QSA : My take on their expensive products

[CKKeung]

Threre has been another WBF thread on QSA fuses for some weeks already, but I still want to share with WBF brothers my personal audition/comparison experience.

Disclaimer : I am NOT in anyway in the music/hifi industry in Hong Kong.
I am only an audiophile and consumer.

All WBF brothers who have real audition experience in QSA products are most welcome to share their experience in this thread.
Many thanks in advance!

Let's start by giving a concise summary of my views :
(1) Are QSA products expensive? Yes, they are ridulously expensive, particularly their higher models.

(2) Is the comapny's expalnations of how QSA products work believable? No, I don't think so.

(3) Do they work? Yes, they deliver! They offer very audible sonic improvements, not merely changes.

(4) Are they worth their high prices? This is personal judgement. Very subjective.
For example, I myself am willing to buy their power receptacles but not their fuses.

Let me describe my audition of them and my views by the several following posts.

 

[CKKeung]

My friends and I are interested in QSA fuses and power receptacles only.
However they offer so many models :

https://quantum-science-audio.com/

A HK retailer is my friend and he agreed to lend us some of the models for home-trials.
Not many, only 5 models of fuses and 3 models of power receptacles.
Even so, it took two groups of friends and several gatherings during the past two weeks to get hold of their characters/performance.

We started with QSA fuses : Yellow ; Purple ; Red ; Black-Red ; Silver.

The Red, Black-Red & Yellow fuses.


The very but not most expensive Silver fuse. There is a very minute gemstone installed near one end of the fuse.


We tested them one by one, from the affordable Yellow to the extravagent Silver in a Holo May Level3 DAC, the original fuse of which was a Schurter gold-plated fuse.
Other popular fuses had been used for comparison too, such as SR Blue, Brimar (the HK brand) and a Powerhouse top model.

In summary, each higher QSA models surpass the lower models completely and in all aspects.

The Red is the "watershed model".
IMHO it surpasses all the common/popular audiophile fuses in the HK market!
However please note that its price is more than two times of these popular brands/models.

The magic really occurred when coming to the Black-Red fuse!
Not only possessing better performance in all sonic aspects, it astonished my friends and I by its Musicality and Naturalness.

It's pity that I was occupied on that day and unable to join the gathering to listen to the Silver fuse.
In fact the QSA retailer was reluctant to lend it to us initially. Maybe because it's so expensive.
Anyway my friends compared Silver to the Black-Red and eventually two of them were convinced (or addicted?) and ordered Silver instead of Black-Red.

 

[CKKeung]

Now come to power receptacles.
The dealer lent us Red ; Black-Red ; Ultra Black-Red models.
I only joined one of the three (last) gatherings to audition the receptacles but my friends commented that the sonic character and hierarchy of the models of fuses and receptacles are very similar.

I listened to the Black-Red receptacle. It was installed on a MYSTJ powerstrip (a Taiwan brand). The IEC was Furutech rhodium and hookup wires of the Triple-C copper variety.

I like the powerstrips made by MYSTJ a lot. They are CNCed from solid aluminium and with excellent external finishing :


The Furutec IEC :


Simple internal connection :


Very interesting to discover that there were two minute gemstones installed on the posterior aspect of the receptacle. One red & one blue. Are they ruby & sapphire?


I was again very very intrigued by the Musicality and Naturalness of this Black-Red receptacle.
It resembled its sibling the Black-Red fuse almost completely.
I think some of you who know me understand that I treasure these two audio virtues/characters most.

 

[CKKeung]

I will talk about my take on QSA fuses & power receptacles and then my purchase decision on this post #4.

The QSA gadgets tested by my friends and I worked!
They are not snake-oil but I think their claims of the working mechanism is bullxxxx only.

I all along am rather reluctant to buy expensive fuses because of previous bitter experience of fuse blowing.
I consider fuses as consumables.
Their re-sell value is also questionable.
Also, one fuse can improve only one hifi component.
However a few friends plan to install QSA fuse into their preamps because they think that the improvement effect of fuses is slightly higher than receptacles and they want the best!

In the contrary QSA power receptacles are more attractive in several aspects.
A duplex receptacle if combined with powerstrips or power-conditioner may be able to improve every components of a system.
Last but not least, they are much more durable than fuses.

I will buy a Black-Red power receptacle this week.
I can't "unhear" the naturalness it brings about!!!
And I think one Black-Red is still affordable for me a working class in HK.

 

[Cellcbern]

I will talk about my take on QSA fuses & power receptacles and then my purchase decision on this post #4.

The QSA gadgets tested by my friends and I worked!
They are not snake-oil but I think their claims of the working mechanism is bullxxxx only.

I all along am rather reluctant to buy expensive fuses because of previous bitter experience of fuse blowing.
I consider fuses as consumables.
Their re-sell value is also questionable.
Also, one fuse can improve only one hifi component.
However a few friends plan to install QSA fuse into their preamps because they think that the improvement effect of fuses is slightly higher than receptacles and they want the best!

In the contrary QSA power receptacles are more attractive in several aspects.
A duplex receptacle if combined with powerstrips or power-conditioner may be able to improve every components of a system.
Last but not least, they are much more durable than fuses.

