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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
ctsooner
2,480 posts
 
Jim, thanks.  We need to talk on phone and catch up soon!!!  I can't afford a preamp right now, lol.  I'm hoping and praying that the volume control they install in my server/DAC is of the highest quality.  The designer built the Melos gear back in the day.  It was OUTSTANDING sound wise, but broke down constantly.  He's fixed all of that now and his designs are sublimed.  We will see.  I also need to get an electrician into my listening room to run conduits for the two dedicated circuits in the room that are on an adjoining wall.  I moved the system 10 years ago and just never moved the circuits.  I now have no choice as I don't have enough outlets on that wall to plug in the speakers, mono's AND the Niagara.  Can't plug one mono into the Niagara and the other directly into the wall, lol...  I'll have him put one circuit behind each speaker for the mono blocks and speakers and then a four pack behind the TV/server area for the Niagara and router/LPS unit that run that and the cable box, lol.  I also just realized that I can't use my Hurricane cords on the Mono blocks due to them being 15amp and the amps being 20amp. DARN IT TO HECK!!!
eziggy
137 posts
 
@ctsooner you can always send the Hurricanes back to AQ to get re-terminated for a small fee, it's a simple process.
saleh84's avatar
saleh84
42 posts
 
You could even do it yourself, i changed my 2m HC firebird from 15amp to 20amp in less than 10 minutes! No soldering at all, just screws ))
gfroman's avatar
gfroman
142 posts
 
If anyone is looking for a pair of 8ft William Tell BASS speaker cables, I have some like new in the box for sale.
They are on USAM.
Sold my WT ZERO cables last week, as I moved up to the Thunderbirds!
ctsooner
2,480 posts
 
WOW, what a ride.  New update:

I basically have sold all my cables and cords.  I have a 2m Hurricane and 2m Basic power cord and Niagara 1000 that I'll soon put up for sale I think (unless I use it in my second system).

New set up is as follows:
Niagara 3000 with Dragon power cord into an Edison outlet that is on it's own circuit.  All other power cords are Hurricane's and that includes on my Quatro's for the sub bass.
I use a Horizon (WEL Signatures first year's name, but identical to the WEL Signature) and the Fire IC into the Vandersteen M5-HPA mono's.  Still using The Memory Player server with built in DAC and analog volume control.  I'll be selling my digital soon and moving into something else (auditioning a few things)

I also am using the Fog Lifters.  I have heard that at a dealer and the demo was great.  Heard the slight (very slight) difference.  They help manage the cable runs.

Still burning in.
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