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SPROUT AudioQuest Forest Optical

PS Audio’s choice for our Sprout Series

When the question is “how can a fiber-optic cable change the sound?” The answer is easier to explain than for almost any other type of cable. If the light source were a coherent laser, firing into a vacuum, all the light would stay straight, arriving at its destination at the same time. Even if the LED light source in a Toslink system were coherent, the light entering a fiber-optic cable is scattered and dispersed by imperfections and impurities in the fiber. This can be measured as a loss of amplitude, but amplitude is not the problem: a 50% true loss would have no effect on sound quality.

The almost complete solution to this problem is to use hundreds of much smaller fibers in a 1.0mm bundle. Because each fiber is limited as to what angle of input can enter the fiber, there is far less variety, and far less dispersion over time. AudioQuest Forest optical cables provide Sprout100 with less dispersion in the fiber, and less dispersion by filtering the input angle. How simple is that! Listen and enjoy.

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7-10 days for shipment

SPROUT AudioQuest Forest Optical

Product Description

Optical is used all the time in the world of video, gaming and home entertainment. In may of these systems, Sprout100 is the centerpiece. AudioQuest Forest optical connects Sprout100 to your 2-channel home entertainment system, bringing new life to movies, games and television programs.

Imperfections in standard optical fiber scatter the light information, leading to sound with less clarity and a need for more error correction. The superior fiber and finely polished optical interface of AudioQuest Forest fiber-optic cable avoids these problems.

This product qualifies for our risk free in-home trial in the continental United States when purchased directly from PS Audio. Break-in on AQ Cables may be required for optimal performance.

Low-Dispersion Fiber

The problem is that the dispersed light does get through the cable, but only after it has taken a longer path, like a pool ball bouncing off the side-rails, causing it to arrive later. This delayed part of the signal prevents the computer charged with decoding this information from being able to decode properly, or even at all. The inability to decode shows first at higher frequencies (not audio frequencies, this is a mono stream of digital audio information), so reduced bandwidth is a measurable signature of light being dispersed by a fiber. The punch line: The less dispersion in the fiber, the less distortion in the final analog audio signal presented to our ears. Using Low-Dispersion Higher Purity Fiber, AudioQuest’s Forest optical cables inhibit signal-dispersion and make a great match for Sprout100.

Finely Polished Optical Interface

A revolution in fiber optic cable design, Forest optical uses several highly polished polymer fibers instead of a single plastic conductor. These polymer fibers are more efficient at conducting light (information) giving Forest optical greater resolution and improved tonality over any standard optical cable. Forest preserves optical’s vanishingly low noise and offers dynamic range. The impact of Forest optical is not subtle. You will hear surprising transient performance and excellent dynamic gradations.

  • Low-Dispersion Fiber
  • Low-Jitter (Digital Timing Errors)
  • Finely Polished Optical Interface

Questions?