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Audioquest Firebird Zero

I've tried several speaker cables over the past year; Shunyata Alpha and Sigma, Wireworld Silver Eclipse series 7, Audioquest Oak and Redwood, Audience Au24 SX, and I own Clarus Crimson speaker cables. I prefer the Clarus over all of the aforementioned speaker cables. I've had the Audioquest Firebird Zero speaker cables on loan for three days. My initial thoughts were everything is a little clearer through them compared to my Clarus Crimson. Not a night and day difference, but definitely clearer. The Clarus are slightly more 3-dimensional to my ears. My wife on the other hand just keeps saying the AQ sounds sharper, clearer, there are less impurities in the music. I'm not sure what she means by impurities, but she keeps repeating it. Maybe she means a darker background? My plan was to have a home audition of the Thunderbird Zero speaker cables, but they had banana plugs on the amplifier end and I can't use them. I took the Firebirds with the logic that if I can't hear a difference between them and my current cables I didn't need to have a home audition of the Thunderbirds. $14K for an eight foot pair of speaker cables is freaking crazy and sad! It would be easy for me to dismiss it  because there isn't a night and day difference, but once you hear the difference it's very hard to ignore. Financially I just can't justify spending $14K on speaker cables and hope to hear the AQ Thunderbirds sometime next week. Once again I'm reminded that absolutely everything makes a difference. For those that can easily afford $14K, $20K or more speaker cables I understand, because cables can be equivalent to a component change. Does it ever end?
ricred1
earthtones
108 posts
 
I compared WT Copper Zero vs Silver Zero biwired in my Vandersteen setup over the course of a few weeks. I kept returning to the Coppers because they seemed a little smoother and the Silvers I thought had a slight edge to them. However, I’m absolutely convinced that they were simply revealing an upstream problem, in the case harshness in my preamp. When I swapped in a better preamp, that harshness went away and I gained with superior resolution in the Silvers. So I believe your system quality should be commensurate for best results.
ctsooner
2,480 posts
 
Great post Earth. I totally agree with you. Which Vandy/amp/source are you using?  

I have the new Vandersteen HP5's showing up tomorrow.  I'll use an analog volume control being installed in my The Memory Player (server/DAC/volume control) to drive direct since I only use digital right now.  The volume control will be one of the better ones.  
gdnrbob
4,445 posts
 
@ctsooner ,
Any way to incorporate an Ayre volume control? Now that would be a sweet combo.😋
@earthones,
Great post! And, spot on.
Bob

ctsooner
2,480 posts
 
Actually many of us do have a full understanding of break in Bo.  It's not just you.  Many of us also have great ears and can hear all the differences in time.

As for the grounding devices, I was speaking with Richard Vandersteen about this and he shared that if the electronics are designing their grounding properly, that the devices won't be needed as they won't add anything positive.  

I now have his M5-HPA mono blocks (setting them up as I type this) and my server/DAC/analog volume control is also designed properly, so the CAD won't be in my future.

I'm using my WEL XLR interconnect with my William Tell Zero and WT Bass.  Amps will be running directly into the wall on a dedicated 20amp circuit.  I'm going to start off with Richard's power cords, but may upgrade to the Hurricane cords.  I am using Hurricane on the Server/DAC.  That goes into the Niagara/Hurricane power cord into another dedicated 15amp circuit.  My router and cable box are powered by a dedicated LPS unit that goes into the Niagara.  Router uses Wireworld ethernet cables (2) with a bespoke hospital grade filter before going into the server/DAC.  That has an isolation unit built into it.

All of this still powers my Vandersteen Quatro CT's.  Still need my buddy to come and put the 3" granite plinths under them.  The plinth spreads out the vibrations and holds the speakers in place so they don't' move at all.  It does make a positive difference in the sound.  Richard walked me through this (I'll be adding washers to the rear to keep the rake in proper perspective as the tweeter will be 3" higher.  Wow, I can't even believe where my system is at.  Just blessed and I know it.  Thanks all for letting me play.
jeoneil
29 posts
 
@ctsooner 
If I were you I would try to borrow a CAD and see what it will do in your system. The CAD is eating ultrasonic noise which is not even supposed to be audible. Therefore it should not make any difference and its a safe bet most designers don't attempt to manage/suppress such noise. And yet, in my system and every system I've heard them added to, the sound improved. Sometimes by a lot.

I first heard these devices at Axpona in a demo by CAD where they had 5-6 ground controls on one system using their DAC and streamer. It was some of the most relaxing yet highly resolved digital sound I've ever heard. 

And now I have cable envy reading this thread....

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