Generic USB cables can have a negative impact on your enjoyment of music.
Meet the iFi audio Mercury3.0. Maximum signal transfer. Minimum interference.
Looking for a cable with maximum signal transfer and incredibly wide bandwidth? Then the iFi Mercury3.0 is the cable you need.
Standard mass-produced cables normally have the signal and power cables compacted closely together. This hinders conductivity and often results in poor signal transfer.
Not so with our snazzy, new-look Mercury3.0 cable.
The Mercury3.0 cable separates the audio signal from the power with quadruple shielding to eliminate interference and jitter. It employs heavy OFHC continuous copper silver matrix conductors for the best possible signal transfer.
The Mercury3.0 wears its ‘3.0’ with pride. USB3.0’s ultra-speed offers an incredibly wide bandwidth to allow for the speedier transmission of data. Efficiency at its best.
Each iFi cable follows closely the tech specs of usb.org.
The Mercury3.0 custom minimum inductance parallel type with quadruple-shielding. This offers even more protection from RFI and EMI noise than the original. Sound quality is not compromised as with many ‘off the shelf’ versions where inadequate shielding is commonplace. Critically, the whole design hardly has a 5% tolerance to the 90ohm impedance rule.
The signal runs through the cable and the final connector. This connector must also be exceptional.
Most USB cables use moulded plastic covered connections that do not shield the high frequencies present in the USB data link and noise radiates out. Very few manufacturers make their own connectors and rely mass-produced connectors which means durability is compromised.
Our FINAL USB connectors provide impeccable end-to-end RF (radio frequency) shielding. They are machined entirely from solid, aircraft-grade aluminium. Plus gold-plated connections make for years of steadfast service.
With generic mass-produced USB cables, the data and power cables are normally packed together. This means that they do not conduct as well as they should and they are not sufficiently shielded from each other. This has a negative impact on USB signal integrity and degrades sound quality.
Our quadruple shielding fully separates and protects the delicate USB data signal from the power. This protects the cable from RFI and EMI noise to provide the cleanest transfer medium possible.
USB3.0’s ultra-speed bandwidth of 5.0Gbps offers an incredibly wide bandwidth, 10x that of USB2.0’s 480Mbps.
Few manufacturers make their own final connectors.
Most USB cables use moulded plastic covered connections that do not shield the high frequencies present in the USB data link. Noise leaks out and durability is compromised.
Our iFi FINAL USB connectors provide impeccable end-to-end RF shielding, being machined entirely from solid, aircraft-grade aluminium. Plus gold-plated connections make for years of steadfast service.
Most standard USB cables do not address RF issues and are fitted with filters that work over too narrow a range and are only fitted at the ends of the cables, leaving the length of the cable to act as an antennae.
iFi’s three custom-made metal oxide ceramic filters have a different effective range to broaden the range over which RF noise is silenced. The middle silencer is adjustable and can be moved along the whole length of the cable. This then “detunes” the antennae formed by the cable. The other two silencers should be kept as close to each respective end as possible.
| Construction: | Minimum inductance parallel construction |
| Conductors: | 24 and 28AWG |
| Conductor material: | Heavy OFHC continuous cast copper silver matrix |
| Insulation: | HD Polyethylene |
| Shielding: | Quadruple-shields |
| Impedance: | 90 Ohms (1% tolerance) |
| AC spark insulation : | 1500V |
| Connectors: | iFi ‘FINAL’ USB connectors |
| Insulation resistance: | 100Mohm |
| Tensile strength: | 1500PSI |
| Lengths/Weights: | 0.5m/98g (0.22 lbs) |
| 1.0m/115g (0.25 lbs) | |
| Warranty period: | 12 months |
This is an amazing product. I thought that using it might result in a slight improvement in sound. However when I plugged the Mercury USB cable into my Denafrips Pontus DAC the results were instant and obvious. The music seemed as though it were playing much louder. In fact it was playing much “clearer”.
It was as thought a slight haze had been lifted. Vocals and instruments are now more focused and clear. Don’t get me wrong almost $300 is a lot to spend on a cable. However, if I had spend 3 times that on another piece of hIFi hardware, I would have been happy to pay it for results this dramatic. My only negative is that it is easy to order the wrong USB connection type.
Check what type of connection you DAC accepts before ordering. All and all product exceeded my expectations.
The USB protocol is outlined in a technical paper onthe usb.org website.
We have pored over this paper to ensure that we have closely followed the tight tolerances/specifications. For example, a major specification is adhering to 90ohms impedance.
All iFi cables have been designed with this in mind.
Radio-frequency interference (RFI) is very similar to electromagnetic interference (EMI) but is found in the radio frequency spectrum. It is another source of irritating, unwanted noise often talked about as an ‘audio gremlin’.
Top tip: just don’t add water.
EMI is a type of interference caused by errant and unwanted electromagnetic waves that are received and amplified by an audio system. They cause some of the annoying ‘audio gremlins’ we often talk about.
