Serious Fun at Big Kids Toys
In the March 2025 installment of Stereophile’s excellent “Re-Tales” column, author Julie Mullins highlights Big Kids Toys — an AudioQuest Mythical Experience dealer — and speaks with its 29-year-old sales...
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ThunderBird 48
Ultra High Speed 48Gbps HDMI 2.1 Cable
SKU:
HDM48TBIRD060
Amplifier-End Connector: Multi-Spade, Banana, U-Spade, or V-Spade
Often, the choice between terminating your speaker cables with spade lugs or banana plugs will come down to personal preference. However, the EU-compliant isolated binding posts used on some power amplifiers often makes it difficult if not impossible to tighten spade lugs with high torque or pressure. In these applications, the AudioQuest banana connector is the superior choice, and may be the only choice.
AudioQuest has conducted a fairly extensive survey of contemporary amplifier manufacturers to determine whether spades or bananas will be most appropriate for a given brand and model of amplifier. Please contact us, provide the brand and model of the amplifier, and we’ll respond with the optimal connector type.
Given the girth and weight of our Mythical Creature Series speaker cables, a spade may be better capable of fully supporting the cable. This is particularly a concern with binding posts that do not allow a banana connector to fully seat into the post. The EU-compliant posts will neither accept our V-Spade nor allow our Multi-Spade to be fully seated. For these applications (or when you’re not certain), we highly recommend the U-Spade, as it can accommodate any binding post. The V-Spade is a specialty spade connector that works well with large wingnut binding posts (such as the Mundorf ), as it allows extra clearance.
Speaker-End Connector: Spade or Banana
Here we typically recommend the U-Spade or banana connector. However, even though there is less weight and pressure on this side of the cable (particularly for BiWire sets), it is nevertheless important to note the binding post’s design. If a banana connector cannot seat all the way into the binding post, we recommend one of our spade connectors.
Key Features & Technology Explained
Specifications
Specifications
Description
Description
-
AudioQuest ThunderBird 48 8K-10K 48Gbps HDMI cable combines superior materials and thoughtful design to produce a deeply immersive entertainment experience. Meticulously designed for enhanced sound quality and outstanding overall performance, ThunderBird 48 features 10% Silver-Plated Copper conductors and drains with AQ’s Level-5 Noise-Dissipation technology: high-loss graphene is added to the carbon layer sandwiched between layers of metal around the 4 FRL + eARC pairs, and a “global” high-loss carbon layer is placed around all conductors to further enhance noise-dissipation. All AudioQuest 48G HDMI cables can transfer up to 10K Ultra HD video, support Dynamic HDR, and have the conductors and bandwidth required for eARC’s enhanced sonic capabilities. Taking performance even further, all 19 conductors, comprising A/V and eARC signals, all Ground-Reference drains, and control and power conductors, are properly controlled for the most efficient dissipation of RF Noise.
- 8K-10K: AudioQuest ThunderBird 48 HDMI cables can transfer up to professional 10K Ultra HD video. The incredible 48Gbps data rate is made possible by four balanced audio/video pairs each capable of 12Gbps, enabling a surprisingly stronger audio/video experience.
- 4K Performance: In addition to enabling the 48Gbps data rate, the improved materials and design of AudioQuest ThunderBird 48 HDMI cables significantly benefit the overall performance of your 4K system. All AudioQuest HDMI cables are completely backwards compatible with existing 4K devices.
- Gaming: Supports enhanced gaming features (4K120, VRR, ALLM, QFT) for optimal performance from Sony Playstation 5 (PS5), Microsoft Xbox Series X, Gaming PCs, etc.
- 10% Silver Conductors and Drains: AudioQuest ThunderBird 48 HDMI cables use 10% Silver conductors to defeat both electrical and magnetic strand-to-strand interaction. ThunderBird 48’s 10% Silver drains further improve Noise-Dissipation.
- Noise-Dissipation (Level 5): In AudioQuest ThunderBird 48 HDMI cables, a high-loss layer of carbon surrounds all the direction-controlled conductors; high-loss graphene is added to the carbon layer sandwiched between layers of metal around the 4 FRL + eARC pairs to further enhance noise-dissipation.
- Supports 10K Ultra HD Video: Experience professional-grade 10K Ultra HD video with 48Gbps data transfer for superior audio and video quality.
- Silver-Plated Long-Grain Copper Conductors: Increasingly thick layers of silver on Long-Grain Copper (LGC) conductors enhance Noise-Dissipation, delivering clearer, more refined audio and video performance.
- Advanced Noise-Dissipation System: High-loss carbon and graphene layers surround the direction-controlled conductors, reducing noise and providing a cleaner, more stable signal.
- Direction-Controlled Conductors: Minimize RF noise for optimal audio quality; ensure arrows on the plug point towards the TV or A/V receiver for best results.
| Materials & Design | |
|---|---|
Ground Reference |
10% Silver
|
A/V Conductor |
10% Silver
|
eARC Conductor |
10% Silver
|
Jacket |
Black with Blue Stripes Nylon
|
| Features & Performance | |
Noise-Dissipation |
Graphene + Global Carbon + Direction
|
Resolution |
4K@120Hz / 8K@60Hz / 10K@30Hz
|
| Manufacturing Details | |
Country of Origin |
|
 ThunderBird 48From $795.00 View details |  Vodka 48From $450.00 View details |  FireBird 48From $1,450.00 View details |  Dragon 48From $2,395.00 View details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ground Reference |
10% Silver
|
5% Silver
|
10% Silver
|
100% PSS Silver
|
A/V Conductor |
10% Silver
|
10% Silver
|
100% PSS Silver
|
100% PSS Silver
|
eARC Conductor |
10% Silver
|
10% Silver
|
100% PSS Silver
|
100% PSS Silver
|
Jacket |
Black with Blue Stripes Nylon
|
Black with Blue Stripes Nylon
|
Black with Red Stripes Nylon
|
Black Nylon
|
Noise-Dissipation |
Graphene + Global Carbon + Direction
|
Carbon + Metal + Direction
|
72v DBS and Graphene + Global Carbon + Direction
|
72v DBS and Graphene + Global Carbon + Direction
|
Resolution |
4K@120Hz / 8K@60Hz / 10K@30Hz
|
4K@120Hz / 8K@60Hz / 10K@30Hz
|
4K@120Hz / 8K@60Hz / 10K@30Hz
|
4K@120Hz / 8K@60Hz / 10K@30Hz
|
Country of Origin |
|
|
|
|
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