AudioQuest ThunderBird Interconnect Cable

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.

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.

Level 6 Noise-Dissipation: ZERO-Tech + 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, and Silver-Plated drain wires, significantly minimizing RF Noise masking effects.

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 Pegasus, ThunderBird, FireBird, and Dragon XLR cables.

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.

FEP Air-Tube Insulation

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.

6% Silver-Plated RF Drain-Wires

Direction-Controlled Silver-Plated RF Drain-Wires further ensure the proper and efficient dissipation of induced radio-frequency noise for clearer, more natural sound.

Copper-Plated RF-Draining Barrels

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

Hanging-Silver over Red Copper Plugs

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

Specifications

Metal ZERO: Solid Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+) / BASS: Solid Perfect-Surface Copper+ (PSC+)

Noise Dissipation Graphene/Carbon Mesh-Network + 72v DBS

Geometry ZERO-Tech

Insulation FEP Air-Tubes

Terminations Hanging-Silver over Red Copper

Signal Type Analogue

Jacket Blue on Black Braid

Sold As Single Cable or Pair (2 Individual Cables)