How much you hear depends on how well your DAC rejects noise on its own.

Which way does the arrow point?
Toward your DAC — the receiving end. AudioQuest marks each cable after listening to the batch of metal it was made from.

Will this work with a USB-C DAC?
Not directly. This cable has a square USB-B connector at the component end. AudioQuest makes Pearl in other connector combinations, so check your DAC's port and order the matching version.

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