AudioQuest Pegasus vs Thunderbird Interconnects

With audioquest cables I’ve heard, the sound is slightly warmer and a bit more dense. In theory, rather than in practice, a cable shouldn’t make a difference. Some argue this difference with AQ cables is due to picking up noise/acting like an antenna. And it’s true that most kinds of distortions can create warm over/undertones in a music playback system.

But cables do make a difference. Go for silver-plated copper, or silver interconnects if you wish to place the least strain between the amplifier the the load (speakers) This is due to the higher conductivity and lower resistance of silver/plated cables.

Some say silver or silver-plated cables are harsh or dry sounding, but instead they are are acting as more of a "direct connection" vs cables with lower conductivity, such as regular copper. PCOCC copper is a nice alternative to silver/silver-plated cables.

@jeffreyw were you able to upgrade to the Thunderbird?

im also considering the Thunderbird RCA. 

@arafiq 

I ended up purchasing the TBirds XLR. I would consider them neutral with a similar sound characteristic of the Audience Front Rows. I wish I had auditioned the Cardas Clear Beyond also, but didn't have the chance. 

Thanks, I compared the Thunderbird  XLR and RCA in my system. Both are fantastic. I honestly couldn’t tell them apart so decided to go with RCA to save some $$$. 

For what it is worth, I recently upgraded to Pegasus XLR from Earth.  Sweeter highs, clear and natural mid range vocals, fuller bass.

I just replaced my Audioquest Earth, 1.5 meter, XLR, interconnects, with a 1 meter, XLR, pair of Pegasus, and I'm here to tell you, the improvement that I heard with the Pegasus over the Earth was a revelation in my system.  The Pegasus will make you question whether you ever would need to spend more or replace them with something else.  I know I'm not for the foreseeable future.  The Pegasus are big-time cables and are also end-game interconnect cable for me.  

@bwguy +1

@kennymacc +1

I did same- replaced Earth with Pegasus both between DAC and pre-amp and pre-amp to amp. (See my profile for description of my system.) Relative to Earth, sound with Pegasus was saturated- akin to production of deep, vivid color by wetting a dry cloth or stone. I also perceived an improvement in timing and imaging- in a particular a deeper soundstage. Yes, sweeter highs, clear and natural vocals, and fuller and more articulate bass. End result- emotion conveyed with ease- more joy.

Interestingly, in my system, I preferred Pegasus to Thunderbird between DAC and pre-amp. I felt that with Thunderbird that the background was blacker, that bass was stronger, and that instruments' timbre may have been more accurate. But less fun. Less sweet. Rhythm less engaging. Wider but shallower sound stage.

With Pegasus between DAC and pre-amp, I even preferred Earth over Thunderbird between pre-amp and amp. Although, again, sound with Thunderbird had blacker background and stronger bass, system was less fun than with Earth. The qualities that the Pegasus brings to the table were diminished.

Only downside of Pegasus is that cable is so thick that it is difficult to handle. Thunderbird solves this by possessing three separate strands. However, once you have Pegasus in place that issue is of no consequence.

Note that testing of Pegasus vs. Earth in my system produced same result as comparing the same at my dealer. See link to report of test below.

https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/2632909

@bossound  

Initially, my plan was to bring in both a pair of Audioquest Pegasus and Fire interconnects for auditioning and comparison.  Whichever sounded best would remain.  First up, was the Pegasus XLR interconnects.  As the Pegasus began to burn-in more and more, they began to open up more and more.  And after some further burn-in time, the Pegasus locked-in and began to synergize with my system so beautifully, I knew they weren't going anywhere.  Happy listening.

See also post on Pegasus below by @tomic601 that is consistent with above.

https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/2630730

Never tried the AQ Pegasus, however, there is a reason that the Thunderbirds are twice as much as the Pegasus.

Currently, I own the AQ Thunderbirds. They took quite a while to fully burn in, but today, I am really amazed at how well the soundstage is lit. At times when there is a solo guitar or a sax etc. it seems like it jumps out at you. Very impressive.

