AudioQuest Sydney Interconnect Cable - 1.0 Meter - 3.5mm to RCA

Sydney Moves to Air-Tube Insulation and Carbon-Based Shielding

A 3.5mm-to-RCA interconnect lets a source built around a small headphone-style jack — a phone, portable player, or compact streamer — feed a stereo system's RCA inputs directly, with no separate adapter in the signal path. What separates a premium cable from a bargain one is conductor quality and shielding against outside noise.

AudioQuest's Sydney keeps Big Sur's Perfect-Surface Copper+ conductors but moves to Polyethylene Air-Tube insulation and Carbon-Based Noise-Dissipation, an intermediate construction sitting between the entry tiers below it and flagship Angel above it in the range.

Solid Perfect-Surface Copper+ Conductors

AudioQuest says Perfect-Surface Copper+ is its highest-purity copper grade, minimizing distortion caused by grain boundaries. Sydney's Polyethylene Air-Tube insulation reduces what AudioQuest calls the 'out-of-focus effect' compared to solid-core insulation.

Carbon-Based 3-Layer Noise-Dissipation

Sydney's Carbon-Based Noise-Dissipation uses alternating layers of metal and carbon-loaded synthetics, a step up from the Metal-Layer shielding used on Evergreen, Tower, Big Sur and Golden Gate. This 3.5mm-to-RCA version does not carry Sydney's flagship RCA-to-RCA 72-volt Dielectric-Bias System.

The Connectors, Explained

Sydney ends in a 3.5mm mini plug on the source side and a stereo pair of RCA plugs on the amplifier side, both cold-welded rather than soldered, the same solder-free termination used across this AudioQuest range.

Who Is This Interconnect Best For?

• You already own a Big Sur and want a different insulation and shielding approach, not just better copper — Sydney moves to air-tube insulation and Carbon-Based dissipation on the same conductor grade
• Your source has only a 3.5mm output and your amplifier only takes RCA — Sydney bridges that mismatch with no separate adapter
• You want Carbon-Based Noise-Dissipation without stepping all the way up to Angel's silver conductors — Sydney carries that shielding approach on Perfect-Surface Copper+ instead
• You are feeding a source with real resolution to protect over a short desktop run — Sydney sits between Big Sur and Angel in AudioQuest's 3.5mm-to-RCA range for exactly that kind of upgrade
• Your budget stops at Big Sur's price and that tier already covers your gear — AudioQuest Big Sur is the lower-priced cable one rung down

How Does It Connect to Your System?

Plug the 3.5mm end into your source's headphone or line-out jack, and the two RCA plugs into the matching RCA inputs on your amplifier or receiver, matching red to red and white/black to white/black.

Then power up the system as usual. Other and longer lengths available. Call for prices.

Pairs Well With

A 3.5mm-to-RCA interconnect is one link between a source and an amplifier or receiver. It usually joins these categories.

• Music Streamers — many portable and desktop streamers use a 3.5mm output
• Headphone Amplifiers — a common source for a 3.5mm line-level feed
• Digital-to-Analog Converters — some compact DACs use a 3.5mm output instead of RCA
• Stereo Amplifiers — the usual destination for the RCA end of this cable

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does this cable have a 3.5mm plug on one end and RCA plugs on the other?

Many portable players, phones, and compact streaming devices only offer a single 3.5mm headphone-style output, while most home amplifiers and receivers expect a stereo pair of RCA inputs; this cable bridges that one mismatch without an extra adapter.

Does direction matter when I connect this cable?

AudioQuest controls the directional grain structure of its conductors so induced noise drains away from the circuits it would otherwise disturb; where AudioQuest marks a direction on the cable, connect it running from source toward amplifier as marked.

Does this Sydney cable have AudioQuest's 72-volt Dielectric-Bias System?

This 3.5mm-to-RCA Sydney does not carry that system; AudioQuest's flagship RCA-to-RCA Sydney does, but its own maker page for this 3.5mm-to-RCA version makes no mention of DBS at all.

Is there a step up?

AudioQuest Angel is the next rung, and adds Perfect-Surface Silver conductors plus a 72-volt Dielectric-Bias System, the most elaborate construction in the range below Yosemite.

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