The good news is.....and the bad news is.....

Mike

Audioshark
Staff member
Joined
Apr 2, 2013
Messages
30,302
Location
Sarasota, FL
The good news is that I got to hear the new AudioQuest Dragon Speaker cables today.

0106bf9afe577f259e604ce4fa5dd9d3.jpg


The bad news is that I got to hear the new AudioQuest Dragon Speaker cables today.

I have to have a pair.
 
Inquiring minds want to know more...:exciting:

My AudioQuest rep was at the store for 5 hours. He brought all the new speaker cables with him. We heard Thunderbird, Firebird and Dragon against my current top of the line AudioQuest “Oak”. Lots of back and forth comparing to Oak. Suffice it to say, all the models were a significant improvement in transparency and bass. He explained in technical terms why the bass is so much better. The Transparency was easy to hear, just like with the power cables. When he switched to Dragon, all bets were off. We had the best transparency and best bass, but the cables were smooooooooth without any loss in any area. Despite being all silver, this is a cable that is an all out assault on sibilant and bright recordings, while delivering all the detail and transparency.

The cables that carry the most current (power, then speaker, then IC) are, in my opinion, the ones that can show the biggest change. The change from a X cable to a AQ Dragon is night and day. The change from X speaker cable to an AQ Dragon speaker cable is about 90% of the power cord improvements we heard. Meaning, if going from X power cable to Dragon power cable was a “holy holy sh!t” moment, this was a “holy sh!t” moment. You like this technical explanation? LOL.

He didn’t mention anything about new IC’s, but I would expect to see something in a year or two.
 
Can you talk about how the Thunderbird stacks up against competitively priced SCs?

The level of transparency just kept increasing as we went from my Oak speaker cables up the line. Frankly, the Thunderbird wasn’t close to the Dragon IMO. A percentage improvement isn’t accurate, but I felt Dragon was 30-50% better.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Way way out of my league. Imagine a full loom of the Dragons. A ridiculous amount of money IMHO.

Paul, it’s as big as a major component change, maybe more. Seriously shockingly good. Yes, expensive, but so incredible what they did in my system.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Paul, it’s as big as a major component change, maybe more. Seriously shockingly good. Yes, expensive, but so incredible what they did in my system.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Mike. I’m sure it is if it has your seal of approval. I guess I just reacted to quickly. If it was a speaker, amp, preamp etc I’m sure I wouldn’t have batted an eye. So why not cables. :peace:
 
Thanks Mike. I’m sure it is if it has your seal of approval. I guess I just reacted to quickly. If it was a speaker, amp, preamp etc I’m sure I wouldn’t have batted an eye. So why not cables. :peace:

Oh for sure. And there’s a reason why Hurricane is the sweet spot. But only listen to Dragon if you can afford it because there’s no going back.
 
Oh for sure. And there’s a reason why Hurricane is the sweet spot. But only listen to Dragon if you can afford it because there’s no going back.

What is the MSRP? And do these replace the Wild Blue Yonder or WEL Signature?

If so, I guess the companion interconnects are coming eventually.
 
What is the MSRP? And do these replace the Wild Blue Yonder or WEL Signature?

If so, I guess the companion interconnects are coming eventually.

Yes they do.

Thunderbird is $4450 for 8 foot pair
Firebird is $14,300 for 8 foot pair
Dragon is $27,100 for 8 foot pair
 
Wow.

I guess its all comes down to system synergy and subjective taste with cables.

But, I'd be curious to see how they compare to the Shunyata Sigma and MIT 2C3D Level 1.

Audioquest uses silver to increase the resolution but, at the expense of cost. Thus, that high price.

Whereas, others (Shunyta, Kubala-Sosna) for example use copper but, have different technologies to obtain that clarity and resolution.
 
Wow.

I guess its all comes down to system synergy and subjective taste with cables.

But, I'd be curious to see how they compare to the Shunyata Sigma and MIT 2C3D Level 1.

Audioquest uses silver to increase the resolution but, at the expense of cost. Thus, that high price.

Whereas, others (Shunyta, Kubala-Sosna) for example use copper but, have different technologies to obtain that clarity and resolution.


So with silver prices around $15 per oz these cables must weigh over 100 lbs to be worth that much. LOL
 
So with silver prices around $15 per oz these cables must weigh over 100 lbs to be worth that much. LOL

There’s a lot more that goes into making a great speaker cable than just the material. And there are also different grades of silver.
 
On one hand, I would like to hear a $27K speaker wire, but I seriously doubt they are over three times better than the TOL Shunyata speaker cables. Then again, maybe they are. :)
 
Anyone looking for new cables, take a listen to the new audience frontRow cables, all I can say is WOW!
 
On one hand, I would like to hear a $27K speaker wire, but I seriously doubt they are over three times better than the TOL Shunyata speaker cables. Then again, maybe they are. :)

Bud, they are truly amazing cables. I completely get the high price. But are they as much of an improvement as a new $27,000 preamp? I would say yes.

In this case, ignorance is bliss! I can just say for those who have compared the Tornado/Hurricane to the Dragon power cables, the speaker cable jump is just as pronounced.
 
I would also be very interested to know what the comparable MIT cables are.

Anyone who wants to come to the store and compare, I would be happy to coordinate. But for obvious reasons, I will refrain from any comparison myself. I know the MIT cables were a huge step up over everything I tried ON THE MAGICO’s. As for a comparison with AQ Dragon vs MIT, I have never tried and publicly probably never will. :). Once again, ignorance is bliss!
 
Back
Top