The patented Dielectric Bias System

The patented Dielectric Bias System (US Pat 7,126,055) is a simple, elegant solution to one of cable’s most vexing performance challenges.
A highly misunderstood area of cable performance is the subject of ca- ble run-in, sometimes (inaccurately) referred to as “break-in.” “Break-in” properly applies to one-way mechanical phenomena, such as a motor or a loudspeaker surround. Cables and capacitors do not “break-in”, rather their “dielectric forms,” meaning that it takes time for the dielectric material to adapt to a charged state.
This process is quite audible and explains the signi cant improvement heard in electronics, loudspeakers and cables as signal is applied over a period of time. It has long been noted that cables (and all audio com- ponents) sound better after having been left turned-on for a number of days. It has also been noted that once turned off, the component or cable slowly returns to its original uncharged state. For many music lov- ers, this means that they are almost never hearing their cables in their optimum state.
AudioQuest’s founder and chief designer, William Low, explains the Di- electric-Bias System: “DBS puts all of a cable’s dielectric into a com- paratively high voltage DC eld ... continuously from the time the cable is terminated. The exceptionally simple design uses a wire down the middle of the cable, which is simply an extension of a battery’s anode. This wire is attached to negative (-) of a DBS battery pack, and nothing else. It is not in the signal path and has no interaction with the signal. Depending on the model of interconnect (analog or digital) or speaker cable, an existing foil “shield” is used as the DBS anode by connecting it to positive (+) of the DBS battery pack. The negative side of a bat- tery is nothing; it’s just an empty reservoir. Again, there is no interaction with signal ow and no extra connections are introduced into the signal path.”
The bene t of maintaining a bias on the dielectric at a substantially high- er voltage than is ever achieved through normal use is dramatic. Even a cable, which has the loudest music or pink noise continually traveling through it, never has a fully formed dielectric.