I will buy a Black-Red power receptacle this week.
I can't "unhear" the naturalness it brings about!!!
And I think one Black-Red is still affordable for me a working class in HK.

Can you share any impressions of the QSA Yellow fuse compared to non-QSA fuses?

 

[matakana]

I will talk about my take on QSA fuses & power receptacles and then my purchase decision on this post #4.

The QSA gadgets tested by my friends and I worked!
They are not snake-oil but I think their claims of the working mechanism is bullxxxx only.

I all along am rather reluctant to buy expensive fuses because of previous bitter experience of fuse blowing.
I consider fuses as consumables.
Their re-sell value is also questionable.
Also, one fuse can improve only one hifi component.
However a few friends plan to install QSA fuse into their preamps because they think that the improvement effect of fuses is slightly higher than receptacles and they want the best!

In the contrary QSA power receptacles are more attractive in several aspects.
A duplex receptacle if combined with powerstrips or power-conditioner may be able to improve every components of a system.
Last but not least, they are much more durable than fuses.

I will buy a Black-Red power receptacle this week.
I can't "unhear" the naturalness it brings about!!!
And I think one Black-Red is still affordable for me a working class in HK.

So this is @ $ 1550 ! for receptacle only.

 

[matakana]

Now come to power receptacles.
The dealer lent us Red ; Black-Red ; Ultra Black-Red models.
I only joined one of the three (last) gatherings to audition the receptacles but my friends commented that the sonic character and hierarchy of the models of fuses and receptacles are very similar.

I listened to the Black-Red receptacle. It was installed on a MYSTJ powerstrip (a Taiwan brand). The IEC was Furutech rhodium and hookup wires of the Triple-C copper variety.

I like the powerstrips made by MYSTJ a lot. They are CNCed from solid aluminium and with excellent external finishing :
View attachment 84497

The Furutec IEC :
View attachment 84498

Simple internal connection :
View attachment 84499

Very interesting to discover that there were two minute gemstones installed on the posterior aspect of the receptacle. One red & one blue. Are they ruby & sapphire?
View attachment 84500

I was again very very intrigued by the Musicality and Naturalness of this Black-Red receptacle.
It resembled its sibling the Black-Red fuse almost completely.
I think some of you who know me understand that I treasure these two audio virtues/characters most.

I can now see where the term audio jewellry comes from, lol

 

[rando]

Thanks for reporting on these meetings.

You made a choice very much in line with my current interests. Thoughts after weeks of use will be appreciated

Highly interesting! Hecho en México Pass & Syemour is far... very far outside what upstanding audiophiles in the US are into.

 

[CKKeung]

Can you share any impressions of the QSA Yellow fuse compared to non-QSA fuses?

IMHO QSA set their prices rather high. (Profit margins must be high. )

There are many other choices competing with the Yellow fuse.
On the contrary, there aren't many other brand/model able to compete with QSA Red and the higher models.

 

[Maril555]

Those receptacles look like off the shelf units, probably modified to some extent, and they are sold for up to $10K a piece???!!!
In comparison, one should have a look at Bocchino Electra receptacles, that are completely hand made and have not a single component borrowed from off the shelf item. Those retail for about $500
I have two of them in my system and when you handle it, it becomes immediately obvious where your $$ went to.
Not the case with QSA offerings.
Fuses for $10,000???!!!
That’s is beyond ridiculous
Had the been made out of pure gold, they still would not cost that much

 

[Maril555]

Sorry, I’ve made a mistake
Receptacles are only up to $6,500 USD
Fuses are up to $10,000 USD

 

[CKKeung]

Yes, I have already mentioned on #1 that their prices are ridiculous.

However my observation is that within my audiophile cycle in Hong Kong, those who have auditioned and compared them to other brands, more than 75% of them have taken the plunge and bought some QSA.

Worth the high prices or not is very personal judgement.
Do try to listen to them. It's fun even if you don't intend to buy them.

In fact the HK retailer offers free home-loan service because he is so confident of the effect of QSA. He just lends them to interested audiophiles and never joins the audition gatherings.

 

[Maril555]

I understand that, but after a certain treshold the value proposition just looses any semblance of common sense and becomes a matter of principle

 

[BruceD]

On the contrary, there aren't many other brand/model able to compete with QSA Red and the higher models.

Agree I was wondering when someone would bring this up---

One alternative approach is if you talk nicely to Jerry Ramsey at AudioMagic

you can send him your favourite exisiting fuse(s) and he will turn them into super Fuses.

I've heard samples of this with the existing installed Mfg fuse and the one Jerry weaved his magic on --and indeed the difference absolutely !

You didn't get this from me though

Apologies to the QSA Posterfor the digression

BruceD

 

[Maril555]

I’m wondering if David (DDK) has an opinion???

 

[Maril555]

I think I know an answer to that?

 

[CKKeung]

I think I know an answer to that?

Me too.

 

[howiebrou]

Very interesting to discover that there were two minute gemstones installed on the posterior aspect of the receptacle. One red & one blue. Are they ruby & sapphire?
View attachment 84500

 

[Maril555]

That’s what accounts for 9 out of $10K

 

[CKKeung]

View attachment 84613

Your brother or nephew?