AudioQuest FireBird BASS (Pair)

AudioQuest FireBird BASS (Pair)

FireBird BASS with RF/ND-Tech is an ideal cable for the Bass and Midrange inputs of a BiWirable or TriWireable loudspeaker when used in combination with FireBird ZERO Full-Range cable on the treble input.

THE FIREBIRD'S CONDUCTORS: SOLID PERFECT-SURFACE SILVER (PSS) AND SOLID PERFECT-SURFACE COPPER+ (PSC+)
Solid conductors prevent mutual interference between the individual strands, one of the main causes of distortion. Since a conductor can be regarded as a rail guide for both the fields inside and outside the conductor, the surface quality is crucial. The amazingly smooth and pure surface of all AudioQuest Perfect Surface metals almost completely eliminates roughness and significantly improves transparency compared to lesser quality materials. The careful selection of sizes for the PSS and PSC+ conductors ensures that the FireBird's performance is close to that of PSS Silver, but at a much lower cost.

GROUND-NOISE DISSIPATION (GND)
This highly effective, patented technology for eliminating common mode noise is used on the ground connection in almost all AQ mains cables and in the speaker cables of the AQ Bass & Midrange models. However, the effectiveness of the GND affects the sound above 10,000 Hz, which is why the special bass & midrange cable is not suitable for full-range use.

ZERO: NO CHARACTERISTIC IMPEDANCE FOR UNCOMPRESSED CURRENT TRANSMISSION
The integrity of audio transients (instantaneous peak-to-peak voltage swing and current) has always been compromised on their way from the amplifier to the speaker. The source impedance of the amplifier and the load impedance of the speaker are never exactly matched, regardless of whether it is a tube or transistor amplifier. Another culprit in a highly compromised non-linear electrical circuit is the characteristic impedance. AudioQuest has always taken the position that any cable will do damage because the output is never as good as the input. However, the elimination of characteristic impedance in speaker cable thanks to AQ's ZERO technology is an unprecedented step in limiting this damage. As a result, greater dynamics, better impulse response and bass attacks are seemingly effortlessly produced as the cable no longer imposes limits on the music electrically.

72 V dielectric bias system (DBS) with level X high-frequency noise trap
Every insulation is also a dielectric whose properties affect the integrity of the signal. If the isolation is not biased, the dielectric bias (absorption and non-linear release of energy back into the signal flow) causes different time delays (phase shift) for different frequencies and energy levels, which is a significant problem for very time-critical multi-octave audio. AudioQuest's multi-patented DBS creates a strong, stable electrostatic field that saturates and polarises (organises) the molecules of the insulation. This minimises the non-linear time delays, resulting in a more transparent sound against a ‘blacker’ background. The Level-X RF noise trap (a technology developed for the AudioQuest Niagara series) in the DBS battery pack ‘pulls’ RF noise out of the cable and prevents RF from entering the electronics. The DBS battery packs last for approximately 10 years. Check their condition using the test switch.

FIREBIRD BI-WIRING
Distortion is significantly reduced when, where possible, separate cables are run to the treble and bass ‘halves’ of a speaker. Bi-wiring keeps the large magnetic fields associated with the bass energy out of the tweeter cable, so that the sensitive upper frequencies are exposed to less magnetic interference on their way - as if you were removing the waves from the water while swimming. The Rocket models of AQ speaker cables have two independent internal designs that allow true bi-wiring within a single cable. Two AQ-type models can be used together, one for the treble and one for the bass. Due to their unrestricted bandwidth, the use of two AQ cables with ZERO technology may bring fewer benefits - on the contrary, the use of two ZERO full-range cables may result in more RF energy getting through to the amplifier. The use of a BASS low-mid cable with GND in combination with a ZERO cable for the treble, on the other hand, significantly reduces the overall HF noise. The patented Ground-Noise Dissipation (GND) directs the HF energy away from the amplifier output. Bi-wiring has long been a good way to improve reproduction at the same or lower cost if set up carefully. With GND, the improvements from bi-wiring are even more significant. The FireBird BASS with GND is an ideal cable for the bass and midrange inputs of a bi-wiring or tri-wiring speaker when used in combination with the FireBird ZERO or Dragon ZERO full-range cables at the tweeter input. The FireBird ZERO can also be used with the ThunderBird BASS as an excellent, cost-effective alternative.

LINEARISED CARBON-BASED NOISE-DISSIPATION SYSTEM (NDS)
High-frequency noise is omnipresent in our environment today, and filtering or minimising it is very difficult. The frequency ranges of this noise generated by satellites, mobile phone towers, Bluetooth, etc. are so extremely narrow that conventional shielding or series and shunt filters are completely inadequate. High-resolution audio is defined by the signals that carry the harmonics and spatial information. Induced high-frequency noise masks a large proportion of these signals at low levels. AQ's comprehensive linearised noise dissipation system combines multiple screens and a linearised carbon-based resistor network that converts most of this noise into heat. By ‘linearised’ we mean that the system is uniformly effective over an extremely wide bandwidth, not just at selected frequencies as is usually the case. The remaining unwanted energy is effectively diverted away from the sensitive amplifier circuits via directionally controlled signal and shielding lines.

MYTHICAL CREATURE COLD-WELDED PLUGS
Mythical Creature cables are cold-welded to AudioQuest's extremely pure copper spade lugs or banana plugs. The bare copper is dipped (suspended) in a vat of pure silver instead of being tumbled in a lesser quality solution. AudioQuest loudspeaker breakouts and connector housings are not made of metal, so that the magnetic field of the signal is not disturbed and no HF interference reaches the conductors.