I have Cheetah, Volcano and Mont Blanc AQ cables, and I want to upgrade and replace the DBS Battery packs. My Cheetah has 12V DBS and the new has 36V, the Mont Blanc and Volcano have 24V and the news have 36 and 72V Please let me know if I can buy only the DBS Battery packs and who sell them.
Maybe this DBS works, maybe it doesn't. But if it did, why the heck didn't Audioquest figure out that 36V was better that 12V last year and just sell them that way...the actual battery cost can't be that different. The only explanation I can imagine why they didn't is the hope that they can keep sucking in people to pay more money to upgrade.
I actually beleive cables can make a difference. I actually use Audioquest Python interconnects. But it is stuff (I was going to use a different word) like this that makes me wonder whether those that view this all as snake oil aren't, to some extent anyway, correct.
AQ has instructions that they give their dealers on how to sell more wire. They recomend downselling someone who wants to buy 1K worth of equipment by $200 to save room for wire. A 1K system (speakers, receiver, and source) is not likely to bennefit from $200 worth of wire. And yes AQ does allow you expand the battery pack pretty much to the end of the cable if you want. AQ is a wire company in the worst way.
Unfortunately they do make a good cable. The Cheetah and Jaguar are very good (even without hte battery). Thier speaker cables are also very good. They also sell Sorbothane pucks that work quite well under turntables. Oh well.
I hear the 144V is going to be the ticket! Zero grain and unparalleled clarity. A whole new dimension is on it's way! Tee Hee (Sorry I could not resist)
If you want entertaining reading on this, look up the Stereophile review on the first gen DBS cables and then read Bill from AQ's reply. Fun stuff!
My local AQ dealer admitted to me that the DBS doesnt audibly affect the sound of the wires. I auditioned the Cheetah's and one battery was dead. I noticed no difference between the one that worked and the one that didn't. Thought I'd let you know.
Riddle me this... If DBS is such the hot lick technology in cables and makes such an audible difference; how come no other cable manufacturer is doing anything similiar?
Kid, AQ's DBS system is patented, or at least a patent is pending.
And Audiofire, just because YOUR dealer (and, apparently, Audiofire5228, too) can't hear the improvements brought by the DBS system doesn't mean it doesn't work. .
I can't wait until they come out with speaker cables that need power cords (of course it will need to be a "good" power cord). Talk about incremental sales!
Ooh...the smartasses are out today! :-) At least you're all still good-natured about it.
Only those who believe that (1) there ARE audible differences among good-quality interconnect cables AND (2) cables gain sound quality from a break-in process will believe that AQ's DBS system works. All others probably won't. And if you BELIEVE you won't hear any differences, you won't.
I don't work for AQ or have ANY interest in them other than as a customer, so I'm not 'selling' for them. I own and use a bunch of AQ cable, new and old, DBS and not, and I like the way it sounds. I'm sold on the DBS system and so are others. You may spend your money any way you wish and post anything you like on these forums. Ain't life wonderful!?!? .
Kid, How about Synergistic Research Alpha Sterling Active? Yes, Bundy, it comes with its own power cord. I tried the interconnect but didn't get around to trying it active even though I had the component, because I knew I wasn't going to spend the money for it. Pretty poor audiophile, I guess-- not even curious enough to try it when I had it.
I am not declaring Jihad (being a smart ass) on AudioQuest but I must say that I find the whole DBS theory and technology a little thin. I too have owned a ton of AudioQuest and even upgraded every time a new model came along. Until my recent system, I was using AQ Anaconda and Volcano for my reference 2 channel system and was happy.
Then the new DBS came out. Me being a sick in the head audiophile who needs the latest and greatest, found the DBS version of the Volcano and the NEW Panther Interconnects which replaced my precious Anaconda to audition. Guess what? I was not hearing anything I already did not have. No better, but no worse. Hmmmmm...That just cannot be.
Then a good friend and fellow crazed Audiophile came over to audition the AQ DBS out of curiosity and brought his month old Audience Au24 Interconnects and Speaker Wire just for grins and to A/B.