Check out my review.

Audiogon Discussion Forum

ozzy

@ozzy The AQ Pegasus XLR are truly wonderful sounding interconnects in my system that I could very happily live with for the duration. But, just the same, I’ve just ordered a pair of AQ Thunderbird XLR, which should be, I hope, my end-game interconnects. It was your comment that inspired me pull the trigger on the AQ Thunderbird interconnects. Thank you. Happy listening

kennymacc,

Sounds like AQ owes me a commission... Did you buy it new? If so, except a long burn in, at least 200 hours.

ozzy

@Ozzy  Yes, LOL!!!  AQ needs to send you a little something.  Also, I did buy the Thunderbird XLR ICs new and I expect for there to be a lengthy burn in.  You know what they say about system matching.  I must say, the Pegasus sounds so excellent, and synergizes so well,  and sounds so right in my system, they will be very difficult to give up.  We'll see.  Happy listening.      

"AQ owes me a commission... Did you buy it new? If so, except a long burn in, at least 200 hours."

at least 200 hrs? Can't they burn their cables in before they sell? Guess it's a bad idea for some obvious reason.

I looked it up and found out these cables are priced 2 - 5k/pair... wondering how much these guys earn (IF they're real end users not influencers).

classicrockfan,

You just joined AG in January and all your posts seem to be negative. Is that why you joined?

What type of equipment are you using that does not improve with better cabling?

ozzy

Just a curiosity question regarding manufacturer cable burn in I never thought about before.

Easy to understand why the time and effort of burning in individual cables already built is unpractical from a physical and cost standpoint.

But I imagine cable is manufactured/purchased on large spools.  Can the entire spool of cable be burned in wholesale while still on the spool prior to being cut for individual use?

jetter,

I would guess that if the wire was taken off a spool, then yes, the entire spool could be processed (burned in).

Some of the more exotic designs (like AQ) that would be unpractical. I believe that having music playing through the cables to be the best way to condition them. I say this because I did own a AudioDharma cable cooker which was good, but it still required actually music time to finish the process.

At least in my humble opinion.

ozzy

hi ozzy,

Thanks for your response.  It's live and learn.  I did not realize that separate time with a music signal was required to finish the burn in process after being on the cable cooker.

By the way, my original thought was for the cable end to be attached to the cable cooker while all the wire was still on the spool.  Basically cook the whole spool in at once.

George

classicrockfan,

You just joined AG in January and all your posts seem to be negative. Is that why you joined?

What type of equipment are you using that does not improve with better cabling?

ozzy

Amir’s paratrooper. 

a pure class A amplifier(s) that is capable of doubling the output power as the load impedance gets halved and a pure linear preamp that has a constant gain through its operating range and has two sets of balanced outputs. If you have that knowledge and skills you can build (or re-build) your own dream amplifier(s) and preamp. buy two identical old Krell or Levinson power amps and get their circuit diagrams somewhere. then you'll be  relying on computer modeling to re-design the amp to produce the correct values that you want. Of course you must use the finest components available to achieve this goal such as ultra precision resistors and capacitors from Japan. For the preamp you can this volume potentiometer from a company in Korea I know it's outrageously expensive but such an engineering marvel, a perfect linearity Vo=aVi+0, a is the gain factor constant and 0 is zero. A $1000 power cable with a magic lamp attached or a $1000 volume potentiometer with its data sheet.

classicrockfan,

I really don't believe you. Sorry.

ozzy

So the data sheet doesn't exist?

So, your equipment does not exist?

ozzy

Has anybody compared them to Fire? The newer PSS cables Firebird/Dragon are now very expensive. In the past the jump from PSC to PSS was big with PSS providing a lot more detail. 

re; Pegasus ; I have a set of Fire in SE which are similar to the Niagara XLR i used to evaluate Pagasus and 3 above in the AQ line. Detail and resolution Niagara has a slight qualitative edge. Yes the new top silver AQ are better…at significant cost. Just weigh out where you might make bigger improvement for $.

