Paddle card with improved performance

A cable assembly, the cable assembly comprising:

• a cable, the cable including a plurality of signal-transmitting wires, pairs of the signal-transmitting wires being arranged in the cable, each signal-transmitting wire including a conductor surrounded by an insulative covering, each conductor extending forwardly past a leading edge of the insulative covering to define a free end of each signal-transmitting wire;
• and
• a circuit board, the circuit board having opposite leading and trailing edges, the circuit board including a first portion to which the free ends are terminated and a second portion extending forwardly from and spaced apart from the first portion, the first portion including a plurality of contact pads disposed on a surface thereof, the contact pads being arranged in pairs of contact pads associated with each free end, the contact pads of each contact pad pair being aligned with each other so that a leading edge of the foremost contact pad and a trailing edge of the rearmost contact pad define a predetermined length, L, there between, the contact pads being separated from each other by an intervening spacing, the cumulative length of the contact pads being between about 0.5 L to 0.8 L;
• wherein each free end of the signal-transmitting wires contacts both the contact pads of one of the pairs of contact pads.