No problem. I guess I'm crazy, but I might sell one Hurricane to get the Dragon source for my DAC.
Audioquest custom made triple weave design power cable (Storm Series).
Hi everyone,
I am interested in having my own customized Audioquest power cable build based of their new power line Storm series, which can be found here:
https://www.audioquest.com/ac-power/ac-power-cables/storm-series
The reason being the new line is out of my budget AND I am very interested in how a tailor made Audioquest applied with my own ideas will sound.
The idea:
• Use Audioquest NRG 4 cable, which can be bought in bulk: https://www.audioquest.com/ac-power/ac-power-cables/3-pole/nrg-4
• Dissecting the NRG 4 cable into three different wire parts: neutral, live, earth.
• Add multiple layers of shieldings per wire part: carbon fibre, copper braided sleeve, carbon fibre sleeve.
• Twist the three shielded wire parts in a geometry as the new Audioquest cable above, also have a look at:
https://www.lessloss.com/dfpc-series-p-213.html and
http://anticables.com/power-cords#!/Level-3-Reference-Series-Power-Cords/p/14644872/category=3461168
These great performers also use the same triple twisted design.
There must be something good going on with this geometry? That is why I want to apply it.
• Finally add, Oyaide plugs at each end (046, 079 or 004) and fill it with special crystal mineral against vibration, EMI, RFI, see: http://sablonaudio.com/index.php/power
First of all, would the geometry and design help you guys think?
Would it be worthwhile to try?
I can get Audioquest nrg4 relatively cheap. It has to be Audioquest wiring for me.
I am interested in having my own customized Audioquest power cable build based of their new power line Storm series, which can be found here:
https://www.audioquest.com/ac-power/ac-power-cables/storm-series
The reason being the new line is out of my budget AND I am very interested in how a tailor made Audioquest applied with my own ideas will sound.
The idea:
• Use Audioquest NRG 4 cable, which can be bought in bulk: https://www.audioquest.com/ac-power/ac-power-cables/3-pole/nrg-4
• Dissecting the NRG 4 cable into three different wire parts: neutral, live, earth.
• Add multiple layers of shieldings per wire part: carbon fibre, copper braided sleeve, carbon fibre sleeve.
• Twist the three shielded wire parts in a geometry as the new Audioquest cable above, also have a look at:
https://www.lessloss.com/dfpc-series-p-213.html and
http://anticables.com/power-cords#!/Level-3-Reference-Series-Power-Cords/p/14644872/category=3461168
These great performers also use the same triple twisted design.
There must be something good going on with this geometry? That is why I want to apply it.
• Finally add, Oyaide plugs at each end (046, 079 or 004) and fill it with special crystal mineral against vibration, EMI, RFI, see: http://sablonaudio.com/index.php/power
First of all, would the geometry and design help you guys think?
Would it be worthwhile to try?
I can get Audioquest nrg4 relatively cheap. It has to be Audioquest wiring for me.
147 responses Add your response
I have two Hurricanes on the Atlas Eclipse amps and two Hurricanes on my Aesthetix Io Eclipse stand alone preamp. I'm pretty sure that the amp was broken in at about 290 hours. I knew the preamp would take longer because these are HC cables and the Io does not draw as mush current as the amps. At 330 hours the preamp was starting to change and come in finally in ways that I could not believe. Everything became more dynamic, soundstage became amazing and so forth. I cannot imagine anything else on the market being superior. Also, R. Vandersteen recommended putting Thunders on the Model 7 speakers. Audioquest will change out the termination to fit the 7s. All this is beyond my wildest expectations. |
@chargerfan They are stunning aren't they? Makes you wonder just how good was your equipment to begin with. You spend all that money, then add these things and go "Wow"! I didn't think my system could be improved that much. I'm interested in the statement that Richard Vandersteen recommends upgrading the powercords on the Model 7's. Does this improve the really low frequencies or what? Could you elaborate more on this? I too have powered floorstanders. |
I just had to add my comments to what is becoming a consistent stream of love for these amazing cables. I actually went for the less-mentioned, middle-child Tornado - to connect my AQ Niagara 1000 to the wall-socket. Integrated amp, DAC, streamer all plug into the N1000 with a variety of mid-grade cables: an NRG-4 for the amp, Morrow MAP3 for the DAC and streamer power supply. I was stressing for days, waiting for the Tornado to arrive. (a) Would that chunky cord even fit behind my audio unit? (b) would this be another disappointing (and expensive) nothing-burger, after all the hype. After a few minutes wrestling the Tornado into position (it just about fits without major kinking) I was ready for the big moment.....and then.... nothing. For minutes, I literally couldn't get a sound out of my system. And yes, everything was apparently hooked up correctly, with all the appropriate lights on. No mute buttons inadvertently activated. I have no idea what caused the unwelcome silence, but suddenly the music came to life. And how. Forget burn-in. Right out of the blocks the sound is obviously and instantly, massively improved. I'm enjoying only my second evening with them, and I'm bowled over. Seriously folks, it's an absolutely stunning leap in musicality My system has never had such a transformation with any previous equipment change. I'll save you the clichés. I'm just going to have to play my entire music collection this weekend. I have no idea how much better things could get with a Hurricane or Dragon attached to my mid-level electronics, but the Tornado is worth every penny for me. |
