AudioQuest Niagra and Storm Power Cable Review

Intending to use Thunder for connecting Niagara 5000 and two Blizzard with Devialet 220 Pro monos. Hope that will work out well :)
 
markush said:
Intending to use Thunder for connecting Niagara 5000 and two Blizzard with Devialet 220 Pro monos. Hope that will work out well :)
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I tried both at home. The Thunder was more dynamic then the Blizzard, especially on power amps, but the tonal qualities of the Blizzard were better. Since the Thunder feeding the Niagara 5000 will allready give you an extra boost in dynamics and separation, this could work well. Without the Niagara I would go Tornado HC on the power amps
 
Thanks! I haven’t had a chance to compare the cables but got a good offer so I think to go Thunder from wall to Niagara 5000 as well as Thunder each for the Devialet monos. You think that should be better than the two Blizzard ?
 
markush said:
Thanks! I haven’t had a chance to compare the cables but got a good offer so I think to go Thunder from wall to Niagara 5000 as well as Thunder each for the Devialet monos. You think that should be better than the two Blizzard ?
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it depends what your system needs, my amplifiers were quite fussy about tonal quality but needed dynamics as well, so I went with Tornado HC which are burning in as I type. As said the Thunder give more dynamics, and are better suited for power amps in this regard, but when I compared Thunder and Blizzard on preamp, I preferred the Blizzard because the timbre was more beautiful especially in the highs. I think you would compensate the loss in dynamics with the Niagara from what I read, but I never tried that in my system
 
I got two Devialet 440 Pro (which is two 220 Pro monos) - so think / Hope they will benefit from the Thunder High Current.
 
markush said:
Is this good or bad in view of the Thunder High Current?
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I use Jeff Rowland 725 amps, they use analog amplification circuitry but have switching power supplies.
I do not have a Niagara 5000, but when comparing Blizzard and Thunder on the power amps, I found they did need the extra dynamics of the Thunder on bass driven music. Switching power supply amps are very effecient but they actually need better powercords then amplifiers with normal power supplies, as the consumption of current from the net varies much more. So contradictory to what one might think because of low normal consumption of switiching power supplies, you actually do need a very good and dynamic powercord because the instanteneous current draw from the net of switching supplies could be comparatively much higher
 
Rnrmf said:
I've demo'd the Hurricanes at least twice, one of the times directly against the Dragons, trying to convince myself I could get away with the Hurricane in a spot or two of my system.




Nope.
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That is the reason why I did not try the Dragons in my system. Two hurricanes is more than enough.
 
I hope to be able to report soon about the difference Niagara 5000 and Thunder cables made to my system
 
I look back and probably should have gotten Dragons over Hurricane. Mike told me they are that much better. I heard Mikes MSB set up with Dragons and was BLOWN out of the water by it, lol. I ended up with Hurricane's throughout as Firebird wasn't out when I bought. He didn't have power or source then either. I was waiting to get them after hearing the prototypes with Garth a few years ago. Even with the clear jackets and not totally refunded yet, they were on another level than any cord I had ever heard.

Listen to Mike when he tells you to do the upgrade, lol. :).
 
Ctsooner said:
I look back and probably should have gotten Dragons over Hurricane. Mike told me they are that much better. I heard Mikes MSB set up with Dragons and was BLOWN out of the water by it, lol. I ended up with Hurricane's throughout as Firebird wasn't out when I bought. He didn't have power or source then either. I was waiting to get them after hearing the prototypes with Garth a few years ago. Even with the clear jackets and not totally refunded yet, they were on another level than any cord I had ever heard.

Listen to Mike when he tells you to do the upgrade, lol. :).
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Hi Ctsooner,

I did Dragon Source Power Cords on just my Select DAC and it made a monstrous improvement over the Hurricane Source Power Cords. The rest of my power cords are Hurricanes. The system sounds amazing!

Ken
 
markush said:
Are you using them also in combination with a Niagara?
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I have Hurricane HC PC’s from the wall to my Niagara 5000’s and two Dragon Source PC’s on my MSB Select DAC. Just a stunning improvement in sound quality adding them to my source component. I may add more Dragons in the future if I can.

Ken
 
Alpinist said:
Thank you! Yes, I replaced the two Hurricane Source Power Cords with two Dragon Source Power Cords on my MSB Select DAC. Please keep in mind that the Dragons are brand new out of the box today and are hardly broken in.

Nevertheless they already sound magnificent. The treble is more airy with greater detail and extension, delivered with delicacy in a totally non-fatiguing fashion. The midrange provides great insight into the music with wonderful tonal shading and layering. The bass is articulate with just the right amount of texture. I found the Hurricane bass to be a bit overstated, somewhat overpowering vocals and piano on upright bass duets. The Dragon bass seems to be better balanced, blending seamlessly with midrange and treble.

The Dragons provide more refinement, painting a musical portrait with smaller brush strokes compared to the Hurricane’s broad brush strokes. Lastly, imaging is far more three dimensional with instruments and vocals well-placed and floating in space. You can really hear the depth of the soundstage.

Ken
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I couldn't have said it any better. I think you have made a very accurate description of what the Dragon power cable does in a system! I'm an ex-Hurricane HC owner and you've just nailed it! The Dragon is so much better... ;)
 
Though Dragon is pricewise really hefty.
I still think Thunder & Hurricane deliver outstanding performance for a reasonable price. And especially together with a Niagara they fully unleash their potential.
 
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