Nah,sorry I had to look out for explanation and it seems to be that speed and bandwidth are the differences. See here: What is eARC and how is it different from ARC? | Sony UK
But anyway we audiophiles are always on a ride sitting at back bench paying for it 
LOL, I know!
eArc is the faster and cheaper one though! 
The eArc is designed specifically for sound bars if I’m not mistaken. The only thing I know for sure that I was told by an Audioquest rep is the the eArc will not work with I2S application. So yes it is much cheaper but it will not perform the task us audiophiles would be purchasing it for. 
The AQ website is very confusing, but I gather they are saying the Dragon eArc 48 are not using the 100% perfect-surface silver conductors in all their conductors, they use it only in the pair that is related to audio signals. I believe that is why they can make the eArc cheaper.
Unfortunately I2S wires are not the same as the HDMI AV wires so it will be using some of the lower quality wires to transfer those data signals. You may not get the same SQ from an eArc cable even if it works and save some money.
Dragon 48 hdmi received yesterday and out cold after a day i can´t point out a single aspect where it is better than my good old Inakustik Excellenz hdmi.
Wow that says quite a bit for Inakustik Excellenz. Now I wonder why I never ordered the Referenz. Lol. Was your DBS already pulled on the Dragon like my two? If not that supposedly takes time to settle in.
When I go back and look at the Inakustik Referenz it is an optical cord with fiber optic technology. So the Excellenz must be their top tier HDMI cord for audio. The optical cords don’t seem to be audio compatible since pin out uses are different if I recall correctly.
Dragon 48 initial purchase regret.
Great idea!
I moved a good number of posts from the Matrix thread to get things going here.
@Vmax My Dragon was brand new so that DBS was still intact and for some reason it´s 0.6m instead of 0.75m what I´ve seen here. Sound is already opening up a little more and now is at “listenable” stage. It was like four blankets over the speakers at first.Now only two.
I´m sure it will get much better with a decent amount of burn in. ( Dragon emoji here )
https://www.in-akustik.de/en/service/hdmi-special/
So I wonder where this may be available in the States?
Do we know the price?
My thoughts as well, pricing and availability in the USA.
I’d call the AQ reseller and ask for a after sale 25% discount on price you paid or send a new cable. This info will have everyone measuring the length of their Dragons. I heard with the right company and romantic music the Dragon can grow and even stretch further than one thought possible. 
