AQ Blizzard or Thunder?

I own Audioquest (AQ) power cables in my system. I’m using a Thunder for my Niagara 3000 and (2) more for my mono block amps, and (2) Blizzards for my preamp and DAC. I haven’t swapped out the power cord from the wall to the Niagara 3000 to confirm any change in sound quality. AQ advised me to choose the best AQ power cable to connect from the wall to the Niagara 3000 since I didn’t want to spend money on Thunder cables for everything in the chain. They recommended I feed the conditioner the cleanest current with the best cable I was willing to purchase, then the rest of the gear could use equal or lowered tiered power cables in the AQ line. I definitely hear the improvements with the Thunder connected to my amps, which are plugged directly into the wall. IMO, the Thunder is the sweet spot in the AQ power cable line.

@mskochman, in my system the AQ Thunder power cable was a significant upgrade from using the Blizzard with my AQ Niagara power conditioner. Thnx 

the blizzard is as much as an upgrade from what it is normally paired with.  no need for more.  buy more records w the money or use it on an ac outlet or better power cables for the amps and sources

hshifi, I’ll definitely look into Puritan Audio and their PSM156 Studio Master Mains Purifier. 

Hello,
These cables all make a difference. That doesn’t mean a good difference. AQ cables are really good on the right equipment. In my opinion you don’t throw AQ dragon on a streamer. Some cables are made for amps and some are made for sources. Their is even a sweet spot for preamps. I have tested a lot of this. The best power conditioner for the money is the Puritan PSM156 $2300 with their Ultimate XX power cable $925. If you try this you will buy it. I tried this on a whim coming from a $2000 20amp Furman. No matter what your music media choice is you will hear the difference and buy it. The Hifi store in the Chicagoland area will let you try before you buy. It does come with the Puritan Classic power cord unlike AQ which makes you buy it. A couple of concerns. Only 15 amp available, demo a burned in version due to it takes 12 days to burn in, 6 outlets, but they are totally separated in almost every aspect from one another. You can get a y adapter for each plug if you need more outlets. I recommend you put your TT with your phono stage or your DAC and Streamer together since they share cables anyways. Try before you buy. If I am full of it you have full permission to say I am full of it. Here is a store that lets you demo in your house or try before you buy: https://holmaudio.com/
I hope your local stores will let you try it. Also, When you borrow:
1. take a listen to three tracks without it
2. put the Puritan PSM156 in your system 
3. take another listen with same tracks
4. 12 hours later listen again. 
5. Pull Puritan PSM156 out 
6. go buy Puritan so you are not sad 😩

jb1, thanks for the input. I’m in a good position because I’ve been buying audio gear from the same guy since I was a sophomore in college in 1976. He takes really good care of me, and I keep him in business. 😊 

So the Thunder is designed for high current applications such as power conditioners and amps. The Blizzard is multi purpose and can  be used for High Current & source components. The thunder is solid core strands vs concentric packing. I am not an engineer & I don't believe that measurements alone can tell you what a cable sounds like. I do believe in design application so the Thunder would be the correct choice for your Niagara. I would suggest finding a dealer that uses a Thunder for demo & see if they would sell it to you on loan to try it out & listen for yourself if that is possible. 

audioguy85, thank you for your comment. I think on Monday that I’m going to give the AQ Thunder power cable a try in my headphone system. 

No problems with my Thunder....pitch black back grounds. Using cable as is with dbs. Great cable. The x3 is also great for source components, using 3 of those. All plugged into my niagara 1200 which is plugged into my nrg Edison outlet. 12 gauge 20A dedicated circuit.

vinylshadow, why should I sell my AQ Niagara 1200 line conditioner and get one from P.I. Audio? https://piaudiogroup.com/

You should get a DQ Blizzard.

As a comedian in all seriousness, I kid!
You should sell the AQ and get yourself a P.I. Audio UberBuss power conditioner with standard and DigiBuss II outlets.
Contact Dave Elledge tuit suite.

I use the Thunder on my PS Audio Power Plant 3 regenerator, and yeah, it makes a difference. Blacker blacks and just more punch and body in the bass/midbass with this combination!

What I have on the Power Plant 3: Chord Hugo TT2 DAC + Cayin HA-300 tube amp.

I have a Tornado going from wall to Niagara 3000 and another from Niagara to Devialet. Great improvement I sound over NRG Y2’s and Niagara 1000. 

I used a AQ Thunder PC for PS Audio P15 generator. It has improved SQ significantly compares to one came with it. 

As for the DQ Blizzard, Reeses Pieces my vote!  

I have 3 AQ Blizzard Extreme with DBS and 1 without direct amp to wall on my Krell K300i and I have no noise issues either way. 

Into my amp but then I like the Tornado there also. I will add 1 Blizzard to the front end then give the system a listen and then decide where to use what. I like the Blizzard a lot for front-end gear. 

Shocking! A post / question on cables only get replies from people who either hate cables, or never tried some, other than stock cables. Not really shocking. I am exaggerating. This is becoming normal

I like DQ Blizzard. 

For powercord, I use whatever is provided by the manufacturer as it is safe to use and does not compromise the performance, and I add a ferrite core to it, about 1-2 inches away from the device.   Works Great!  especially on source and pre-amp.

mastering92, I didn’t know that Pokemon was still a thing.

So phillyb, you have the AQ Thunder power cable, and what do you have it plugged into? 

OP, 

i was jokingly referencing Pokémon. They're cool.
I can't say I've heard them. Maybe you should reach out to phillyb for more info.

I own them and they are ultra low noise design, I hear zip but pitch black backgrounds with the DBS in use. Use the cables as designed. 

chrisr, do you have a link to a report that says the AQ DBS doesn’t do what Garth Powell at AudioQuest says it does? 

chrisr, what make of power cable would you recommend? 

Neither.  But if you do buy audioquest, make sure you remove the dbs system as it does act as an antenna and potentially adds noise to your system.  This is verifiable and exposed.

mastering92, thank you for taking the time to respond to my query. But seriously, I have no idea what articuno, zapdos, and moltres are. 😊 

If you can hear a difference, who I am I to judge.

I prefer hospital-grade power cables (due to higher standard) and devices with inbuilt power cables.

Blizzard = Articuno
Thunder = Zapdos
Fire = Moltres ?!

Flagship cable? Check out the Arceus.