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  #161  
Old 02-12-2019, 09:36 AM
Beet Farmer Beet Farmer is offline
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Originally Posted by Tie_breaker View Post
I currently own a Niagara 1000, 1 x Hurricane HC, and 2 x Thunder HC power cords, and 1 x other brand $150 cord. My system is made up of a digital player/streamer, a DAC, and an integrated tube amp. I would like to know your thoughts based on your experience, which power cord I should use for which connection to obtain the best sound quality.

Wall to Niagara 1000
Niagara 1000 to integrated tube amp
Niagara 1000 to digital player
Niagara 1000 to DAC

Thank you much in advance..
With the possibilities of trying most of the combinations within reach.. I say you should do some listening and decide. Rather than accept theory from folks who are not able to hear your system.
But fora starting setup....
I would place the $150 cord on the digital player. Since it is not 'decoding the music.'
Trying out where to place the Hurricane is the key. I would start with it on the integrated. Thus the Thunder are to the Niagara, and DAC.
BUT, after listening to the setup for a few weeks, I would certainly TRY the Hurricane on the Niagara, then on the DAC.
What matters is where they all make the best music.
And, just also try the Hurricane to the Integrated from the wall. just to hear it that way vs on the Niagara.
(Particularly if you have an audiophile duplex in the wall? If not, you should get one..Compared to the AQ power cords cost, a good duplex is very cheap, and may also upgrade the sound a bit. even if all it powers is the Niagara.
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  #162  
Old 02-14-2019, 04:51 PM
Charles Charles is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beet Farmer View Post
With the possibilities of trying most of the combinations within reach.. I say you should do some listening and decide. Rather than accept theory from folks who are not able to hear your system.
But fora starting setup....
I would place the $150 cord on the digital player. Since it is not 'decoding the music.'
Trying out where to place the Hurricane is the key. I would start with it on the integrated. Thus the Thunder are to the Niagara, and DAC.
BUT, after listening to the setup for a few weeks, I would certainly TRY the Hurricane on the Niagara, then on the DAC.
What matters is where they all make the best music.
And, just also try the Hurricane to the Integrated from the wall. just to hear it that way vs on the Niagara.
(Particularly if you have an audiophile duplex in the wall? If not, you should get one..Compared to the AQ power cords cost, a good duplex is very cheap, and may also upgrade the sound a bit. even if all it powers is the Niagara.
Tie breaker, I believe that I can help answer this question. Definitely use the Hurricane from the wall to the 1000. I know someone high up in the food chain at AQ. It is AQ's strong advice to use the best cord at the wall.

Last edited by Charles; 02-14-2019 at 04:54 PM.
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  #163  
Old 02-14-2019, 07:27 PM
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audio bill audio bill is offline
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Originally Posted by Charles View Post
Tie breaker, I believe that I can help answer this question. Definitely use the Hurricane from the wall to the 1000. I know someone high up in the food chain at AQ. It is AQ's strong advice to use the best cord at the wall.
That's also one of the few points of complete agreement between AQ and Nordost, that the power cable feeding the distributor (first power cable in the line) should be your best available cable.
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  #164  
Old 02-15-2019, 11:43 AM
Tie_breaker Tie_breaker is offline
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Beet Farmer, Charles, and audio bill,
Thank you for your advice, much appreciated.
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  #165  
Old 02-28-2019, 01:14 PM
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johndoe21ro johndoe21ro is offline
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I find AQ policy outrageous! They have indeed modified both the Hurricane and the Dragon...
These are print-screens from the 2018 and 2019 AQ pricelist. As you can see, the Hurricane become
bluer and with inferior AWG and the Dragon went from PSS/PSC+ (more AWG) to PSS (less AWG).
But you have to do some research in order to find out about this change...
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Amp: BAT VK-655SE
Pre-amp/Digital: exaSound e32 w UpTone JS-2 Power Supply; SOtM tX-USBultra w UpTone LPS1.2; Apple Mac Mini w UpTone DC Conversion Kit & UpTone JS-2 Power Supply; Squeezelite w Logitech Media Server 7.9.0
Speakers: Triangle Magellan Cello II
Cables: AudioQuest WEL XLR, AudioQuest Everest, AudioQuest Hurricane HC, AudioQuest NRG-1000, AudioQuest Diamond USB
Rack: Solid Tech Hybrid
Tweaks: Omicron Stabilizzatore Armonico & Gold Evolution SE; IsoTek Sigmas GII w Optimum EVO3; Furutech FT-SWS (R) AC Outlet; Synergistic Research Blue Quantum Fuse

