QSA LANEDRI Series

Hi Steven,
Very glad yo see that there is a QSA Forum on WBF.
Congratulations!

QSA : My take on their expensive products

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...

www.whatsbestforum.com

I think I wrote the first QSA review on WBF, back in 2012.

QSA : My take on their expensive products

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...

www.whatsbestforum.com

May I ask you two questions?

Firstly, I notice on you website that QSA-Lanedri cables are being launched.

HOME | QSA LANEDRI

www.qsa-lanedri.com

May you tell us more about them?
What metals are employed and what special features do they have?

Secondly, several frds of mine in Hong Kong have bought QSA JitterPower.


Again, please tell the WBF members more about these series of accessories.

Many thanks!

Cheers,
CK

 

is it only made in that length?

 

Yes. It is the 5m SFP+ DAC cable.

Not familiar with SFP. Other than the connector, is it the same as a coax cable?

 

is it only made in that length?

It is available as either 5m or 7m. The shorter lengths have not been tested as they likely will sound inferior due to the smaller 30awg conductor used. The 5m and 7m use 24awg conductor which is 4x more conductor mass.

 

Not familiar with SFP. Other than the connector, is it the same as a coax cable?

The Gamma SFP+ DAC (cable) is being marketed specifically for the Taiko network switch and NIC. It is uniquely in this environment where this cable is expected to sound better than the Gamma LAN cable with RJ45 connectors. When tested with other switches and NICs with SFP ports, sound quality was worse when compared against RJ45.

 

It would be a great miss if one has a Taiko Switch and not give a listen to this DAC cable. It really transforms the sound to an unbelievable level. We are sort of split between whether the DAC cable or the DC cable is the more powerful. But using them together the SQ improvement is probably even more significant than adding the Taiko Switch and NIC card.

If the Q-L DAC cable and DC cable collectively are at least as impactful as the Taiko switch and NIC, this would suggest that these 2 items at least double the SQ improvements brought forth by the Taiko switch and NIC. This is not a knock on Taiko because another way of saying this is that the traditional wire used in the untreated DC cable and DAC cable are harmful enough that they reduce the performance of the Taiko switch and NIC by at least 50 percent.

 

Hello, What' Best Gang,
This is my very first time writing on this forum, and I wanted to just share my thoughts on the Lanedri Spectra series Infinity (Sablon Prince) AC cord. I originally told Anas Lanedri that I wanted to hold off on my comments until my review but gave it a second thought since he was so gracious enough to send me the Spectra Infinity to audition. I'm awaiting the Ultimatum speaker cables, which are scheduled to arrive next week. Truth is, I wanted to write on both but guess I should, at the very least, share some of my experiences here. I've learned very quickly to stay off forums (like these) due to the number of armchair skeptics circulating on forums who tell others what they're hearing without ever hearing the product or even knowing what it is. Hence my hesitation. Since joining this forum, I see there's not too much of that going on here, so I'm going to share my experiences.

I can guess there must be about 200-plus hours now on the Lanedri Infinity AC cord. Having the QSA Gold series fuses in my space has lifted my system to heights I did not think attainable without possibly changing a major component. I've written about this at length with respect to my reviews of the QSA products, namely their Red, Red/Black, and Silver series fuses. There must be nearly a dozen contributors on The Stereo Times who use QSA exclusively in their systems, albeit the lower-priced products, which also have great bang for the buck!

I continually doubted the performance of every fuse that is produced by QSA since the Violet was their top-of-the-line. I am proud to report that I have been proven wrong for three years straight with each new product. The Gold series QSA fuses, now the new reference, are hard to fathom in terms of asking price, but I'll be damned if they don't lift the system's overall musicality to unheard-of levels. The word that continues to come to mind for me is DENSITY. Instruments sound more authentically rich and palpable in a far more 3-dimensional hemisphere. The term richer usually is accompanied by a richer or thicker low-end, but the Gold series QSA tightens the low-end, speeds up transient snap, gives it far more punch and power, and produces far greater pRAT. It took the usual 300 hours before the system started sounding its best, but when it did...all I can say is, WTF is going on here? The jump from Silver to Gold is huge, huge, huge.

