AUDIOQUEST Thunderbird

MJ01.12.2022

Interconnects

After years of hiatus, AudioQuest has finally decided to shift the attention to signal cables. It could have been an upgrade, but it is not: the new range of interconnects turns most cable-building principles upside down. There is one common denominator, however. AQ almost fanatically focuses on eliminating any possibility of how the signal could pick up any noise. The result is a fascinating and perhaps the most transparent interconnect range available today.

Function and form

93%

Ease of use

91%

Sound

100%

Appearance

A big brand can afford to maintain top industrial standard, so it is not surprising that the AudioQuest´s craftsmanship is immaculate. The overall concept of individual conductors for signal legs and grounding means that custom-made connectors had to be developed. Both the RCAs and XLRs look great and lend a touch of luxury to the cable. As expected, there are AudioQuest’s proprietary DBS 72V packs attached to the Thunderbird. The DBS’s task is to saturate the cable’s dielectric with a constant electro-static field to prevent it picking up noise and EMI. The result? Darker backgrounds and cleaner sound.

However, it is not the DBS system that makes the new Mythical Creatures series of interconnects unique. All new cables (that is the Thunderbird, Firebird, and Dragon) feature what AudioQuest nicknamed as ZERO-Tech. In essence, the goal is to exclude the cable´s characteristic impedance from the signal transfer equation and dissipate RF noise. Therefore, the Thunderbird´s legs (positive and negative signal and grounding) are strictly separated. By strictly I mean that even the DBS systems had to be made autonomous for each signal path in the balanced XLR version, so dual packs were used.

The ´mechanical´ part of the Thunderbird is a combination of the well-known (like Solid Perfect-Surface Copper (PSC+) polished conductors with uniform crystalline structure, wrapped in Teflon air-tubes, and cold-welded joints) and the new (like the carbon & graphene resistive mesh that is used to shield the conductors, silver-plated drain wires, and Red Copper-plated grounded barrels of connectors).

Bass management

Weight

Slam

Articulation

STS Digital sampler The Absolute Sound Reference Vol.2 includes Tarréga’s Capricho Arabe piece, sensitively played on acoustic guitar by Marco Carulli. It is a minimalistic recording of the acoustic guitar in a natural, rather reverberant environment. As such it is a beautiful piece of music, but there is more to it. Shortly after we are lulled by the plucks of the guitar, a buzzing fly enters the scene. To hear that, your system must exhibit superbly low noise levels, that is signal-to-noise ratio, which implies that the cables must be completely transparent too. The buzzing is subtle, and it gets stronger and fainter as the fly circles the room and the microphone. I wonder how this sound made it onto the release, perhaps it remained unnoticed, or it was too late to make a second take. The AudioQuest Thunderbird separates the fly from the music and from the reverberant space, and at the same it connects everything together into a glorious authentic performance of a guitarist and a fly.

Clarity & delicacy

Detail

Air

Transparency

There is no better name for an ensemble of drummers than Group Puls. Big drums, little drums, woods, shakers, clicks and clings, that´s the band. As soon as the music starts layering the instruments, the need for resolution and separation becomes obvious, if you should not end up with congested sound. Also, what I call ‘a start-stop ability’ is needed. That means that the transients should be lightning-fast, with no rounding, otherwise the rhythmic drive is lost. That also means that bass should not be bloated or smeared, otherwise it hangs in the air for too long and obscures low-level details. Finally, the sound should not be dry. To blend all these requirements the system (and the interconnect) should be balanced. Only then the bass will be hard-hitting, transients sharp, colours vivid, and dynamics unlimited. The Thunderbird can do all that.

Tonal accuracy

Timbre

Dynamics

Temporal resolution

That being said, clarity and tonality are some of the most outstanding features of the new AudioQuest Thunderbird. It's about the equivalent of switching the colour mode on your smartphone display from "normal" to "vivid". It's not a big change, but the transformation for the better makes the return to normal feel shabby and faded. Metal is metal over the Thunderbird, wood is wood, and skins are skins. I had lived with the Thunderbird’s older sibling, AudioQuest Wild Blue Yonder, for three years, and still have great memories of it. But the Thunderbird has walked a long way from the Wild Blue Yonder. It's like clear water in a forest well, sparkling in the sunrays. Occasionally, a sharp sun reflection cuts into your eyes, and similarly the Thunderbird is not forgiving of a sound engineer’s mistakes. If you're looking for a euphonic cable that smoothes out flaws and covers imperfections with velvety haze, you won't find it here. This is a seriously transparent interconnect.

Spatial resolution

Holography

Soundstage width

Soundstage depth

The Thunderbird soundstaging and imaging is superb. Thanks to the aforementioned start-stop ability the individual sounds and the layers are heard clearly as the mixing engineer wanted them. The spatial perspective of the Thunderbird is an absorbing, rather than forward. Although the cable is analytical, it serves the details in a very natural and integrated way, so the music is always first. I like this presentation for it lets you listen to your favourite cuts for hours, without any fatigue.

AudioQuest once again confirms that they know how to build a cheap interconnect for masses, as well as they know to build a truly high-end cable. If the Thunderbird is not enough for you, give a listen to the Firebird, or reach for the very best, the Dragon. I have been listening to the Dragon for last three weeks, and it is an otherworldly experience.

Price as reviewed:107 000,- Kč

Recommended resellers

AQ s.r.o., Červenka, tel. +420 585 342 232

Manufacturer's website: http://www.audioquest.com

Associated components

Sources: Accuphase DP-720, xDuoo x10T II
Amplifiers: TAD M-2500
Interconnects and speaker cables: AudioQuest Dragon Bass | Zero, Krautwire Numeric Digital, Krautwire MAX-S, Ansuz Signalz C2, AAI Maestoso
Loudspeakers: TAD Evolution One E1, Sonus Faber Gravis I, Synergistic Research Black Box
Power conditioning: Block Audio Snakeblock, Shunyata Research Denali, Synergistic Research Atmosphere Level 2, Nordost Qv2, Qk1, AAI Maestoso, Stromtank S-1000

Gallery

94%