AudioQuest Sydney Interconnect Cable - 0.6 Meter - RCA to RCA - Pair

Sydney Brings Air-Tube Insulation and Silver Plugs to Bridges & Falls

AudioQuest's Sydney is the fifth cable in the Bridges & Falls series. It carries both channels in one jacket like the cables below it, but the insulation, the shield and the plugs all change. Solid Perfect-Surface Copper+ runs inside air tubes, a carbon shield wraps the cable, and the plugs are silver over copper.

Solid Perfect-Surface Copper+ Conductors

The wires are solid Perfect-Surface Copper+, AudioQuest's highest grade of copper, which it calls PSC+. AudioQuest draws the wire with an ultra-smooth surface and says this cuts the distortion caused by grain boundaries. Solid wire also removes strand interaction.

Polyethylene Air-Tube Insulation

Each wire runs inside a Polyethylene Air-Tube. The wire touches almost nothing but air, and air stores almost no signal energy. AudioQuest says this leaves much less of the out-of-focus effect that solid insulation causes, and it fits the tubes to both wires to hold the geometry steady.

Around the cable is a three-layer shield with a carbon layer. AudioQuest calls it Carbon-Based 3-Layer Noise-Dissipation. An ordinary shield drains radio noise into the ground, and AudioQuest says that dirties the reference the signal is measured against. The carbon layers soak up the noise first.

The Direct-Silver Plated Purple Copper Plug, Explained

Sydney ends in a Direct-Silver Plated plug. The body is pure Purple Copper. AudioQuest plates the silver straight onto the copper with no nickel underneath, and says nickel causes distortion. The plug is cold welded to the wire, not soldered.

The layout is AudioQuest's Asymmetrical Double-Balanced Geometry, built for RCA use. The ground and the shield are kept apart. The ground path gets a lower impedance than the signal path, which AudioQuest says makes for a richer, quieter sound.

What Reviewers Are Saying

Christiaan Punter reviewed the RCA version for HiFi-Advice on December 9, 2015 and heard a "very open sound. It has excellent low-level resolution, is very refined."

He was clear about its character too. Sydney was "a little lightweight in character," with bass that was "articulate, nimble and fast" but could use more body and drive.

Who Is This Interconnect Best For?

• You listen for low-level detail — HiFi-Advice heard excellent low-level resolution, so quiet passages open up
• You want silver plugs on a copper cable — Sydney plates silver straight onto copper plugs, so the contact is silver at a copper price
• Space behind the rack is tight — one slim cable carries both channels, so it bends where a pair will not
• Your sources sit near power supplies — the carbon shield soaks up radio noise before it reaches ground, so the shelf stays quiet
• You want weight and drive first — HiFi-Advice found Sydney light in character. For bass weight, consider AudioQuest Mackenzie or call us

How Does It Connect to Your System?

Run Sydney from a line-level output, a DAC, streamer, CD player or phono stage, to a line-level input on your amplifier or preamp. Keep left to left and right to right. Push each plug straight on until it seats. Pull it off by the barrel, never by the cable.

Then listen. Other and longer lengths available. Call for prices.

Pairs Well With

An interconnect is one link in the chain. It usually joins these categories.

• Integrated Amplifiers — the usual input end
• Digital-to-Analog Converters — DAC output to amplifier
• Music Streamers — streamer output to amplifier
• Speaker Cables — the last link to the speakers

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Direct-Silver plating?

Silver plated straight onto the copper plug body. There is no nickel layer underneath. AudioQuest says nickel causes distortion, so it leaves it out.

Is this one cable or two?

One. AudioQuest's Bridges & Falls cables carry both channels inside a single jacket. There are two plugs at each end and one lead to route behind the rack.

What is the carbon three-layer shield?

AudioQuest's Carbon-Based 3-Layer Noise-Dissipation. It soaks up radio noise before the noise reaches the layer tied to ground. AudioQuest says this keeps the ground reference clean.

Why air tubes instead of solid insulation?

AudioQuest says any solid material next to a wire stores some signal energy and releases it late as distortion. Air stores almost none, so a tube of air around the wire keeps the signal cleaner.

What warranty does AudioQuest give?

A limited lifetime warranty to the original owner, for cables bought from an authorized US dealer. AudioQuest will repair or replace a defective cable that has not been abused. Keep your proof of purchase.

Is there a step up?

AudioQuest Mackenzie is the next rung. It is a Rivers-series pair with a dedicated ground wire and Hanging-Silver plugs, and a 2026 hi-fi+ award winner.

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