2. cables
  3. 189893-189728

ABX testing with AQ Dragon power cords

I was talking to my dealer about how good the system sounds that he sold me. I mentioned that I had tried some new speaker/interconnect cables from a local amp/cable manufacturer & both I and the company boss agreed that there was little discernible sound difference between his cables & mine. He couldn’t understand why. He also told me that my room acoustics were amazing, top notch. He’d like me to bring my cables (& his) to his listening room & we’ll compare there. That’s for next week.

My dealer said that in his 40 years this has never happened & he was ready to rise to the challenge. He said he would send me a couple of AQ Hurricane power cords to try on my amp/pre and I’d be amazed. I said why bother, send some Dragons. He told me to connect them to my amp & preamp & I should be amazed within 10 seconds of comparing. Today I received a Dragon HC & Source power cord. I listened to some music I’m very familiar with through my Lumin T3 playing FLAC files from the attached USB. Then I swapped the amp & pre to the Dragons and listened to the same songs. No difference that I could tell. So I redid the test, one song at a time, switching back & forth. Still no difference.

I invited two neighbors over (separately) and asked them to look at my FLAC library & choose a song that they knew well. I played that for them with both sets of power cords. One said he couldn’t hear any difference between the two. The other said that one (mine) sounded like it had slightly more treble, the other (Dragon) sounded like more bass. I played a third version (turned out it was mine but he didn’t know) and he said that was the bass version. He was wrong & admitted that the differences were so small that he really couldn’t choose between the two.

I called my dealer & he asked if the difference was earth shattering. I told him no & he asked how that was possible when he just sent similar cables to another customer last week with a similarly priced system as mine & that guy said that the SQ improved 50% and was ecstatic. I said that that guy must have decided already that he was going to buy them and determined that for that money they must improve the sound. My dealer said that either my ears are those a near dead 95 year old or his last 40 years experience have been a sham. I suggested that he was selling & demoing a product to people that had a propensity to believe it worked & therefore it worked for them. I offered to have him drive here (4 hour drive) and listen for himself & I’ll swap cables while his mind is blown. We may get there yet.

I hesitate to post a photo of my listening room as experience tells me that those that are strong proponents of cables will pick it apart and blame a myriad of other crap  rather than recognizing that the 3 of us heard no difference on a high resolving system situated in a room would good acoustics... but here goes.

 

McIntosh MC462/C2700, Pure Fidelity Harmony TT, Gold Note PH-10/PSU-10 phono stage, Lumin T3/Sbooster, Sonus Faber Amati G5 speakers, Sonus Faber Gravis V sub.

dwcda
ghdprentice
7,022 posts
 

Very nice system.

 

When I put Hurricanes on my system, I was shocked. I had spent a year with Cardas, WireWorld, Transparent,  and a couple others and each would either be vailed or tip the tonal balance one way or another. Definitely, within ten seconds it was obvious my search was over. I have fifty years of experience with the high end… not in my head. 
 

This has been my experience, it does not in any way explain yours.

dwcda OP
116 posts
 

You know I’ve read the criticism of ASR and how badly they treat people with different opinions. My goal on posting my experiences here is not to stir up crap and cause trouble. If anything I’m providing a counterpoint. I’m not bashing those that believe power cords make a big difference nor am I demanding that you agree with me. They are valid experiences that support the contention that in some circumstances cables sound the same. But sarcastic posts as I’ve encountered here (audphile1) show that ASR isn’t unique, people don’t like to read experiences that differ from theirs. They find them threatening.

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,119 posts
 

Your reply to my first post here was sarcastic. No one is disrespecting you for the difference of opinion. Don’t play the snowflake card now. 
Your experience is not threatening. You can’t hear what you can’t hear. That’s the end of it. 

dwcda OP
116 posts
 

No sarcasm. There are no audiophile credentials. My neighbors are as able to hear discernible differences in sound as you are. For some the entire premise of these threads when someone describes how two sets of cables sound the same is to diminish their experience. 

For the record, my dealer told me I should hear a difference in these cables within 10 seconds of playing. He welcomed the idea of asking my neighbors to listen. I welcomed him to come to my house and listen for himself. I can't imagine the reaction here if he can't hear a difference with a blind test, but he's willing to try.

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,119 posts
 

My neighbors are as able to hear discernible differences in sound as you are. 

that I doubt 

 

For some the entire premise of these threads when someone describes how two sets of cables sound the same is to diminish their experience. 
 

Well let’s pick this apart a bit shall we?

you had tested a set of Transparent cables around $80,000 that sounded like your Mogami…simply indistinguishable. And you have just completed the evaluation of AQ Dragon power cords on your amp and preamp that also happened to prove that they’re indistinguishable from your generic power cords, to you and to your neighbors that participated in your abx.
 

The only thing diminished here is your ability to hear the difference. My experience is still good and isn’t diminished. 

More to discover