Audioquest Dialectric-Bias System

Reb1208, maybe your ears were MIA that day?

My Volcano is great and I am quite pleased. Reb1208 is the one who had the Monte Blanc for audition that had the highs MIA after day 9. Maybe he can give us an update?

I recently upgraded from AQ Clear to the AQ Volcano with the battery bias. It has a 24 volt battery connected to a new central lead and one other wire (not sure which). The theory is that the field generated by this potential will keep the dialectrics formed and they won't begin to revert back to their natural condition when not being played. This same idea is being used by Vandersteen in his 5 and 5a crossovers, where there is a 9 volt battery.

I think they are both on to something. Since the upgrade, the system is ready to listen to almost immediately, whereas before it took an hour or two before it was really sounding great.

I am surprised that this advance has not been recognized on this forum and discussed. Thanks for bringing it up. I am anxious to know what others have experienced.

Pbb, I should have been more precise. The Model 5 and 5a uses a "high pass filter" between the pre and amp. This filter is the device that has the 9 volt battery which I believe is used in the same manner as AQ does.

Maybe others could shed more light on this?

My guess is that it is the same cable as before with the battery bias added.

I was looking for a cable that would least affect the sound to the speakers. I wanted a neutral, highly defined sound with good clean highs and solid tight base. Granted, it is difficult to know exactly what the original sound is, but you can still compare cables and sort out the offenders. Since I didn't like the all silver cables, and I liked the AQ sound, I ended up with the Volcano. Also, I was intrigued with the idea of a cable that would stay broken in and as far as I can tell, this one does.

Reb1208 - the Volcano is not silver, it is multiple different sized strands of solid copper. It is the highest in the AQ line before the Everest which is silver. I certainly do not understand what happened in your situation. It is not consistent with my experience at all. Well, I guess that is what makes this hobby so interesting.

I believe that AQ is now going to higher battery voltages in the bias system. The are putting 2 - 24v batteries on each cable instead of one. If you bought the earlier version, you can get an upgrade to add another battery.