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
I have done many tests on audio cables in over 21 years of time. And sold many brands you all know. The current Audioquest power cables, Mythical Creatures, and Folks Heroes series are a huge step up in cables. They all have a lot less compression than other brands.

In all these 21 years of time, I never auditioned a brand in cables who made such a big step forward compared to the former series of the same brand. This year Audioquest will focus on the more affordable loudspeaker cables. The interconnects will come after that. I am sure they will a big step as they proved with the new power cables and loudspeaker cables.
I will definitely buy the Interconnects designed by Garth. Whenever they come out. I will wait patiently 
I also did test different ground cable products. The problem is that most people can not judge audio on all aspects/properties of sound. When you test ground cables on all aspects of sound, you will find out that it does not improve all aspects of sound.

This is why at this moment I do use and sell these products. They all showed a loss in a 3-dimensional stage. This is unacceptable when you judge at a 'High-end' level. It showed too much emphasis like many cable brands also reveal.

Creating a different sound is very easy in audio. But people forget that you need to be able to judge on 8 different aspects of sound at 1/10 of a second. Humans can perceive between 1 and 3 different aspects of sound at the same time. This is why they make the wrong decisions!
The Wel and all other pure silver cables of Audioquest all have a long inburn period. The Wel took about 23 days 24 hours a day before they were able to give the highest level. Silver needs a longer time to burn in compared to copper.

But through research, we found out that even after 800 hours we could measure an improved level of sound and stage. We could hear more details, layers and also improved low frequencies.

With the latest Monitor Audio Gold series, we had again the same experiences. We did measure at 400 hours, 800 hours and after 1000 hours. And again we had a clear improvement in low, mid and high frequencies.

People have no idea how long burn-in periods are of cables and components.
Actually many of us do understand burn in just like you do Bo.  It deals with the grain size and boundaries along with a few other details.  

As for the interconnects, don't expect as big a difference in sound as the cords and speaker cables.  Garth is breaking new ground and has measurements to prove this as most know.  

Power is a different beast entirely.  In the end, it comes down to each person's home as well as their system set up.  There is signal crap as well as crap from the mains.  

Bo says "This is why at this moment I do use and sell these products. They all showed a loss in a 3-dimensional stage. This is unacceptable when you judge at a 'High-end' level. It showed too much emphasis like many cable brands also reveal."

Not sure what you are saying.  You say you use and sell 'these products' (which ones?), but you say they all show a loss in a 3-dimensional stage.  Why would you use and sell anything that hurts the stage?  I'm sure it's a language mistake.  Please clarify.

The CAD device actually increased subtly the sound stage.  Bob and I didn't even make comments during the first few songs, but afterwards it was obvious that we both heard the same thing.  It did nothing negative.  

Anyone can make up marketing hyperbole about how to listen and what to listen for, but everyone hears differently.  That's the reality.  Most folks hear what they are told to hear by a dealer who wants to sell gear.  Many of us listen to a lot of live music and some of us have played instruments in bands and know what live music sounds like on stage.

Any audio system is a compromise.  Nothing can sound like live music.  We agree on many things and that includes what Garth is doing.  I remember sitting with Richard Vandersteen, Johnny Rutan and Garth listening to Richards model 7's with his amp and the top AR pre.  The analog was AMG.  Garth had his prototype 7000 and three of his power cords.  They were all in clear jackets as they were prototype's.  Even without letting the cords warm up, you heard a huge difference.  When he left the top cord (Dragon) in all day, it was spellbinding.  We all know what the Dragon does now, but at the time there was nothing like it on the market (and still isn't to my ears).  

Garth is a genius who may go down as one of the biggest innovators in audio.  There are plenty of different flavored speakers, amps, servers, DAC's.....We all have favorites for whatever reason.  I've yet to hear anyone not chose the new AQ cables and cords when doing A/B comparisons.  That to me says it all. 

Back to grounding devices.  I have heard many, but hated them all.  You can ask Bob how skeptical I was doing into the demo at Johnny's.  Most devices just put the noise back into the system and it's why some designers float the ground.  The Teleos (active) and CAD (passive) convert the crap on the line into heat.  Lowering the noise floor is positive in every way as long as it doesn't change the sound.  It just takes away the noise and nothing else.