Just received this evening Demo sets of :
1. Thunderbird Zero with Thunderbird Bass {Bi-wire} 10-Ft stereo set .. AND
2. Firebird Zero with Thunderbird Bass {Bi-wire} 10-Ft stereo set
I will be evaluating these two over the weekend and also comparing them with my AQ Redwood & Oak. Will follow-up with my findings soon.
Well now I am exceedingly jealous....let us know. The Firebird was the one I was thinking about as an upgrade but would love to hear your comparisons with the Thunderbird (half the price, there abouts)
I would be scared to demo those. if I ended up liking them and couldn’t live without, I only have one kidney I could sell to fund their purchase.
(07-Feb-2019, 03:25)mmorrison55 Wrote: [ -> ]I would be scared to demo those. if I ended up liking them and couldn’t live without, I only have one kidney I could sell to fund their purchase.
Indeed, you're absolutely right ! I was warned by my AQ dealer that I WILL end up keeping one of 'em & we're talking in the range of $ 9,100 ~ 21,800 .... Opsss ...
I was also told that it would work out for me as things will even out ... i.e. I'm bi-amping now & would revert back to bi-wiring hence selling off my 2nd 440-Pro-CI pair.
(07-Feb-2019, 14:05)audio_engr Wrote: [ -> ] (07-Feb-2019, 03:25)mmorrison55 Wrote: [ -> ]I would be scared to demo those. if I ended up liking them and couldn’t live without, I only have one kidney I could sell to fund their purchase.
Indeed, you're absolutely right ! I was warned by my AQ dealer that I WILL end up keeping one of 'em & we're talking in the range of $ 9,100 ~ 21,800 .... Opsss ...
I was also told that it would work out for me as things will even out ... i.e. I'm bi-amping now & would revert back to bi-wiring hence selling off my 2nd 440-Pro-CI pair.
Keeping a close eye on this (errr - not 'cos I would be able to afford this in a million years - but dang - $10K wires!!)! Should be an interesting weekend of testing.
Would have thought bi-amping leveraging two 440-pro-ci's would trump bi-wiring (even though we're talking some pretty insane wires here) any day of the year - tell us how it goes.
Ananda
Guys .. I just couldn't wait but had to shove in the Mythical creature series better cable into my system late last night. So, it was the Firebird w/ Thunderbird bass using 1 x 440-Pro-CI in bi-wire format (SAM = Off).
The 1st thing that this cable strikes you is its 'absolute absence of any sort of noise' ... hence exceptional level of resolution in a very calm & relaxed manner sets thru. The low-level spatial cues to the inner timbral info that describes how the music is being made is sooo distinct with this cable. This also accounts to you being able to see thru into the soundstage thus you begin to understand & appreciate the immense depth of the soundstage thats being shown to you. The already wide soundstage along with 'new level of depth' really draws you to a feeling of being there. Therefore, it is a superb champion of soundstaging & imaging.
Once again - with now no noise, it gave me a feeling that this sort of a thing happened when I addressed "power conditioning" but now, the incremental boost is more! The minute micro-dynamics to the big macro dynamic behaviour is very-very evident and once again, it gets a bit difficult to set your listening level correctly (you tend to set it high but will soon realise its waaayy too loud when the thunderous crescendos sweep in).
The increased density of the details seeping thru made the listening room feel acoustically much larger, yet the musical event carried on in a very relaxed manner. I started to get some of the traits of additional detailing when I moved from bi-wiring to bi-amping (albeit the huge expense of adding a 2nd set of 440-Pro-CI plus speaker cables) but now, all of a sudden, I got glimpses that damn - this new cable swap is doing all what bi-amping did ++ more now !!
WoW !! I was totally stumped and it was very late into the night ... more to follow as we approach the weekend.
Note that any hints of distortion etc. even if you set the listening levels waaayy too high was devoid ... Trust me, I was really sincerely appreciating the capabilities of my 440-Pro-CI for a change ...
P.S. The cable under test was $ 21,800
Today, I initiated a discussion with Audioquest marketing honchos as to what upgrade plans do they have for fellas like me with their earlier 'Tree series' cables like Redwood & Oak. They didn't have an answer & said firstly, they're in the process of rolling out the Mythical Creature series of cables till April 2019 globally and once that's done, they would then look into serving customers who plans an upgrade. So, looks like its a long wait !!
(07-Feb-2019, 20:58)audio_engr Wrote: [ -> ]Today, I initiated a discussion with Audioquest marketing honchos as to what upgrade plans do they have for fellas like me with their earlier 'Tree series' cables like Redwood & Oak. They didn't have an answer & said firstly, they're in the process of rolling out the Mythical Creature series of cables till April 2019 globally and once that's done, they would then look into serving customers who plans an upgrade. So, looks like its a long wait !!
OT but thought it may be relevant...Garth Powell, the designer of this series, has also made a Firebird power chord. Bet that one worth an audition.
(07-Feb-2019, 21:01)Wdw Wrote: [ -> ]OT but thought it may be relevant...Garth Powell, the designer of this series, has also made a Firebird power chord. Bet that one worth an audition.
Opss! I am already stumped with their Spk cables ... I bet the PC is great but costs a bomb!
Firebird High-Current Power Cord : 1m $ 3,200, 2m $ 5,500 ... [
I've bad credit scores - thx to my audio expenditures & they won't give me a 2nd mortgage ]