Of course, the price is prohibitively expensive, but I'll never be able to say it isn't worth it.

Personally, for me, there's nothing like having a system you chose carefully over many years. That you love and admire, and it somehow improves dramatically beyond anything you could have imagined just by tweaking it out with QSA products. The face of my system looks unchanged, yet it sounds dramatically different.

I spoke briefly with Anas Lanedri many months ago before he decided to partner with QSA. Knowing what I know about the QSA performance, I'll say it was a very calculated and ingenious move, especially since I have in my possession the Lanedri Spectra Infinity AC cord.

On first blush, I wasn't too taken by it its initial performance, although a much quieter AC cord than any other I had heard in my upstairs rig (Behold BPA768 electronics, Sunny Supreme horn loudspeakers, Laufer Teknik 32-core Memory Player, Hemingway speaker cables; Bella Sound, M101 and NanoFlo AC cords). Plugged into a heavily modified (QSA Silver) Puritan model 1512 AC conditioner, the Spectra Infinity seemed to take a lot of the dimensionality, air, and delicacy away. In a word, way too restricted. This only meant one thing: Burn-in. So, I left the system on for the next 72 hours, and I noticed some sonic restrictions lift whenever I came up to peek my head in the room, but it still did not sound as good as it did prior to its arrival. The only meant the burn-in was going to get long and ugly (much like when I first installed the QSA Gold duplex). Fast forward to 200-plus hours later, and I write this with my head spinning. Not just because it sounds so utterly delightful but because of the dreaded length of time it takes to really strut its stuff.

Once again, like the Gold fuses, the sense of DENSITY is improved upon greatly, but this time, it also brings along SCALE. Dynamics go higher and lower with naturalness and zero exaggeration (horns perhaps lend to this too). Separation is quite enhanced and something I never thought could - or even thought needed improvement. If you love classic jazz from the 60s as much as I do, then you can only imagine how appreciative I am about the improved discernment of musicians to the left and right of the soundstage.

The ability to comprehend complex passages is never more realized than through the Spectra Infinity. There's an unmistakable increase in the overall muscularity of the music, and yet it is delivered without being devoid of delicacy. My system is totally solid-state and digital in its makeup, yet it doesn't sound like a solid-state system driven by a digitally-based music server. That is the greatest virtue one can offer if you ask me. I have an Audio Note system (amp and speakers) in my downstairs rig, and it is tube-based and sounds absolutely heavenly. But it's only 20 watts, and I just need much more than that to feel bathed in the music in the manner that suits this listener. Hence why I have two rigs.

I was never able to achieve that harmonic truth of timbre with my upstairs rig, although I was making great strides since investing in QSA products over the past three years. With the Spectra Infinity series AC cord now inhouse, I feel, for the first time, that I have a solid-state system that not just mimics the harmonic richness, spatial continuity, and tonal authenticity of my downstairs rig but does it without any of its shortcomings (soft bass and only decent bass control). Sacrilege as it may be to compare the two, I've always used Audio Note (UK) and Audio Consulting of Switzerland, just to name two, as a reference for harmonic truthfulness and top-shelf artistic engagement in their respective craft. How absurd is it to say that can be achieved with carefully chosen solid-state gear and a digital front-end when infused with a QSA|Lanedri collaboration? Needless to say, the Lanedri Spectra Infinity AC cord was purchased and now resides in my upstair rig wearing the crown of my new reference AC power cord!

Clement Perry

Nice write-up Clement!
It difficult to imagine your system being more dynamic and more true to timbre than it sounded a few weeks ago when I heard it before your Spectra cables arrived. It presented itself as refined, holographic and with an impeccable ability to grip you emotionally. Part of why it was so gripping was its brute force, and the sense of never running out of extension in either the high or low frequencies. A world class system if there was one. It was my first time hearing a horn based system, or any set of speakers this size. It was an experience I will never forget. That being said, I will have to carefully plan my trajectory into owning a set of horns as I did find some portions of some songs to periodically "shout", which is a characteristic of horn speakers as i've been told.

Some notes from my initial interaction with you:


"The sound enters the room in an extremely non-boxy and open fashion. It's as if the sound comes from a stage of musicians/singers versus a stereo system. If you blindfold an ordinary person and have them sit in that room, the would get the sense of being at a live venue because of the sheer scale and naturalness of the presentation."
Looking forward to visiting again. I will write a follow up post after that visit!