bultaco, The Thunder will allow the Model 7 subwoofer to become more dynamic with more slam. Prior to talking with RV, I noticed a bit of a roll off between the mid-range and low base. The Thunder should remedy that. Randy Cooley (Optimal Enchantment) also verified this. Don't forget the Storm series cables are as of now, all high current cables which the subs will like. Also, I had a major improvement in sound at 320 hours of break-in. I'm positive that this was the Io preamp Hurricanes breaking in. When I talked to Audioquest they said break-in on these cables is anywhere from 250-350 hrs. It takes time to break these babies in, but it is totally worth it. Changing out the terminations, as already noted, is no problem for Audioquest. Also, the word is that Garth is working on speaker cables. |
Charger, I didn't think that AQ wanted the Garth speaker cable deal out in public yet, but I guess it is ;) ....yes, preliminarily, the speaker cables will be game changers too. Garth knowns what he's doing for sure. I wonder if I need a special connection for the Quatro's too???? I haven't even looked to see if the Thunder's normal connection will work. |
Everyone knew about Garth and the speaker cable at our meeting. Although he didn't exactly admit it, more like a no comment. OK, here is the latest on my adventures with the Storm series. I have 330 hours on all four cables (two on the amps, two on both preamp power supplies. Plus, I now have the Thunders on the speakers. I believe the Hurricanes on the Atlas amps are broken in. And the sound is much better than it has ever been. I was happy, I was is hog heaven. And then guess what happened? Two days ago the sound started to improve. This was affecting all aspects of my sound. I thought, what is going on here. And then the obvious hit me. The PRE-AMP dummy. The preamp is coming in. Both cables, one for each power supply is opening up the preamp. Suddenly the usual brightness and aggressive sound of the Mercury recordings I have basically disappeared, the soundstage was getting bigger and deeper, transparency improved and images were rock solid. Perhaps more important the sound was simply more musical and easier to enjoy. Especially the Mercs. I have been trying for 40 years to get those records to sound the way I thought they could and should sound. And now they are. The preamp, drawing much less current than the amps took longer to realize it's potential. Now I am hearing my Atlas cart, Basis table with the Super arm and even AJ Conte's arm wire as never before. The whole package is being delivered to the mono-bloc Atlas amps. Now I will focus on the Thunders which I expect will deliver the goods as well. No question, the Storm series is a separate component equal to the components in a system and part of the chain that can make or break sound quality? |
With the Vandy 7s the Thunder will be drawing current above and below 180 hz which is the crossover point between the mid-range driver and the subwoofer. The sub-woofer amp boosts the frequencies below the crossover point back to flat and rolls off the subwoofer above the crossover point. So, as you can see, the current will be limited unless called upon. Right now I have about 20 hrs on the Thunders. It does seem to me that the there is greater clarity in the bass region, Above the the crossover point the midrange will slope up while the subwoofer slopes down. Below the crossover point the opposite takes place. Break-in will take awhile. |
These cords have been taking over my system in the past several months. In some cases I did direct comparisons, in other cases just "set-it and forget-it". The biggest difference was from NRG 1000's to Hurricanes on my tube monoblocks - awesome! I've also got a Hurricane from wall to Niagara 7000 driving the main system. Over time, with burn-in, this has truly morphed into my dream system. My girlfriend and I get pumped for each listening session. The only 2 non-Hurricane cords left here are NRG WEL Signatures, but eventually I'd like to replace them with Hurricanes too (though I think the WEL's are still an excellent cord). There's definitely some magic to these new cords. I also have a separate, extremely high performance headphone system (best headphone sound in the world, for my preferences: Stax 009/S driven by a commissioned T2 amplifier, with vinyl source), and now I'm working on that too. Currently "just" a Thunder & Niagara 1000, plus 2x NRG 1000 cords (the old tube amp cords) there, but now I've got another 2 Hurricanes on the way; I'll probably move 1 of these to the main 2ch setup, then the other new 'Cane plus the repurposed NRG WEL into the headphone setup (and an NRG 1000 bumps down to the SOTA Nova pump & power supply lol). |
