AudioQuest Red River Interconnect Cable - 0.5 Meter - XLR to XLR - Pair

AudioQuest Red River Interconnect Cable - 0.5 Meter - XLR to XLR - Pair

What You Need to Know

Where a Balanced Connection Starts Getting Serious

Red River is AudioQuest's high-value balanced interconnect — the point in the range where solid conductors, a dedicated ground-reference path, and real noise dissipation all arrive together. Run it between a DAC or preamp and your amplifier and the presentation settles: quieter background, cleaner leading edges, instruments holding their own place rather than blurring into one another.

This listing is a matched pair of 0.5-meter cables — one per channel, complete for a stereo balanced connection — in the short length that suits components stacked on adjacent shelves.

Solid Perfect-Surface Copper for a Cleaner Signal

Signal current concentrates at a conductor's surface, which is why Perfect-Surface Copper matters. Its exceptionally smooth, high-purity surface minimizes the grain-boundary distortion that gives ordinary copper a faintly hard, glassy character. Solid conductors rather than stranded also eliminate the strand-to-strand interaction that smears fine detail.

You'll hear it as treble that stays clean at volume and vocal texture with more of the real thing about it.

Triple-Balanced Geometry — the Shield Stays a Shield

Many cables press the shield into double duty as a signal-carrying conductor, which compromises both jobs. AudioQuest's Triple-Balanced Geometry adds a separate ground-reference conductor, so the 100% coverage shield does nothing but shield. Positive and negative signals travel identical, equally low-distortion paths — precisely what a balanced connection is meant to deliver.

Hard-Cell Foam insulation holds the conductors in a stable relationship along the entire run, keeping impedance consistent, while its high air content absorbs and releases very little energy.

Is This Right for You?

A few things to confirm before you order:

• This is a complete pair. Two cables, one per channel — everything a stereo balanced connection needs. No need to double your quantity.
• Both components need true balanced XLR jacks. Look for three-pin XLR inputs and outputs. Some gear offers XLR connectors on a fundamentally single-ended circuit, in which case you gain the locking connector but not the full noise-rejection benefit.
• Half a meter is short — measure first. It's ideal for stacked or side-by-side components. If your amplifier sits on a lower shelf, across the room, or needs cable dressed behind the rack, step up a length rather than leaving the cables under tension.

Setup & Installation

Connect the male XLR end of each cable to your source component's balanced outputs and the female ends to the balanced inputs on your preamp or amplifier, keeping left and right consistent. The connectors latch — push until the tab clicks, and press the release to remove. Then select the balanced or XLR input on the receiving component, since many units require you to choose between XLR and RCA rather than detecting it automatically.

Directional arrows on the jacket show the intended orientation; run them from source toward destination. Leave a gentle loop of slack behind the rack so no weight hangs on the terminations.

Features & Specifications

Solid Perfect-Surface Copper (PSC) Conductors
An exceptionally smooth, high-purity copper surface minimizes grain-boundary distortion for cleaner, more natural sound.

Triple-Balanced Geometry
A separate ground-reference conductor frees the 100% coverage shield from signal duty, giving positive and negative identical low-distortion paths.

Hard-Cell Foam Insulation
A stiff, air-filled dielectric holds conductor geometry stable along the full run for consistent impedance and minimal energy storage.

Metal-Layer Noise-Dissipation
Absorbs and reflects most RF interference before it can reach the ground layer and modulate your equipment's ground reference.

Specifications

• Length: 0.5 meters (approx. 1 ft 8 in)
• Termination: 1 x Male XLR to 1 x Female XLR, per cable
• Quantity: Matched pair (two cables)
• Conductors: Solid Perfect-Surface Copper (PSC)
• Geometry: Triple-Balanced, with separate ground-reference conductor
• Insulation: Hard-Cell Foam
• Shielding: 100% coverage; Metal-Layer Noise-Dissipation
• Plugs: Cold-welded, gold-plated
• Conductor Direction: Direction-controlled
• Series: AudioQuest Red River

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to order two?
No. This listing is a matched pair — two 0.5-meter cables, one for each channel — so a single order completes a stereo balanced connection between your components.

Is XLR better than RCA?
When both components are truly balanced, XLR's differential design rejects noise picked up along the run and the locking connector won't work loose. If either end is single-ended internally, the practical advantage narrows — worth checking your gear first.

What does "cold-welded" mean?
The plug is joined to the conductor under high pressure instead of being soldered, so no lesser metal enters the signal path at the termination. The ground shells are stamped rather than machined, which lets AudioQuest choose the metal for low distortion rather than ease of manufacturing.

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