AudioQuest Pegasus vs Thunderbird Interconnects

I have to say I have stalked this thread for months trying to discern who “might be lying” or “who has an agenda” with either their skepticism of cables or belief in them.

until this week the most expensive XLR cables I owned were $49 mogami. And I finally decided to go all the way into the deep end and order Pegasus XLR cables to replace them. Here is my system and I’ll provide my thoughts on the cables next.

speakers: Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 Signature

amp: Parasound JC5

preamp: Priimaluna evo 400

DAC: Laiv Harmony

Streamer: Eversolo DMP-A8

Power conditioner: Puritan PSM156

When I swapped in the Pegasus I was nervous. Skeptical. Already telling myself how much of a fool I was for spending this money on snake oil. So I turned on my stereo and after 3-4 songs I thought “oh my God I am such an idiot. This was a total waste. You’re such a moron. What did I do”

Fast forward 2 hours: I start hearing anomalies in some of my favorite songs of all time. I think something’s wrong my internet or streamer. I listen again, and it’s instruments I’ve never heard with the exception of when I’ve seen these very songs performed live in person. It’s cool but it’s no quantum leap to justify the price.

Fast forward to hour 3: “Jesus Christ what are these cables made out of?! There is such a soft, delicate touch to every single musical note. The base is full. The mids are thick and palpable. There’s pulp to the music. But not artificial bloat, this is silky smooth, perfect texture. The highs are seemingly opening up as the hours go by to become more and more airy.

i know break in is supposed to be 100-300 hours but i am absolutely blown away by the level of improvement these have made. I was completely despondent at first. Totally bummed and oh my God am I happy I kept listening.

I can’t even imagine what the other levels above sound like on a good system.

i don’t know if I ever made a “review or comment” like this before but I guess I just want to say to the naysayers and the cable deniers that life is freaking short man. Unplug the stupid ass measuring gear and buy a serious level cable if you have a revealing system and just listen with your own ears. Don’t worry about the guys over at audio science research making fun of you. Just open up your f’n mind and listen for yourself because it is absolutely undeniable how much more of my stereo system is getting through to my speakers right now. It’s amazing.

Oh and to all the deniers I still have $200 world’s best cable 9 gauge speaker cables and these Pegasus XLR are just an absolute revelation.

I hope this convinces just one skeptic who has the budget to really try a great cable to just say f*** it and try it for themselves and see what they’ve been missing and how much more music is awaiting them with great cables to tie it all together. 
 

I think I am most compelled to write this because I almost didn’t buy these because of the huge amount of ignorant people absolutely certain that cables don’t make a difference. And you are 100% wrong and you should cut the shit and stop dissuading people from coming to their own conclusions. 

@jg7884  Congratulations on your willingness to try - and your subsequent reward.

When I first joined AudiogoN, I thought posts about cables affecting the SQ were absurd.  Now, over 50% of the cost of my system in invested in cabling and power conditioning.  Worth every penny.  After many years of tweaking, I still find power cords to have the most influence in my system's SQ.   Enjoy!

- - - - - - 

Burn-in is very real.  Even when swapping cables already in the system, it takes time for them to re-settle in.  Not only does the wire need to conduct electricity but so does the electro-mechanical interface of the connectors.  

Thank you for your insight.

Knowing what I currently have are there any AQ power cables (or other brands) you’d recommend me looking into? I hadn’t thought much about cables and always appreciate any insight from people who have a working knowledge of the different products.

appreciate any feedback you’re willing to give. 

@jg7884 My suggestions would be to take your time and stay within your budget. A 30 day trial period is a wonderful thing. Or the ability to re-sell an item near what you paid for it - if it doesn’t sound right in your system.  I've tried plenty of cables that others recommended that didn't work for my ears.  Be sure to search the Audiogon discussion archives when curious about a particular product or approach. Such as this one. Have fun.

@jg7884 (hey, they have the links working again!)

.....i don’t know if I ever made a “review or comment” like this before but I guess I just want to say to the naysayers and the cable deniers that life is freaking short man. Unplug the stupid ass measuring gear and buy a serious level cable if you have a revealing system and just listen with your own ears.

Great post. Thanks for sharing. For every stubborn idiot out there who is certain cables don’t matter, and they would rather give their money to the church of scientology, hopefully there are 2 open-minded people like who actually think for themselves and try it and end up enjoying their music more. Isn’t that the point of this hobby? I was the same idiot a few short years ago.

Like you said, life is short.

I am in the same upgrading phase- upgrading cables, and vibration/resonance control, to enjoy all the endless beautiful music this planet has to offer, and retirement offers me up to 10 hours a day enjoying my system. $3000 cables are a waste of money? Work it out per hour, it is cheaper than fishing. Maybe the upgrading never stops- but maybe that is a good thing, it is a hobby. Hearing the differences in the way the music sounds is almost as much fun as enjoying the artists' musical expression.

I see you previously started a new thread asking A’gonners suggestions as to your cable choice- be sure to post these impressions there as well, as it always nice to close off a thread so other readers in the future aren’t left hanging as to the outcome.