Last edited by johndoe21ro; 06-04-2019 at 03:52 AM.
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  #166  
Old 02-28-2019, 01:46 PM
Charles Charles is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johndoe21ro View Post








I find AQ policy outrageous! They have indeed modified both the Hurricane and the Dragon...
These are print-screens from the 2018 and 2019 AQ pricelist. As you can see, the Hurricane become
bluer and with inferior AWG and the Dragon went from PSS/PSC+ (more AWG) to PSS (less AWG).
But you have to do some research in order to find out about this change...
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Speakers: Triangle Magellan Cello II
Cables: AudioQuest WEL XLR 72v DBS, AudioQuest Everest DBS 72V, AudioQuest Hurricane High Current 72V DBS, AudioQuest NRG-1000 72V DBS, AudioQuest Diamond USB 72V DBS, UpTone ISORegen w LPS1.2 & USPCB A>B Adapter
Rack: Solid Tech Hybrid
Tweaks: Stillpoints Ultra SS, Omicron Stabilizzatore Armonico & Gold Evolution SE; IsoTek Sigmas GII w Optimum EVO3; Furutech FT-SWS (R) AC Outlet; HiFi Tuning Supreme 3
Are you saying the 2019 modifications are improvements? It is not unusual for manufactures to make minor modifications without changing the model name or number. Also, when I bought my original Hurricane HC and Thunder HC the source models did not exist as they do now. I can confirm the color change in the HC Hurricanes. The newer one is blue. The older is red. I'm sure AQ would say that while the 2019 modifications are improvements, they are not enough to justify a new designation like Hurricane HCi. However for a significant improvement like a source cord vs a HC cord a designation is necessary. Also source cords are about 25% less expensive. I wouldn't have any interest in demanding AQ to change out my 2018 AQ Hurricane HC for a 2019 Hurricane source which runs from my 7000 to my Watch Controller. I suspect that these 2019 modifications are tweaks and there may be more to come. This is the nature of the highend. Cable manufactures certainly don't have to divulge very much if they don't want to. The question becomes behind the scenes: should we make the minor modifications or should we rigidly adhere to the code that once a cable or cord is introduced to the public of a fixed unchanging design unless there is something like an "i" for improved for example added? Interesting question. But you have provided us with valuable information. Thank you for the research!

Last edited by Charles; 02-28-2019 at 01:54 PM.
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  #167  
Old 02-28-2019, 02:06 PM
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johndoe21ro johndoe21ro is offline
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No, Charles.... The improvement is only for the Dragon but the new (blue) Hurricane HC has 12AWG instead of 11AWG that we find in the original one (red). I guess the Firebird was too close to Hurricane and also Dragon so they had to improve the Dragon and worsen the Hurricane... Shame to AQ for covering their policy! On this forum some members claim to have been talking to AQ officials that stated that the only difference between the old and the new Hurricane HC is the blue braiding...

P.S. I was about to jump on an original Dragon (PSS/PSC+) thinking it's only PSS... It seems that the old Dragon has black connectors while the new one has gray ones.
__________________
Amp: BAT VK-655SE
Pre-amp/Digital: exaSound e32 w UpTone JS-2 Power Supply; SOtM tX-USBultra w UpTone LPS1.2; Apple Mac Mini w UpTone DC Conversion Kit & UpTone JS-2 Power Supply; Squeezelite w Logitech Media Server 7.9.0
Speakers: Triangle Magellan Cello II
Cables: AudioQuest WEL XLR, AudioQuest Everest, AudioQuest Hurricane HC, AudioQuest NRG-1000, AudioQuest Diamond USB
Rack: Solid Tech Hybrid
Tweaks: Omicron Stabilizzatore Armonico & Gold Evolution SE; IsoTek Sigmas GII w Optimum EVO3; Furutech FT-SWS (R) AC Outlet; Synergistic Research Blue Quantum Fuse

