AudioQuest - Thunderbird Zero + Bass - Bi-wired Speaker Cables (Pair)

AudioQuest - Thunderbird Zero + Bass w/ Carbon DBS - Bi-wired Speaker Cables (Pair)

With the introduction of the ThunderBird Zero Bass speaker cables, AudioQuest has pushed significantly beyond even their own very high standards.

These new ThunderBird Zero Bass speaker cables may be used in one of two ways: either as ideal Full-Range cables, or, in combination with a dedicated Bass cable, in a Bi-Wire cable assembly of unparalleled performance. ThunderBird Bass cables incorporate their patented common-mode noise-rejection technology, yielding an audibly dramatic additional reason to Bi-Wire when possible.

ThunderBird Zero Bass cables are Cold-Welded to AudioQuest’s extremely pure Red Copper Spades or Bananas. The bare copper is submerged in a vat of pure silver instead of being tumbled in a lower-grade solution. AudioQuest speaker breakouts and plug casings are not metal in order not to induce RF Noise into the conductors.

Whether AudioQuest’s new ThunderBird Zero Bass speaker cables are used as Full-Range or Bi-Wire, the beautiful sonic result is the sound of your amplifier doing its job unmolested by either current compression or radio-frequency noise.

“Together with the various designs and method of assembly, they ultimately offer an unexpectedly good price-performance ratio. Taking into account a (very important) optimal system synergy, these cables can push the boundaries of what was once dreamed into real life."
— HiFi.nl 3/3/2020, Werner Ero

Though a cable’s ground leads are integral to a component’s signal transmission, they also act as an antenna. Thus, they are subject to induced Radio-Frequency (RF) noise. RF noise is a parasitic signal that is typically coupled directly into a system’s most sensitive audio/video circuits. AudioQuest’s RF-on-ground Noise-Dissipation (RF/ND-Tech) greatly reduces resulting distortion and signal masking, yielding unprecedented levels of Noise-Dissipation across the widest bandwidth of radio frequencies possible. Their unique circuit topology uses a common-mode phase-cancelling array, providing linear noise dissipation across the entire length of the cable.

The only complete way to eliminate characteristic-impedance mismatches between a cable and the attached source and load is for the cable not to have any fixed characteristic-impedance value. Zero-Tech accomplishes this by eliminating interaction between the insulation and the cable’s conductors—enabling uncompressed current transfer. All-important transient current is unrestricted, and RF Noise-Dissipation is linearized.

When possible, running separate cables to the treble and bass halves of a speaker significantly reduces distortion. Bi-Wiring keeps the large magnetic fields associated with bass energy out of the treble cable, allowing the delicate upper frequencies to travel a less magnetically disturbed path, like taking the waves out of the water when you swim. AudioQuest’s RF/ND-Tech (patented RF-Canceling Ground-Noise Dissipation) attracts RF energy away from the amplifier’s output. When properly implemented, Bi-Wiring has always been a cost-effective way to get better performance for the same or less money. With RF/ND-Tech, the advantage of Bi-Wiring is much more dramatic. Because RF/ND-Tech is so effective, Bass model cables are only for 10KHz and below; do not use a Bass cable full-range or on treble. ThunderBird Bass cable is ideal with ThunderBird Zero. A Bi-Wire Combo with Bass and Zero cables joined together at the amplifier is usually most convenient. When Tri-Wiring, use Bass cables on the Midrange and Bass inputs. Caution: Do not Bi-Wire with two Zero cables. Zero cables in-parallel can create a very high-frequency resonant peak, and resulting poor sound. Only use a Zero plus a Bass cable. Second best is a single Zero with AudioQuest Bi-Wire jumpers.

Today’s environment is saturated with radio-frequency noise that is extremely difficult to filter or reject. The frequencies of this noise from satellites, cellular towers, and Bluetooth, etc., are so extremely narrow that a conventional shield, or a series or shunt filter, is wholly inadequate. Much of the low-level signal that carries the harmonics and spatial cues that define high-resolution audio is masked by induced radio-frequency noise. AudioQuest’s comprehensive Linearized Noise-Dissipation System combines multiple shields and a carbon-based linearized resistive network that turns most of this noise into heat.