AudioQuest FireBird High-Current

AudioQuest FireBird High-Current Power Cable

• 3-pole alternating current cable with low Z / noise dissipation
• Solid conductors for Perfect-Surface Silver (PSS) / Perfect-Surface Copper + (PSC +)
• Uncompressed high current transmission
• Ground Noise Dissipation Technology (US Patent No. 9,373,439)
• NULL: No characteristic impedance
• Dielectric bias system with high frequency noise trap
• Directionally controlled conductors

Alternating current (AC) is anything but a perfect power source. AC technology is well over a century old and was never developed to meet the high standards of today's high-definition audio-video components. AC noise is present at the power source and is then amplified by high frequency noise that is induced (picked up by the AC cable) and coupled to the component power supplies and circuit ground. This produces low level distortion and signal loss via the "masking effect". In addition, power amplifiers can require huge reserves of transient current to allow their power supplies to respond to dynamic audio passages and then stabilize. Most power cords and power conditioner regenerators are helpful up to a point, but simply not up to the task.

Power amplifiers pose a real challenge to any AC power source, as the transient current requirements (although short duration) can be many times greater than the average power consumption (RMS). Power amplifiers are also unique in that the current consumption is dynamic and not constant, changing with volume and audio signal content. Although many AC cables may have low DC resistance to meet some of this requirement, the characteristic impedance of the AC cable is equally responsible for ensuring uncompromised performance. Many premium AC cables constrict or compress the audio transient because their characteristic impedance limits the transient current.

Properties:

GND (GROUND NOISE DISSIPATION)

AC grounding cables provide protection against power wiring faults, but also serve as antennas. They are therefore exposed to induced radio frequency (RF) noise. This RF noise bypasses component power supplies and is typically coupled directly into the most sensitive audio/video circuits of a system. AudioQuest's patented Ground Noise Dissipation (GND) significantly reduces this distortion and results in unprecedented noise dissipation over the widest possible bandwidth (range) of radio frequencies. Our unique circuit topology uses a common mode phase cancellation array in conjunction with proprietary dielectric materials that provide additional linear differential filtering. (US Patent No. 9,373,439)

SOLID PERFECT-SURFACE SILVER (PSS) AND SOLID PERFECT-SURFACE COPPER + (PSC +) CONDUCTOR

Solid conductors prevent the electrical interaction from strand to strand, the main sources of distortion. The surface quality is critical, as a conductor can be considered as a rail guide for both the fields inside a conductor and the magnetic fields that extend outside the conductor. The amazingly smooth and clean surface of all AudioQuest's perfect surface metals virtually eliminates hardness and significantly increases clarity compared to fewer materials. Careful selection of the sizes of the PSS and PSC + conductors ensures that the performance of FireBird is close to that of PSS Silver, but at a much lower cost.

UNCOMPRESSED HIGH CURRENT TRANSMISSION

While many AC cables have a low DC resistance to meet the need for high current, the characteristic impedance of a cable is also critical for optimum performance. Unlike most AC cables that narrow or compress an audio-induced transition, AudioQuest AC cables combine low DC resistance and a characteristic impedance of ZERO (none) to provide uncompressed high current transients when needed.

DIELECTRIC BIASING SYSTEM WITH HIGH FREQUENCY TRAP

All insulation between two or more conductors is also a dielectric, the properties of which affect the integrity of the signal. When the dielectric is undistorted, the involvement of the dielectric (absorption and nonlinear energy release) causes different time delays (phase shift) for different frequencies and energy levels, which is a real problem for very time-sensitive multi-octave audio. The use of an RF trap (developed for AudioQuest Niagara Series power supply products) ensures that no RF noise is induced into the signal conductors by the DBS field elements. (DBS, US Patent No. 7,126,055 & 7,872,195 B1)

DIRECTIONALITY

All drawn metal strands or conductors have a non-symmetrical and therefore directional grain structure. AudioQuest controls the resulting change in RF impedance so that the noise is directed away from the point where it causes distortion. The correct direction is determined by listening to each batch of metal conductors used in each AudioQuest audio cable. Where applicable, the arrows on the connectors are clearly marked to ensure excellent sound quality. On most AQ cable models, the arrows indicate not only the direction in which the metal direction is optimized for noise dissipation, but also the unbalanced placement of shielding and GND to optimize the performance of the entire system.