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Audioquest DBS - What Voltage?

I've been listening to my system for several years with 72 volt Colorado interconnects and 48 volt Volcano speaker cables, and never gave much thought to the voltage. I did previously have non-DBS Volcanos, and thought they sounded darker than the DBS ones.

Anyway, I decided to disconnect the DBS on the Volcanos to see if it made a meaningful difference. I was surprised to find that the sound became a bit more recessed but focused, which was welcome in my system. This was obvious immediately, and over the next day or two continued to develop maybe another 25% in the same direction.

So, I tried the same thing on the interconnects, both between my DAC and my Preamp, and between my Preamp and Power amps. The overall effect was similar, and the sound with all batteries removed was as though recorded a bit further away in a significantly less reverberant room. 

After a while, it became clear that removing all the batteries was too much of a good thing, and I began experimenting with running the cables at a lower voltage. 

The easiest way to do this is to simply reverse the direction of the batteries in their holders. The 72 volt battery holders include 6 x 12 volt batteries, so reversing one results in 48 volts, reversing two gives 24 volts. 

After quite a bit of experimentation, I found that 12 volts from DAC to Pre, 24 volts from Pre to Amps, and 24 volts in the speaker cables gives me an ideal balance.

I must say that this ability to tweak the sound is an under appreciated advantage of the DBS cables.

I theory it would seem that more voltage is better, but in my case at least there does seem to be an optimum somewhere in the middle.

 

Ag insider logo xs@2xneilgundel
carlsbad2's avatar
carlsbad2
1,602 posts
 

Do you have a circuit diagram for these cables?

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neilgundel OP
15 posts
 

The Dialectric Bias System does not form a circuit. It runs a wire through the middle of the cable at a high enough voltage to create an electric field, which is supposed to charge the dialectric. The insulation in the cable forms a dielectric in the capacitance of the cable. 

mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,895 posts
 

I’ve got so many AQ DBS cables, and have become short on good packs over time. Plastic clips break off, the old rubber bands die, those horrible 2010s packs turn to sticky goo, etc. And unfortunately, some of the old DBS plugs don’t fit into newer packs.

So I’ve sometimes run DBS cables without the packs connected. I didn’t strain too hard looking for sonic differences, but would generally classify it as "subtle". I like these cables because the cables themselves sound good, with or without DBS packs. And I don’t always prefer the "upgrade" model over the lower one.

Some of the older DBS lines with lower voltages (12, 36, 48V) are still great today, and I seek them out from time to time. I’ve never stressed about the voltages being lower than 72V. Certainly these models shine in value, when compared to the pricing of new AQ cables.

I’ve almost bought that Volcano several times, but the Mont Blanc (1 below it) has been superb (biwrire with KE-4) - I’ve had it for ages now.

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neilgundel OP
15 posts
 

I agree that the changes are subtle, but after spending a lot of time and money on room treatments and power cables, for me they are very worthwhile. Certainly on a level with a generation newer cable, and free assuming you already have DBS. cables. By the way, if you have worn out battery packs, you can cheaply get knock-off replacements on eBay pretty cheaply. I haven’t tried them, but there’s no reason they shouldn’t work. AQ charges a fortune for them. 

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