The Audience Au24 TRUMPED the AQ in every category and believe it or not sounded much more natural. Not to mention, it was a fraction of the price. These little black wires simply sounded better than the big, pretty, battery powered, AudioQuest. Now I will say this, I do not work for Audience but I do swear by the Au24 now as well as their PowerChords.
The one thing I mentioned above as well is please see the review in Stereophile on the DBS stuff. Art Dudley (no I am not a big fan) did some A/B comparisons and even unhooked the batteries and heard ZERO Difference and stated so in the article. It really struck a nerve with Bill Lowe as he wrote a two page reply in the Manufacturers Comments telling Art what he "should have heard". (I am not making this up, go look)
Anyway, to each his own and I believe system synergy goes a long way but I am just not buying into the whole DBS thing. Not to mention, the fact they are changing voltages and selling upgrades makes me even more suspicous of the "HYPE" factor.
My opinion above is based on my system with a friend in my dedicated listening room and no I do not own an Adcom Stack and a Pair of Legacys. The review I mentioned is in Stereophile and can be found in the Archives.
Well Jeffy-bear, looks like your the only one in this thread that thinks DBS isn't snake oil. If you cant hear the difference then why spend money on it. My Kimber dealer said it best "Don't waste your money on the DielectricBullS#*!(DBS)."
Well Jeffy-bear i'm hear to support you. I have the Kilimanjaro with DBS and the results are: With DBS you get more transparency and more micro information. Alsoo more analytical. But for the people who didn't listen to these cables i would suggest try one of these DBS cables. If you didn't listen to the DBS cables, how do you know the difference??
While I have no association with AQ, it seems many are misunderstanding what I believe they are claiming (whether true or not). The DBS is supposed to keep the cable dialectric "formed", that is, broken in. So comparing the cable with and without the battery connected should not actually make any difference. The better test would be to compare two of the same cables, after disconnecting the battery on one of them, after some period of time (perhaps days or weeks). If DBS works, the one without the battery connected would need some re-breakin time before it sounded the same as the one with DBS.
Sorry Jeffrey. I have them both DBS and non DBS. If you don't play music for one or two days; with the non DBS the sound is 'there' in 1 or two hours playing music. With the DBS no problem, it's already performing at his maximum. Greetings Bernhard.
Bernhardknoop, your experience confirms what I understood should happen. Elduende, I would guess that AQ has discovered that while 12v works, the higher voltages are even more successful in keeping the dialectric formed (not influenced by music signal levels or time). If you bought your DBS early on, your dealer might contact AQ and see if they will give you the additional battery pack as a courtesy, as they almost immediately began using them. If not, it seems like a reasonable thing to do, if not too expensive, especially if you like the cables.
You may want to have a look at Mike Mickelson's recent review of the Audioquest Sky on Soundstage. Mickelson seems to suggest that the static voltage bias induced by the batteries takes several days to establish after the battery is activated, and several days to drain if the battery is turned off. While Mickelson asserts he has tested the effectiveness of the battery pack by cycling the batteries on/off for several days per cycle, he should have sourced two identical sets of cables and interconnects: one set with batteries and one set without. This would have enabled him to make quick swaps for a more accurate/reliable audio comparison. Please see: http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/audioquest_sky_volcano.htm Guido
really good cables make a bid difference , it all depends on what you want to spend , AQ and MIT are the two companies that make the others lag in depth and clarity , any one with a really good system can hear it , don't think so , then take some regular rca's in to a really good audio store and have them change them out for you and you will hear it instantly
Wow, nine years til the last post. Anyway, I was a Synergistic Research nut (ICs and speaker), for a while. Then I auditioned some Audioquests and I sold off my SR stuff. The AQs were superior in practically every way. I'm lucky to have found them.
I have the AQ Diamond USB cable and I put in the system cold played for 2 hours then plugged in the battery pack. I totally agree the electrostatic shield needs to energize end saturate the Dialectric which for the little USB cable much less time within an hour the music was more precise and smooth sounding. instant results not happening .the dibs technology does work. I just had the cable on loan with option to buy. One thing to add regarding USB audio the little AQ jitter bug does work and improve the performance a small amount in cleaning up artifacts in the digital transmission. One item that is a true bargain even better in a different way . The USB Regen for under $200 a break through product .
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