chargerfan44 posts08-13-2018 1:50pmAlso, regarding the rumor out there about speaker cables, the prototype of the Storm series cables was being demonstrated at a few select dealerships two years ago. One of those I believe was Audio Connection in New Jersey. Yes, I was there. Richard, Alex Brinkman, Johnny, Garth and I stayed after everyone left and auditioned for a while. I was begging Garth to get me a couple of prototypes, lmao. I waited a long time for them to come out, lol. You just took me by surprise when you spoke about the speaker cables. I was sworn to secrecy when told about them. Please don't take my post any other way. I've been waiting on Richard to get the amps to market and then Garth's new cables as I think they will be crazy good and affordable (well a few will be, lol). It's a very exciting time for AQ as they have hired the right people. |
In my limited one week's experience, there's only one challenge when using the Storm Series - the stiffness of the cable will be a real problem for a lot of setups. So this makes me wonder if anyone's found a 90 degree connector that doesn't degrade the performance of these cables? I guess one could spend another $100 on the Furutech - anyone tried that? I've already found the weight and torque of the cable has loosened my duplex wall socket, which I'll need to tighten at the weekend. |
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Adaptors will most probably degrade the SQ. Furetech makes a cool stand/holder for heavy connectors. They have carbon in them and allegedly help SQ even more. That's hard to believe, but these holders are wroth it if you are having problems. As for duplex outlets, are you using an audiophile one or even a $25 medical grade one? If so, you won't have that problem. |
ctsooner, That must have been a real ear opener. RV really enjoyed it. It's a valuable learning experience to be around people like those you mentioned. A few years ago when I was traveling to NYC every so often, through super record collector Carol Kessler, I was able to hook up with Sid Marks and spent time with his listening group when ever I was in town. Those were fun times. Of course, no problem at all on the post. |
To me it's not subtle at all. Tornado to Thunder is subtle. Some may think the Thunder to Hurricane is subtle, but it depends on your houses electrical as well as your system. Mine has VAndy Quatro's and is highly resolving. I have found the difference to be huge, so I went with Hurricane. I'm getting the Dragon for my The Memory Player, once I get it as that is the biggest difference and I only need the source one. I have used the Furetech, AQ's and the Cruze Maestro in a friends room. We also had the Oyaide installed. He had totally separate circuits for each (he's a dealer with very high end gear and a great room). In order: Furutech AQ, Oyide Cruze (not close) The tie is due to what flavor you like. AQ is the house sound. Most neutral with great timber and really dynamic. Oyide is smoother and is a great performer all around. All were very good and worth the upgrades. I have my two lines on a wall that I need the electrician to extend to the new wall. I am thinking strongly of getting the cryo Furutech top of the line as stated above as it's really special. I'll use the two AQ's I have for my house circuit that will have a Richard Gray power deal that I plug my Wyred 4 Sound LPS (4 supplies) into. I then use it to power my modem, router and cable TV box, lol. Charger, it was awesome. Dinner was Italian of course. The conversation was just amazing. Learned sooo much. :). Are you in SD? I used to buy through Bruce when I was stationed out there (82-87). I still have the NAD system my brother bought from him and I still have part of my Stax system I got there. It was the first time I met Richard. |
ctsooner, I used to live in SD. Bruce was my dealer for many years at Stereo Unlimited. He is truly a fine person to work with. I now live in Huntington Beach up the coast. My dealer is Randy Cooley at Optimal Enchantment. Jim White used to work for Randy in Santa Monica. Through them I have become friends with Richard. Like you, I have learned so much from them. Seems like it is a small world. |
sorry you have to sell Darth. Charger, very cool. I've never met Randy. He's never been open when I"ve been down by 3rd street. I've sent him many folks though, lol. Including a 7 purchase. I know he takes great care of customers and still has a great ear for set ups etc... Very small world. Jim is also a great guy. I love Aesthetix gear. Wonderful stuff for the cost too. Just like Vandersteen does. |
@ctsooner thanks for the info about wall-sockets. I may get around to switching my Cruze to AQ, based on your comments. Possibly might also upgrade my Tornado, although I was a little confused by your remark that the difference between Thunder and Tornado is not subtle, while the Hurricane-Thunder may be on some systems. I guess you're aware that Tornado is the product in between Hurricane and Thunder? No matter...the Tornado sounds great. Here's the strange part.... On my system I have the Tornado from wall to Niagara 1000. My integrated Belles amp seems to sound better plugged into one of the regular inputs on the Niagara, rather than the dedicated power input. The power input sounds slightly bloated in the bass. So far I've had the Tornado plugged into the Niagara for about 250 hours, playing music for about 20 hours. Another question - when yo guys are talking about burn in time, are you speaking about music-playing or simply connected to powered components? |
