High-current power cable for amplifiers and power conditioners
Thunder is a mains cable from the High (Variable) Current family, meaning it is designed for loads whose current draw varies: power amplifiers, integrated amplifiers, AV receivers, active loudspeakers and powered subwoofers, as well as power conditioners and regenerators.
It handles 16 A RMS at 220-240 V and tolerates transient peaks many times that continuous figure: a useful reserve when an amplifier suddenly asks for current.
LGC and PSC copper conductors
The conductors are solid-core and combine two types of high-purity copper: Long-Grain Copper (LGC) alongside Perfect-Surface Copper (PSC). Solid wire removes interaction between strands, one of the main causes of the transient intermodulation distortion that makes listening tiring. LGC copper gives a cleaner, more fluid sound than ordinary OFHC copper; PSC, with its very smooth surface, further reduces harshness and adds clarity.
Uncompressed current and noise reduction
ZERO-Tech is the AudioQuest technology for transferring current without compression, and it is what makes Thunder suitable for isolation transformers and battery back-up units too. RF/ND-Tech concerns the ground conductor instead: it protects against short circuits but works as an antenna, and the radio-frequency noise it collects ends up in the most sensitive audio and video circuits. A phase-cancelling array working in common mode, together with proprietary dielectrics that add differential linear filtering, dissipates this noise over a very wide band.
The 72 V DBS (Dielectric-Bias System) biases the insulation: it lowers its noise and linearises its filtering effect, improving the dissipation of induced RF noise. The conductors are also oriented according to the grain direction of the metal, so noise drains away from critical points; arrows on the connectors show which way to connect the cable.
Terminations and lengths
A European Schuko plug goes into the wall socket. For the equipment end three IEC connectors are offered: C13, for the standard mains inlet; C15, the notched variant required by units whose inlet runs at higher temperatures; C19, for the high-current inlets of large power amplifiers and power conditioners. Lengths: 1 m, 2 m and 3 m.
Key features
- Use: amplifiers, units with built-in amplification, power conditioners and regenerators
- Conductors: solid-core Long-Grain Copper plus Perfect-Surface Copper
- Rating: 16 A RMS at 220-240 V, 50/60 Hz
- Technologies: ZERO-Tech, RF/ND-Tech, 72 V DBS, controlled directionality
- Equipment-end connector: IEC C13, C15 or C19, in 1 m, 2 m or 3 m