@classicrockfan Your skills need work. See DBS patent issued jointly to Bill Low of Audioquest and Richard Vandersteen of Vandersteen.  Let us know when you achieve anything similar.

ozzy

"So, your equipment does not exist?"

Does it matter to anyone? Nobody cares whether it's real or imaginary. I built my amp/preamp just for myself not for sale.

But the presence of the data sheet of that snake oil lamp DBS matters to your buyers who paid thousands of dollars. They should be able to understand what the device really is and how it performs in the system.

tomic601

I don't know these two snake oil experts. You should know 'patentability is all about 'uniqueness' (that is, not infringing other inventions), nothing to do with its academic authenticity, its performance/effectiveness in the overall system. I suggest they submit the device to the IEEE and/or AES for their professional review. It will be the biggest joke of the century. No? Someday when I get extremely bored I'll look it up to read the abstract and claims made I bet not any better than your website which is full of novel scientific wonders. Who knows... the scientists and engineered on the board may find it a genuinely 'magical' device that makes the world a better place to live as you have claimed.

Just want to share my Pegasus burn-in experience.

Estimate that 80-90% of final performance is present at approx 100 hours.

At 150-175 hours, further refinement takes place with result that sound is just delicious.

@kennymacc : Curious to hear about your Thunderbird vs. Pegasus head-to-head audition.

@bosssound I was unable to do a head-to-head comparison, as I sold the Pegasus XLR before the Thunderbird XLR arrived.  I can tell you that, based on memory, the Thunderbird are superior performers in my system than the Pegasus.  My assessment of Thunderbird vs Pegasus: Thunderbird are more refined sounding than Pegasus, with a blacker background, tighter bass, sweeter highs, more depth, detail and transparency than Pegasus.  Quite frankly, I really didn't expect to be that much more impressed with the sound quality of the Thunderbird over the Pegasus, but I was.  Thunderbird seems to have elevated the sound quality of my system to a whole other level of refinement over the Pegasus.  To my ears, Thunderbird are reference caliber cables for the most discriminating audiophile.  As excellent as Thunderbird are, I can only imagine how much more brilliant Firebird and Dragon must be.  At any rate, the search for the perfect interconnect cables for my audio system is now over.  I done!!!  Happy listening.    

I have to say I have stalked this thread for months trying to discern who “might be lying” or “who has an agenda” with either their skepticism of cables or belief in them.

until this week the most expensive XLR cables I owned were $49 mogami. And I finally decided to go all the way into the deep end and order Pegasus XLR cables to replace them. Here is my system and I’ll provide my thoughts on the cables next.

speakers: Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 Signature

amp: Parasound JC5

preamp: Priimaluna evo 400

DAC: Laiv Harmony

Streamer: Eversolo DMP-A8

Power conditioner: Puritan PSM156

When I swapped in the Pegasus I was nervous. Skeptical. Already telling myself how much of a fool I was for spending this money on snake oil. So I turned on my stereo and after 3-4 songs I thought “oh my God I am such an idiot. This was a total waste. You’re such a moron. What did I do”

Fast forward 2 hours: I start hearing anomalies in some of my favorite songs of all time. I think something’s wrong my internet or streamer. I listen again, and it’s instruments I’ve never heard with the exception of when I’ve seen these very songs performed live in person. It’s cool but it’s no quantum leap to justify the price.

Fast forward to hour 3: “Jesus Christ what are these cables made out of?! There is such a soft, delicate touch to every single musical note. The base is full. The mids are thick and palpable. There’s pulp to the music. But not artificial bloat, this is silky smooth, perfect texture. The highs are seemingly opening up as the hours go by to become more and more airy.

i know break in is supposed to be 100-300 hours but i am absolutely blown away by the level of improvement these have made. I was completely despondent at first. Totally bummed and oh my God am I happy I kept listening.