Thanks for the correction. I messed up the names. That can happen with me due to my MS. You are correct. I found that on one of the systems I remember, the Tornado sounded a bit better than the Thunder. The system was a fairly resolving system. The system using the Hurricane vs the Tornado showed the Hurricane to be a very very good cord. Dragon is in a different league. I really wanted to hear the Dragon cords vs the Enklein that my buddy just got. I may try and secure some of them to play a bit. As for which outlet to plug the Belles into, I've never been able to do that. I use an Ayre AX5/20 integrated and it sounds better in the power outlet. As for burn in, I needed about 500 hours before my bass fully settled in. It also helped a spec with the soundstage, but it wasn't huge after the first 200 hours or so. I play music at serious volume levels. That's just me though. I have the older one I guess as I have a reddish hue to mine. I just got them a few weeks ago. |
I don't know if you guys are awake out there, but there is news on the Audioquest new line of speaker cables called the Mythical Creatures speaker cables. Our Audio Society meeting on the 29th of this month will feature Richard Vandersteen and Garth Powell. Garth is scheduled to introduce the new line of speaker cables that up to now has only been rumor. I don't know the specific agenda, but I'm hoping for a demo like the one Garth did for us on the Storm Series power cables. Just imagine, if these speaker cables make an impact like the Storm Series the result could be really special. Stay tuned> |
Read on another forum from an AQ dealer - there will be a "Firebird" model just below the Dragon. Also a mix of silver/copper. But the indication is that it's still a very big price jump over a Hurricane (i.e. more than 2x cost for 2.0m lengths). Hopefully there's also another model just below that, still above Hurricane, with just a touch of silver to keep the price relatively sane. Then I can think about upgrading my monoblocks to that. |
I saw that Sunny’s in CA was supposed to have Garth reveal the new AQ Speaker cables at a meeting last Saturday. Richard Vandersteen was also supposed to be there. I’d love to read a review or see some comments on the new speaker cables. I just bought some Quattros and my dealer told me to wait for the new AQ speaker cable release. |
I attended the Audio Society meeting at Sonny's. Garth introduced the new line of speaker cable called Mythical Creatures. He said that a bi-wired 6ft. run of the top of the line Dragon would cost about 44K. The Firebird, which we heard was less (I can't remember the price, but I think about half as much. The next one down (Which is probably of more interest to most of us) will be 9K. That is a bi-wired 6ft cable. The demo was impressive, but inconclusive because of the number of people and noise etc. Richard Vandersteen introduced his new platform base designed for the Model 7 speaker which, made of various kinds of granite, raises the the speaker a few inches higher off the floor. Richard discovered that this would dramatically improve soundstage both in width and height. Again, very hard to judge because of the conditions, but my experience with Richard tells me that what he says is accurate. The granite base will cost 10K. |
One thing that I failed to mention in that last post is that the granite base for the Model 7 improves base response and is much more than just a base to raise the speaker higher. Richard told me that using the various materials that make up the base has a very positive effect on base performance. He explained the technical aspects of this which were pretty much beyond my comprehension. If any of you are interested you should call him and ask about this. |
One of my friends who has the Quatro speaker system asked Richard about a base for those speakers. Richard was not sure if that would happen, but sort of left the door open that it could. Another interesting thing I learned was from the Audioquest people who were there. The regional salesman told me that the DBS system on the Storm series requires at least 400 hours of break-in. I have the Hurricanes in my system and I can verify somewhere between 400 and 500 hrs is probably needed. I can also report that the Storm series is everything audiophiles have said about it. The improvement in my system is amazing. I imagine the same is true concerning the new speaker cables. The demo at the meeting was impressive even with the distractions. |
The Thunder's arrived last week and are now breaking in nicely. My only bugaboo is how stiff they are. I can't fathom how cable companies can make a product that will not bend, twist or conform to any given application. I had to buy some right angle adapters. The ones that really worked were some overpriced Voodoo cable adapters. When I called AQ, they said they would look into it, but I doubt it. When I see the amount of money AQ spends on packaging, I find it a bit disconcerting that they will not provide a means for allowing their cables to be properly inserted/connected to equipment without placing unnecessary strain on the connectors/equipment. Sorry if I am hijacking this thread, but I really had to mention it. I will start a fresh one, if others wish. Bob |
I haven't used Anticable power cords but I had a negative experience with their speaker cables (Reference 3). Sent them back pronto. Can fully understand @gdnrbob's issue with the stiffness of AQ Storm and have also considered 90 degree adaptors. I just about managed to bend mine sufficiently to fit. But it's not a pretty sight :-) However all is forgiven once you connect them and listen. I use a combination of Hurricane / Niagara 1000 / Tornado and the uplift in SQ over stock cords is beyond belief. |
