AudioQuest ThunderBird 2 XLR to 2 XLR Audio Cable Pair

AudioQuest ThunderBird 2 XLR to 2 XLR Audio Cable Pair

The ThunderBird is the first entry in AudioQuest new reference-level range of analogue interconnects: the Mythical creatures. With Solid Perfect-Surface Copper+ conductors, silver-plating on the RF drain and plugs, and dual-72v DBS system, this is a remarkably quiet cable that allows your music and system to perform naturally.

What AudioQuest say

Mythical Creature Analog Interconnects

ThunderBird, FireBird, and Dragon are AudioQuest’s best-sounding, most sonically invisible interconnects yet — category-defining products that establish new benchmarks of transparency and musical pleasure, bringing us significantly closer than ever to our sonic ideal of completely invisible cable.

The Never-Ending Quest

AudioQuest’s 42-year history of designing and refining analog interconnects has been a long, steady climb up a mountain, the summit of which can never be reached…

But with each step, they have arrived at cleaner, clearer, more naturally detailed and beautiful sound. For the most part, improvements in performance have been incremental — small steps, always in the right direction — but, just a few times along our 42-year path, new materials and/or technologies have brought so much improvement that it’s as though we took a chairlift to at least the next base station.

The Mythical Creature interconnects are that important.

ZERO-Tech: Unprecedented RF Noise-Dissipation

Most of the credit for passing so much more information than AudioQuest’s previous generation of state-of-the-art cables — and even more importantly, so much less misinformation (energy in the wrong place and time) — goes to ZERO-Tech (No Characteristic-Impedance) dramatically improving RF Noise-Dissipation and significantly further reducing dielectric-involvement (electrical interaction with insulation).

This enables more of the nuance that makes music so engaging, moving, and human: more fully realized tonal expression with more newly un-masked low-level detail revealed than ever before, more relaxing and stimulating at the same time, more palpable and engaging than previously possible.

Optimized Performance and Flexibility

For over 40 years, AudioQuest’s interconnects have been Double-Balanced (RCA) or Triple-Balanced (XLR) to prevent the shield from being used as an inferior ground-reference conductor.

The Mythical Creature Interconnects make the multiple discrete signal and ground-reference paths externally visible for the first time — but that is not new technology. It is because the more complicated and optimized implementation of ZERO-Tech would have made the cables stiff and unfriendly if all hidden in a single round jacket.

The extra effort of creating multiple constructions results in some of the most flexible interconnects AudioQuest has ever made.

Carbon/Graphene/Carbon Mesh-Network

Performance-damaging Radio-Frequency (RF) Noise is more pervasive today than ever before. Therefore, the Mythical Creature Interconnects apply more sophisticated Noise-Dissipation technologies than ever before.

In addition to AQ’s universally applied fundamental of controlling conductor direction to direct induced RF to where it will do the least harm, and ZERO-Tech, Mythical Creature Interconnects also employ a carbon & graphene resistive mesh-network, 72v DBS, and thickly Silver-Plated shield-drains (Dragon’s drains are 100% PSS-Silver), greatly minimizing RF Noise getting into active circuits and causing masking effects.

Beautiful Form and Function

The sheer beauty of Mythicals’ bespoke RCA plugs is the happy result of a technical performance imperative. In order to maximize the plug barrel’s ability to drain RF Noise, minimizing any possible coupling of RF Noise into the cable, the barrels are plated for maximum RF conductivity.

For ThunderBird, this entails optimized copper plating underneath an automotive-type clear coat.
All Mythical plug contacts use superior Hanging-Silver (not tumbled) directly over extreme-purity Red Copper. Cold-welded connections prevent distortion that would be introduced by solder or even resistance-welding.

Most Important: The Existing Foundation

AudioQuest are justifiably very proud of all the new and very significant ingredients applied in the Mythical Creature Interconnects. However, as with an amazing new skyscraper, the building is only as strong and effective as its foundation.

