As well known as AudioQuest is for its groundbreaking line of low-distortion, high-performance analog cables, the more recent addition of high-speed digital cables such as HDMI, FireWire, Ethernet and USB to the AQ line have garnered near-universal acclaim from reviewers, manufacturers, dealers and end users. In that frontier-expanding spirit there are some substantial updates and improvements coming to AudioQuest’s broad and potent line of USB Digital-Audio cables.\n\nAudioQuest’s Carbon-Based 3-Layer Noise-Dissipation System (NDS) will be added to USB Carbon,\nCoffee and Diamond. Typical cable shield systems absorb and then drain noise and RF energy to com-\nponent ground, which modulates and distorts the critical “reference” ground plane. NDS’s application of metal- and carbon-loaded synthetics “shields the shield,” absorbing and reflecting most of this energy before it reaches the layer attached to component ground. This reduces distortion and increas-es sonic performance.\n\nAs versatile and great sounding as AudioQuest’s USB cables are, these latest models and improvements continue the AQ tradition of pushing performance to the available limit, never resting on an existing product’s laurels.