Audioquest Dragon Thread

Robert Neill

President

Worldwide Wholesales

519-619-9924

www.worldwidewholesales.com

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Most helpful, thank-you.

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It said 0.6m on the box,I believe there is a difference what they sell in US and EU.
And please do realize that I´m just pointing out first impressions of this cable,not judging it´s final performance. I have a feeling that this is going to be a whole different beast after a week or two !

And yes Inakustik´s hdmi is a fine cable for roughly 100€ for a 1.5m.

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Did you buy your AQ Dragon new, from an authorized retailer, or from a private seller?

The AQ Retail Price Book doesn’t list 0.6m as an available option, so that’s a bit of a red flag. While it’s always possible it was ordered as a custom length, going from 0.75m down to 0.60m seems like a trivial difference…why not just use the stock length in that case?

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Thanks, and yes I more or less got that the Dragon is breaking in. At the price I’d hesitate to pull the trigger for a Dragon 48. The lower level AQ HDMIs don’t really interest me, but for something different I’d be willing to experiment with Inakustik to get me started. Now to track down a power cable for the PST. Flexibility will be important.

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Nevermind… The EU price book does list 0.6m as an available option, whereas the U.S. price book does not.

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Is this the same cable? Looks like it comes out of the EU, but the shipping is free.

https://www.grooves-inc.com/akustik-akustik-exzellenz-high-speed-hdmi-ethernet-akustik-pZZa1-2098712713.html

I think I bought a Inakustik ethernet from them before Brexit. I got hit with extra US shipping cost. I’d cotact Robert Neil first. He used to show Referenz on his price list he emails. But he will import anything in Inakustik catalog.

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Thanks, yes that appears to be it. I found that earlier and am hoping for a USA supplier as my first choice. If RAL wasn’t so problematic I’d just pull the trigger on one, but I have no idea when I’d receive it. The only way I’d end up with a RAL is if some one moved up to the Dragon 48 and sold their RAL.

Most EU and UK suppliers drp ship from the German factory. The US locations buy bulk.

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Per the Audioquest 10/2021 price list the shortest length for I2S is 0.75m. Check the length of cable and box if it’s .6m I’d contact seller or Audioquest. I stand corrected. The European cable is .6m not .75m! Typical Americans! Everything has to be bigger!

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The bigger the better! :slight_smile: Yes it´s the right stuff alright from authorized dealer,and they ordered it from Netherlands where AQ seems to have their EU distribution. And AQ box states it is made in China ,so it´s definitely real stuff :laughing:

And as @weedeewop I too skipped RAL for same reasons and went to Dragon as the top dog.

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All AQ cables are made in China, otherwise it will even cost you even more for this cable. Also for California residents, there’s a Warning: Cancer and reproduction harm label on the box, so if this cable does not kill you with it’s sound quality, it will kill you with cancer. Nice cable!!

Give it some more time to break in, I’m sure it will come around eventually. This cable is in another league than the RAL.

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Can you be a little more specific on how the Dragon improves on the RAL?

It’s simply a more revealing cable. Things are clearer, there’s more information and the highs are cleaner, so there’s better air and space around images and a richer better textured sound. When I went back to the RAL, I lost interest really fast. If your system has the resolution, you will hear it right away, even if it’s not fully broken in.

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That helps considerably. Just difficult considering it comes it at just $1k below the PSA PST, so at $3k it’s a value judgement for me. One reason why I inquired about the Inakustik, at $100-125. It is not so much that I think it is a world beater, just a more reasonable proposition. I have always had mixed feelings regarding AQ, especially concerning value.

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I used to be in that camp. The S in MSRP is suggested. After you find the right deal or dealer it is slightly easier to swallow a discounted MSRP.

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If you need a good price on the Dragon 48 I’ll send you to my guy. He’ll get you the best price and normally free shipping.

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Paul, I cannot resist any more after hearing all the singing phrases on Dragon. But I am interested in getting a AQ Dragon power cord to compare to Zavfino Silver Dart OCC. It has replaced the AQ Thunder and that was quite an improvement. I have a Firebird 48 so I know how good their toplines can be.

It will be interesting to compare the Dragon to Silver Dart so let me know your guy. Thanks!

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Okay I am 72 hours on the Dragon HC Power Cord and About 120 hours on the Dragon HDMI.

I listened to a myriad of live recordings and old recordings today. I must say Garth Powell being a drummer and comparing music he professionally recorded to the cables performance gives truly amazing recordings. The bass really started coming in stronger today. I also felt soundstage depth and width improved. As did imaging.

I did play with having the 3M AB7050 EMI and RF absorber present or removed from the P20 in the location I previously found best with BAV power cord . The absorber removal caused soundstage depth to flatten and less realism and width to follow outside edge of my speakers tweeter line arrays and aloss of clarity equal to delta between the RAL and Dragon HDMI . Hopefully as Dragon power cord settles it will increase soundstage in depth and width. I will follow that and not place the EMI RF absorption permanently inside P20 until the dragon cables break in. I still maintain the RF absorption tweak on P20 really cleans up power more than both Dragons by themselves and brings more depth, imaging and soundstage width. No matter what your power cord for P20 is or was.

I noticed streaming the Burning Plain movie last night with Dragon Power cord and apple TV still using the WWPS7 HDMI made the sound step up using the P20 Dragon HC with HF absorption in place. I tried specific music soundtrack and non music sections pieces with absorption in place and removed. A slam of an old chevy pick up door had familiar ring of same model year I once owned. There was no insulation on the door panels. Not using the 3M absorption it sounded like a canned added special sound effect. The people walking on gravel road sounded real footsteps of pea stones under boots leather sole real life versus just gravel noise.

So i think one cable is likely not the sole tweak but lowering system level RF and EMI is still where it is at and what we all are seeking.

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