I can’t even imagine what the other levels above sound like on a good system.

i don’t know if I ever made a “review or comment” like this before but I guess I just want to say to the naysayers and the cable deniers that life is freaking short man. Unplug the stupid ass measuring gear and buy a serious level cable if you have a revealing system and just listen with your own ears. Don’t worry about the guys over at audio science research making fun of you. Just open up your f’n mind and listen for yourself because it is absolutely undeniable how much more of my stereo system is getting through to my speakers right now. It’s amazing.

Oh and to all the deniers I still have $200 world’s best cable 9 gauge speaker cables and these Pegasus XLR are just an absolute revelation.

I hope this convinces just one skeptic who has the budget to really try a great cable to just say f*** it and try it for themselves and see what they’ve been missing and how much more music is awaiting them with great cables to tie it all together. 
 

I think I am most compelled to write this because I almost didn’t buy these because of the huge amount of ignorant people absolutely certain that cables don’t make a difference. And you are 100% wrong and you should cut the shit and stop dissuading people from coming to their own conclusions. 

@jg7884  Congratulations on your willingness to try - and your subsequent reward.

When I first joined AudiogoN, I thought posts about cables affecting the SQ were absurd.  Now, over 50% of the cost of my system in invested in cabling and power conditioning.  Worth every penny.  After many years of tweaking, I still find power cords to have the most influence in my system's SQ.   Enjoy!

- - - - - - 

Burn-in is very real.  Even when swapping cables already in the system, it takes time for them to re-settle in.  Not only does the wire need to conduct electricity but so does the electro-mechanical interface of the connectors.  

Thank you for your insight.

Knowing what I currently have are there any AQ power cables (or other brands) you’d recommend me looking into? I hadn’t thought much about cables and always appreciate any insight from people who have a working knowledge of the different products.

appreciate any feedback you’re willing to give. 

@jg7884 My suggestions would be to take your time and stay within your budget. A 30 day trial period is a wonderful thing. Or the ability to re-sell an item near what you paid for it - if it doesn’t sound right in your system.  I've tried plenty of cables that others recommended that didn't work for my ears.  Be sure to search the Audiogon discussion archives when curious about a particular product or approach. Such as this one. Have fun.

@jg7884 (hey, they have the links working again!)

.....i don’t know if I ever made a “review or comment” like this before but I guess I just want to say to the naysayers and the cable deniers that life is freaking short man. Unplug the stupid ass measuring gear and buy a serious level cable if you have a revealing system and just listen with your own ears.

Great post. Thanks for sharing. For every stubborn idiot out there who is certain cables don’t matter, and they would rather give their money to the church of scientology, hopefully there are 2 open-minded people like who actually think for themselves and try it and end up enjoying their music more. Isn’t that the point of this hobby? I was the same idiot a few short years ago.

Like you said, life is short.

I am in the same upgrading phase- upgrading cables, and vibration/resonance control, to enjoy all the endless beautiful music this planet has to offer, and retirement offers me up to 10 hours a day enjoying my system. $3000 cables are a waste of money? Work it out per hour, it is cheaper than fishing. Maybe the upgrading never stops- but maybe that is a good thing, it is a hobby. Hearing the differences in the way the music sounds is almost as much fun as enjoying the artists' musical expression.

I see you previously started a new thread asking A’gonners suggestions as to your cable choice- be sure to post these impressions there as well, as it always nice to close off a thread so other readers in the future aren’t left hanging as to the outcome.

i know break in is supposed to be 100-300 hours but i am absolutely blown away by the level of improvement these have made. I was completely despondent at first. Totally bummed and oh my God am I happy I kept listening.

I can’t even imagine what the other levels above sound like on a good system.

If you really want a roller coaster break in, try a Rhodium Furutech GTX NCF outlet. I observed changes beyond 400 hours. 

Here were my observations over the course of 3 weeks:    

I have to say that AQ pricing is incredible however I have never been able to get the realism of sound from any other cable. I was a dealer for them so I could get them pretty cheap but they are just better. Don't really care how they measure. Romex measures great but try it as speaker cable. I have.