Last edited by johndoe21ro; 06-04-2019 at 03:51 AM.
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  #168  
Old 02-28-2019, 04:46 PM
Charles Charles is offline
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Thank you again for the valuable information. It's interesting that you see a Firebird cord frequently advertised by AQ for many months but so far no such cord is available. Thus it may not be correct to assume that it is the reason for the minor changes in these cords. Their has been no change in price as far as I can tell. I would be surprised if the mods were audible but I totally agree that all other specs being equal, solid silver is better than copper and the lower the gauge the better, but we don't know that all other specs are equal. If there was significantly more silver in the newer Dragon, then the price would have to change higher, IMO.
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  #169  
Old 02-28-2019, 04:59 PM
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johndoe21ro johndoe21ro is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles View Post
Thank you again for the valuable information. It's interesting that you see a Firebird cord frequently advertised by AQ for many months but so far no such cord is available. Thus it may not be correct to assume that it is the reason for the minor changes in these cords. There has been no change in price as far as I can tell. I would be surprised if the mods were audible but I totally agree that all other specs being equal, solid silver is better than copper and the lower the gauge the better, but we don't know that all other specs are equal. If there was significantly more silver in the newer Dragon, then the price would have to change higher, IMO.
What do you mean? The new Hurricanes are a little cheaper while the new Dragon is definitely more expensive.
__________________
Amp: BAT VK-655SE
Pre-amp/Digital: exaSound e32 w UpTone JS-2 Power Supply; SOtM tX-USBultra w UpTone LPS1.2; Apple Mac Mini w UpTone DC Conversion Kit & UpTone JS-2 Power Supply; Squeezelite w Logitech Media Server 7.9.0
Speakers: Triangle Magellan Cello II
Cables: AudioQuest WEL XLR, AudioQuest Everest, AudioQuest Hurricane HC, AudioQuest NRG-1000, AudioQuest Diamond USB
Rack: Solid Tech Hybrid
Tweaks: Omicron Stabilizzatore Armonico & Gold Evolution SE; IsoTek Sigmas GII w Optimum EVO3; Furutech FT-SWS (R) AC Outlet; Synergistic Research Blue Quantum Fuse

Last edited by johndoe21ro; 06-04-2019 at 03:51 AM.
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  #170  
Old 02-28-2019, 05:23 PM
mulveling mulveling is offline
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Agree that AQ is not being very transparent about what exactly their latest cables are comprised of. E.g. the exact PSS/PSC percentages on the mixed cables like Firebird and old Dragon. They used to be a at least somewhat more forthcoming about the exact AWG for each wire within their cables.

If the actual exact AWG of the prior iterations was say 11.5, then they could simply be changing the rounding/labeling scheme when reporting the new number '12'. But we'll never know for sure, unless they ever care to clarify.

The Dragon got a bit of a price bump, but so did their other existing silver cables. I've seen their price per meter/AWG on PSS rise drastically over the years - seemingly almost a match for the stock market. And it never goes down. AQ prices PSS cables very dearly, and there are no PSS bargains to be had in their lineup for years now. So I'm suspicious that if there is indeed any change (and not just a labeling change on the Pricebook), the new Dragon would actually have very little (if any) additional PSS material over the old one.

Anyways, this is all getting too pricey too fast. I've been curious about throwing one Firebird or Dragon into my mix, but that interest is waning. The lack of transparency is a big turn-off. I now have 4x red Hurricanes, and 2x Blue - all HC. That's pretty good for me.

Also, they've been getting pretty shitty about responding to my RMA's in a timely manner, lately. They used to be on point with that stuff.

Last edited by mulveling; 02-28-2019 at 05:25 PM.
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