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Audioquest Dragon Powercord vs Hurricane

I don't want to get into a debate about if powercords and/or cables sound different or not. I just want to talk about the differences between the Audioquest Dragon and Audioquest Hurricane powercords in my system, based on my ears and preferences. My system consists of a Jeff Rowland 625 S2 amplifier, Jeff Rowland Corus preamp, Chord Dave DAC, Antipodes DS GT music server, Monitor Audio PL500 ii speakers, JL Audio F112 v2,  Clarus Crimson speaker cables, Wireworld Platinum series 8 XLRs, and all Audioquest Hurricane power cords.
I have two Dragon powercords for a home audition. I put one on my DAC and the other on my preamp. My initial thought is the Dragon added a lot of detail. I usually listen with the volume set at 60, but had to reduce it to 58 with the Dragon inserted. After letting the music play for awhile, I did some critical listening for 90 minutes or so. I'm pretty certain that I will keep all Hurricanes and not purchase any Dragon powercords. It isn't because I think the Hurricane is better. I submit they are different and I always say cables are system dependent. In my system the Hurricane is a more balanced cable, where the Dragon is forward to my ears and it's a cable that really highlights details in a way that I don't like. E.g. when I listened to a blues track by KEB MO, with the Dragons the guitar was very forward and dominate, his voice was out of balance and the bass wasn't as full. Returning to the Hurricanes provided excellent balance with detail and fuller bass. Things may change over the next couple of days, but I don't usually change from my initial thoughts. There are no absolutes in audio and careful component matching is more important than how much a component cost.  
ricred1
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folkfreak's avatar
folkfreak
1,349 posts
 
I’d say that what you describe @ricred1 captures the Dragons pretty well. They’re an unforgiving cable and stress clarity, speed and directness above all. What strikes first as less bass is likely actually an absence of lower mid bass emphasis, instead it passes the true bottom octave very cleanly. You can read more of this in my various postings about these cables.

The Hurricanes are more laid back and have a nice warm bass sound. In my system on big tube amps and Magico M3s the Dragons work extremely well so as the OP suggests systems matching is, as always, key.  

One caveat to the above, and perhaps pertinent to what @elizabeth notes is that while I’ve found all AQ power cords to sound pretty much consistent straight out of the box this is not true if the DBS has been disconnected, it takes a good 24 hours for the cable to resettle if you need to plug the DBS in, and as AQ often ship with the DBS disconnected please do allow for this,
ricred1 OP
1,976 posts
 
Elizabeth and Folkfreak very good points. They are demo pairs and the dealer told me they are completely broken in. I’ll keep them for several more days to do additional listening. I really just want to reiterate that I’m not saying the Hurricanes are better, but due to the rest of my system and preferences I may end up preferring the Hurricanes. All I can do is post what I hear.

Folkfreak,
"The Hurricanes are more laid back and have a nice warm bass sound. In my system on big tube amps and Magico M3s the Dragons work extremely well so as the OP suggests systems matching is, as always, key.
System matching is really the point of my post. 
ricred1 OP
1,976 posts
 
I've heard this said before, "sometimes you need to let your ears adjust to what you're hearing, before you begin evaluating." The Dragons sound different from any powercord I've ever had. I need to adjust how I listen to capture the true essence of this powercord.
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