By 1981, AudioQuest was already making Double-Balanced cables using Teflon+Air dielectrics — even employing ZERO-Tech, though they didn’t understand at the time how to maximize the technology. Way back in the last century, direction-controlled conductors using then state-of-the-art metals, patented Air-HyperLitz conductors, and other materials and technologies paved the way to today’s Mythical interconnects.

In reference to the opening comment about climbing a mountain: they might never reach the mountain’s summit — perfect cable might never be possible — but are still very proud to be significantly closer than ever before.

As always, they invite you to listen for yourself, and thank you for joining them on the journey.

ThunderBird

If not for its Mythical siblings — FireBird and Dragon — ThunderBird might be the best cable the world has ever heard.

Among other tried-and-true AudioQuest materials and design techniques, ThunderBird features solid directionally controlled conductors of our finest copper — Perfect Surface Copper+ (PSC+) — Copper-Plated RF-Draining Barrels, and our Level-6 Noise-Dissipation System.

All Mythical Creature interconnects are available with custom-made RCA and XLR terminations.

Features

ZERO-Tech (No Characteristic Impedance) for Linear, Wide-Bandwidth Noise-Dissipation

The only way to avoid characteristic-impedance mismatch-effects between a cable and its attached source and load circuits is to prevent the cable from having a characteristic-impedance. ZERO-Tech succeeds by eliminating the electrostatic field between the cable’s high and low signal conductors, enabling linear (consistent octave to octave) Radio-Frequency (RF) Noise-Dissipation, and uncompressed transients. In order to preserve ZERO-Tech’s complete isolation between signal conductors, a Dual-72v DBS pack is included for XLR cables.
Solid Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+) Conductors

Solid conductors prevent electrical and magnetic strand-interaction. PSC+ Solid-Copper minimizes distortion caused by grain boundaries and maximizes linear RF Noise-Dissipation.

FEP Air-Tube Dielectric

Positive conductors benefit from almost no contact between metal and its FEP insulation, which is notable for its superior dielectric constant and minimal signal interference. Negative conductors benefit from intentionally “lossy insulation” — no air and no FEP helps maximize the negative connection’s different job.

72v Dielectric-Bias System (DBS)

Insulation is also a dielectric that can act like a shunt-filter. Biasing minimizes dielectric-noise and linearizes the filter, significantly improving wide-bandwidth dissipation of induced RF noise.

Level 6 Noise-Dissipation: ZERO-Tech + 72v DBS + Carbon/Graphene Mesh-Network + Direction-Controlled

Radio-Frequency Noise from cellular, WiFi, and satellites is everywhere. AQ’s Level 6 Linear Noise-Dissipation includes a carbon & graphene resistive mesh-network, direction-controlled conductors, 72v DBS, and Silver-Plated drain wires, significantly minimizing RF Noise masking effects.

Hanging-Silver over Red-Copper Plugs

AudioQuest’s finest plugs feature superior Hanging-Silver (not tumbled) directly over extreme-purity Red Copper.

Copper-Plated RF-Draining Barrels

Grounded Copper-Plated Barrels maximize Noise-Dissipation by preventing a metal barrel from capacitively coupling RF to the conductors.

Specification

• Signal-Conducting Metal: Solid Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+)
• RF-Draining Metal: Solid Silver-Plated Copper
• Geometry: ZERO-Tech (No Characteristic Impedance)
• Dielectric: FEP Air-Tubes for minimal signal interference
• Dielectric-Bias System: ◉◉ Dual-72v DBS (XLR)
• Level 6 Noise-Dissipation: ZERO-Tech + 72v DBS + Carbon/Graphene Mesh-Network + Direction-Controlled
• Plug Barrels: Copper-Plated RF-Draining
• Plug Contacts: Hanging-Silver over Red-Copper

About AudioQuest

AudioQuest aims to deliver the most beautiful, durable, and reliable audio/video cables and accessories on the planet, products that don’t only represent the absolute highest value but also exceed any expectations regarding performance. AudioQuest is a premier provider of high-performance audio video cables and accessories sold in hundreds of outlets in the USA, Europe and in over sixty countries. AudioQuest’s products represent both extraordinary value and exceptional performance.