Thanks for sorting through the trials. Confirming the high regulation versus low distortion I felt I here. I generally just use autotune function and clean function. Last night the differences were realy noticeable until incoming power cleaned up.
I think TMR is safest bet to trial the dragon. I have some acoustic panels coming and two more Gent DC cables and a couple of AC power cords I should sort out first. By then I will have budget to trial the Dragon HDMi and maybe a Dragon cord for the P20.
Reading some of your posts my warning lights just go flashing and I hear really loud WARNING WARNING WARNING. And yet when I test your claims I find I agree with your conclusions.
I could dislike that part except it works out to my advantage.
Still, no AQ Dragon for me. Not for free even. It’s just my nature on this one.
(I will get an AQ Dragon before I get an Orange Fuse though)
You mean you’re not gonna join all the fun? Like this thing you have against the Farad, and oh yea, the Orange fuse. You’re beyond these non essential upgrades anyway.
I just got the Dragon (never a fan of AQ marketing) for a spin against the RAL. It holds its own at
this point but I am not singing it’s praises yet. I don’t think AQ burns in cable so I will get back to you all
in a few days.
I hate their marketing also, too commercial and too much mumble jumble. Their cables never impress me neither, just Ok sounding, so this Dragon surprised me.
No, AQ does not break in their cables. First you pull out this tab on the battery pack to start it. It takes a couple of days to stabilize. For me, the cable sounded a bit raw right out of the box. It smoothed out in a few days and got more and more transparent over time. This cable takes a long time to break in, weeks and weeks. Now, I can’t imagine a better sounding HDMI cable.
Be patient, and I hope you will enjoy this cable as much as I did.
Your advice is warranted and spot on. I took a quick listen today and was surprised the grit was gone
and the music returned. I usually have done my cable evaluating thru the Cable Co with broken in cables. This is the first time that cable burn-in (or lack there of) really hit me. A lessen for me and a good sign for the Dragon.
Is the cable difference equivalent to a Qobuz versus Tidal difference at same resolution or even greater? Not comparison with MQA which is just a muddy pulsing compressed mess.
I like Intelligencia and Starbucks for different reasons, just like a cable can have its own “flavor.”
My HDMI shootout is the bridge between a PST and DACSR (latest firmware, no trans mod).
Sorry, no Matrix in the mix. There are so very few cable companies that are interested in designing a great sounding HDMI but recent offerings from WireWorld, RAL and AQ (which I all have own) give hope. I have other cables, both power and signal, that exceed the cost of the Dragon, but not in the rarified air that Al lives in. But, there is no better cable ROI that with the I2S connection in my system.
Ps…the Dragon is sounding better by the day. Don’t care if it comes in a steel case, Crown Royal bag,
or a Ninja box.
Ok, here’s an update. I’ve had it a week and have been using a USB drive to burn it in on the PST.
I does sound better and mellow with age. The bottom line is it is a keeper and will stay in the system.
I can use the all the audiophile adjectives to describe the benefits as others have mentioned, but it
simply sounds more like real instruments in a more easily defined space. I have had lesser cables as well and more recently the WWPL7 and RAL. The Dragon is most like the RAL, just better. Is it three times better ($)? Probably not. But, I hear big differences in the HDMI interface between the PST and
DACSR. More so than in the many signal and power cable demos I hand done.
