AudioQuest Pearl 18G HDMI Cable

AudioQuest Pearl 18G HDMI Cable

Pearl HDMI embodies all of AudioQuest’s core philosophies on cable design. It employs solid Long-Grain Copper conductors, Solid High-Density Polyethylene Insulation, and precise geometry. Specific attention has been paid to maximizing the performance of HDMI, and indeed, AudioQuest’s HDMI cables push sonic performance to new levels.

All AudioQuest HDMI cables up to 8 meters meet or exceed the 18 Gbps maximum data rate for HDMI and are approved High Speed with Ethernet cables. This means that all AudioQuest cables up to 8 meters are capable of transmitting 100% of the data required for all of HDMI’s current audio/video features including multichannel high-resolution audio, 1080p and 4K video, and 3D video from Blu-ray. All AQ HDMI cables will deliver 100% of the data required for 120Hz/240Hz/600Hz displays.

For cables above 8m lengths, we recommend AudioQuest's Pearl Active HDMI Cable which is capable of 18.2Gbps at lengths of 10m, 12.5m and 15m. For more information please click here. For a complete lossless point to point connection, we recommend the AudioQuest Cherry Cola AOC HDMI Cable which is capable of passive 18Gbps from lengths of 5m up to 30m. For more information click here.

Features :

• Solid Long-Grain Copper Conductors 
• Foamed-Polyethylene Insulation 
• Directionality 
• HDMI 4K-8K Compatibility

Solid Long-Grain Copper Conductors

Solid conductors eliminate strand-interaction distortion. Pearl’s solid Long-Grain Copper allows a smoother and clearer sound than cables using regular OFHC (Oxygen-Free High-Conductivity) copper. OFHC is a general metal industry specification regarding “loss” without any concern for distortion. LGC has fewer oxides within the conducting material, less impurities, less grain boundaries, and definitively better performance.

Foamed-Polyethylene Insulation

Any solid material adjacent to a conductor is actually part of an imperfect circuit. Wire insulation and circuit board materials all absorb energy (loss). Some of this energy is stored and then released as distortion. Pearl HDMI uses air-filled Foamed-Polyethylene Insulation because air absorbs next to no energy and Polyethylene is low-loss and has a benign distortion profile. Thanks to all the air in Foamed-PE, it causes much less of the out-of-focus effect common to other materials.

Directionality

All audio cables are directional. The correct direction is determined by listening to every batch of metal conductors used in every AudioQuest audio cable. All signal conductors controlled for digital-audio direction in AudioQuest HDMI cables, and care is even taken to run the conductors used in the Audio Return Channel in the opposite direction to ensure the best performance for that application. Arrows are clearly marked on the connectors to ensure superior sound quality.

HDMI 4K-8K Compatibility

Just as 4K technology and content have matured, customers are now seeing 8K TVs in stores and the eventual transition from HDMI 2.0 to HDMI 2.1. Naturally, questions arise. First and foremost, are AudioQuest HDMI cables compatible with 8K and the new features potentiated by HDMI 2.1?

All AudioQuest 18Gbps High Speed HDMI are guaranteed to have the 18Gbps bandwidth required for compelling features like 8K/30, HDR (High Dynamic Range) and eARC (enhanced Audio Return Channel).

In addition, AudioQuest’s HDMI Active Pearl, Forest and Cinnamon cables employ active frequency-equalization to enable full 18Gbps performance at lengths up to 49.2ft (15 meters). Cherry Cola is a Hybrid Active Optical HDMI model that offers full 18Gbps performance at lengths up to 100 feet (30.48 meters).

Video Up to 8K/30

AudioQuest 18Gbps High Speed HDMI cables have the bandwidth required for video up to 8K/30 (8-bit, 4:2:0), which is 7680 x 4320 resolution (over 33 million pixels) at up to 30 frames-per-second (fps). 24 and 30 fps are the frame rates for almost all movies and many TV shows. Currently, there is no widely available 8K content, nor are there any widely available 8K source components, so up-conversion in the TV is the likeliest scenario for 8K early adopters.

HDR (High Dynamic Range)

AudioQuest 18Gbps High Speed HDMI cables support High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Dynamic HDR. HDR content expands the contrast of the image for blacker blacks and brighter whites/highlights as well as greater color saturation and brightness. In addition, 4K Ultra-HD content allows for a wider color range.

This combination of technologies results in more realistic HDR images with greater perceived depth. Dynamic HDR (HDR 10+ and Dolby Vision for example) enables frame-by-frame HDR optimization rather than HDR settings that are fixed for the entire program. The most prominent current HDR formats are HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. AudioQuest 18Gbps High Speed HDMI cables are compatible with all these flavors of HDR, which can be found on Ultra-HD Blu-ray, iTunes, Vudu and more.

eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel)

HDMI hardware’s previous ARC capabilities max out at lossy (compressed) 5.1-channel surround sound. Not only do all generations of AudioQuest HDMI cables “with Ethernet” support ARC, in order to ensure superior audio performance, the ARC-channel conductor-pair is internally controlled for direction, running in the opposite direction from the 4 pairs that carry information to the TV.

Upcoming HDMI 2.1 hardware support Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC), which increases the digital bandwidth dramatically to support uncompressed and lossless high-resolution multichannel audio, including Dolby TrueHD and Atmos, and DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS: X. All AudioQuest HDMI cables “with Ethernet” have the conductors and bandwidth required for eARC’s enhanced sonic capabilities.

Specification :

• High definition 2.0, 3D, 4K TV compatible cable
• 0.6m - 3m Black/White PVC strips
• 5m - 20m White PVC CL3/FT4 rated
• 0.6m - 8m High Speed HDMI w/Ethernet Connection
• 12m - 20m Standard Speed HDMI w/Ethernet Connection
• Up to 8m exceeds 18Gbps requirement for 4k UltraHD, HDR, HDCP 2.2, Blu-ray UltraHD, 3D, 4.4.4 Colour, etc.
• 'High Speed' HDMI cable will in addition transfer 1080p/120Hz, 4K, 3D video
• 'Standard Speed' HDMI cable will at minimum transfer 1080i, 720p, 1080p/30Hz video
• Solid LGC (Long-Grain Copper) conductors eliminate inter-strand distortion and reduce jitter
• HD Polyethylene composition optimized to ensure critical signal-pair geometry
• State-of-the-art attachment and shielding of HDMI standard size (Type A) connectors
• Fifth twisted-pair for Ethernet and to enable additional Audio Return Channel options
• "With Ethernet" HDMI cable (with HEC) includes conductors for bi-directional Ethernet communication. Ethernet capability is independent of "Speed" capability
• All signal conductors controlled for digital-audio direction. To for main signal, From for Audio Return Channel (audio from TV to AV receiver)

About AudioQuest

AudioQuest has been the largest cable supplier to the high-end specialist market for many years. AudioQuest is sold in several hundred outlets in the US and in over sixty countries. Bill Lowe (Founder) is especially pleased that this success has been possible despite his insistence that the foundation of the company, and the foundation of AudioQuest marketing, must be the performance of the product. In the audio world, many professionals have learned that it is not always convenient to listen to the products they sell … they might learn something they don’t want to know! Bill has always understood the challenge of basing the existence of AudioQuest on the performance of the product. However, to Bill, this is the only reasonable way to do business and the only acceptable way to combine his passion for music (and all things high performance), with his need to make a living.