Could be counterfeit. Many fakes have been available from China for major brands for quite some time. This has been a thing for at least a couple years.
For instance the Nordost Odin 2 interconnect (which I have tested in my system, $17K) was available from China for $100. I was interested in how good a fake they were so I bought a pair. They looked exactly like the real thing... except the wood block on each cable was made from a different wood, loose and not as well made as the real thing. If you knew nothing about there being fakes, I don't know how anyone would figure out it was a fake. it out... no it did not sound as good.
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Careful buying used AQ especiially the storm and higher lines. Lots of fakes.
TMR usually has preowned hurricanes. I’ve bought a few from them.
I am not a fan of AQ Thunder, Tornado and Hurricane they just don’t sound right to me but I know @ghdprentice enjoys them.
If you’re looking for big bass and dark sound, although with pretty nice mids, give it a shot. I like the Nordost stuff - Frey 2 is great on amps and digital.
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I realized my post didn’t really answer your question.
AQ is a major brand. They sell a lot of cables and you see the quantities on a used a used market proportional to new sales over time plus people just rotate cables. Sprinkle that with fakes.
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Cables are very system dependent. I sold my hurricane's after comparing them directly to Clarity Audio Vortex power cords. The Vortex's are more open and detailed compared to the hurricane's in my system. I didn't realize how dark the hurricane's sound until I compared them to the Vortex.
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@ricred1
Looks like you sold the Vortex. You found a new preference?
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There are 13 Hurricane PCs for sale on USAM, 8 of which are dealer sales. Maybe not as out of line as it might seem.
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No sir, I still use Vortex power cords. I recently compared them to Nordost Valhalla 2 power cords and prefer the Vortex in my system. Again, cables are very system dependent and you may prefer a different power cord in your system.
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Why wouldn't a fake AQ power cord sound the same as a "real" one? They are all made in China at the same factory.
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Dark is how the AQ Hurricane sounded in my system as well. I had these on the amp, preamp and power conditioner.
@jasonbourne71 is correct about the AQ cables made in China. But I really doubt the fakes are identical to the original. The myth about fakes made at the same factory is just that…a myth.
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you know why? people didn't experience the quantum nirvana they were promised
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To your original question, number seems to be resonable given numbers of originally sold.
I'd be wary of buying any used cables. Buy new with a discount. Remove all doubt. Perhaps consider buying used from TMR. I'm going to stick with remove all doubt.
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To be clear I was not looking for AQ, just noticed so many. Thanks all!
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I own several of them and they are very good power cords ,
there are up to 25% fakes out there ,Nordost for sure also as well as some Cardas
it’s best to call the mfg
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@jasonbourne71 "Why shouldn't they sound the same?" Because they don't sprinkle the magic fairy dust on the fakes.
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@fthompson251
I noticed that too when browsing USAM. I use a Tornado Source PC on my Herron and really like it.
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It’s because Finally a lot of people have learned cables don’t make a difference
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Any cable will make a sonic difference; sometimes, different brands may sound nearly identical. But the fact is no one can tell you how any piece of gear, power supply, will react to a given power cord, or speaker interaction, and so on. I've had cheaper cables sound as good or better on certain gear than the bling overbuilt $$$$ ones. The fact is, how much can you do with wires? a designer can make them sound different but better? $30,000 power cords, really, it's still wire, connectors, and even then, will you like it on your amp? Price means zip, because there is no assurance on what the sonic outcome will be. Buy well-made wires from folks who have been doing it for a long time with experience; nowadays, anyone and everyone are making cables. The markup on cables is insane. When I was in the industry, I got cables that were $$$$$ my cost for my whole system, Interconnect, and speaker cables. $850.00 at cost. I was happy, of course, what a perk, but sonically they sounded the same as their lower-level cables, the one step below, by retail thousands less. The house sound was the same. Cables do matter, but use common sense. Spending more money on your room acoustics will give you more improvement than buying new gear or speakers.
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Used cables are a great value
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This thread has turned funny. One thing I love more than a good cable discussion is to go into members virtual systems page. Especially those stating cables don’t matter. It’s worth the click. Trust me. You see immediately why all cables sound the same. In their systems. Yeah I’m being snobby. But if you fart in an elevator I will ask who farted. I see that clearly now - it was you…
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A few years ago, maybe ten, the number of fake cables increased dramatically. Check out Ali Express. AQ and Nordost knockoffs are everywhere. There’s a few YouTube channels out there that review all the cables and equipment from there and they tell you up front that they cost 1/10th the cost.
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For anyone who isn’t aware, you can mail suspected fake cables to AQ and they will check their validity free if charge. I did this with Fire XLRs I bought used many years ago. Just don't expect to have your cables returned if fake.
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@audphile1 , +1, Yes sir, no system , no market feedback, no posts started. It’s a wicked existence in the peanut gallery. As a financially limited mid-Fi guy even I have found an improvement in a power cable upgrade. Now truth be known for me it was about 1/3 of the time. My biggest change was adding a Shunyata Venom HC 20 amp cord to my Richard Gray power filter. This was in addition to a Hubble outlet upgrade, and it was very noticeable. What chaps my ass is that someone can make a lame blanket statement and impose it over and over. My apologies for not posting my frugal system. Rogue Hera, Rogue Dark 180’s, Rogue RP-1, Had Inspire, Schiit Yiggy, Innuos , Thorens TT, Grado Prestiege, Morrow level 5, Cardas, Richard Gray, Tekton, Zu, JBL, Klipsch , Townsend Podiums, 2 Standard Poodles, dozens of NOS tubes.
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I don't know about Hurricane but a few years back I ended up with pair of Audioquest Monsoon power cables. The first was brand new from a local dealer. The other was used from an audio forum from a guy who was selling a few of them.
The seller from the used one later reached out to me saying he discovered that all the cables he had turned out fake. He sent one in to AQ who confirmed it. They all came from the same batch so presumably the one he sold me was fake too. He wanted to give me a full refund (yes there are still honorable sellers on forums sometimes).
Comparing that fake to the known-real example. I could not see or hear any differences. Not a single thing stood out. I am not saying all counterfeit cables are as good as the original, indeed I have experienced some bad ones. But this one was totally convincing. I moved on to better cables later but thought this was an interesting story.
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