In the spirit of staying on topic:

My Gamma Revelation power cord has found a home on my Wyred4Sound STP SE preamp. It sounds magical there. It transformed my listening for the better. Everything just sounds so much more engaging and real. I will likely explore trying it on dac again next.


Cheers,
-Rob

 

The Importance of Bass

I would never classify myself as a basshead nor do I listen to a lot of bass-heavy music -- while I enjoy all types of music, I listen mostly to unamplified acoustical music -- but over the years, I've developed a serious appreciation for good bass. Good bass, after all, is the foundation to a good sound stage and if you buy into the principle that all frequencies in the audible bandwidth are linked through harmonics, then if you get it right at 20Hz, it has a ripple effect at 40Hz, 80Hz, 160Hz, and all the way up to 20kHz. The bottom line is that good bass benefits midrange and treble. Unfortunately, my main listening room is not a dedicated room and my wife won't allow me to have these bad boy REL No 25s:



I snuck in a stereo pair of lower profile REL 212SEs and before that, a JL Audio Gotham with it's dual 13 inch drivers but my wife didn't approve of those either and so out they went. While I loved what these subwoofers offered, I couldn't really blame her because their Darth Vader aesthetics destroyed the look of the room. The only subwoofer that has managed to stick around is an old SVS PB12-Ultra 2 subwoofer that I bought in 2005 for $2,200 and the only reason my wife approved of it was because it doesn't really look like a subwoofer. With its cherry finish, it matches our cherry wood floors and doubles as a suitable plant stand:



While this unit's dual downward firing 12-inch drivers are capable of output down to 16Hz and can pressurize our large room with a 14 foot high ceiling to sufficiently rattle our light sconces, the unit hums and the bass it produces sounds a bit slow, boomy, and not well-defined when compared against the much higher quality bass produced by my Wilson Alexias. The low pass filter on this older unit also bleeds bass well above 80Hz resulting in smearing of the higher frequencies. I've occasionally used this thing for home theater but it's not really well suited as a complement to the Wilson Alexias with 2-channel audio. More often than not, it has functioned primarily as a plant stand. If it wasn't so large, heavy, and difficult to dispose of, I would have tossed it long ago.

My challenge with subwoofers and how my large room sucks up bass is what predicated my need for full range speakers and powerful monoblock amplifiers. I brought in a pair of Magico M3s. Super tight and very clean...but not enough bass heft. Lots of speakers came through here and many sounded great but it was the Wilson Alexia Series 2 speakers that won my wife over because they could be painted at the factory to my wife's preference.

The Alexia 2s produce excellent natural sounding bass in my room. According to Wilson, they go down to 19Hz (-3dB) but anytime I fed them a 20Hz signal, I couldn't really hear nor feel anything even when driven by high-current monoblocks and highly-regarded Transparent speaker cables that were calibrated specifically for my amps and speakers. That changed with QSA. With the arrival of the massive 4/0 AWG Ultimatum speaker cables, everything improved massively but it was improvement in the bass that was most obvious. Not just heft but speed, clarity, control, and definition. I never realized an organ note could sound so defined and layered and finally, I could actually begin to "feel" a 20Hz tone. As I added QSA-Lanedri interconnects and power cords, with each addition, these qualities got better and better and visitors who came by would marvel at my system's newfound bass prowess, even the bassheads.

As a test mule for QSA-Lanedri, Anas wanted me to test the Gamma RCA interconnects in my system but these days, my system is purely balanced and uses XLR interconnects exclusively. It just so happens that this old SVS subwoofer uses RCA low level inputs and so I was forced to fire up this subwoofer in order to evaluate the interconnects. As I stated above, this subwoofer has a low level 60Hz hum even when using a cheater plug and so before doing any cable comparisons, I decided to convert it into a wireless subwoofer to completely isolate it from my system using the following inexpensive kit I purchased from Amazon:



I don't know why I didn't do this sooner because this not only completely eliminated the hum but if I powered these units with LPS-1.2 power supplies, the lower output impedance of these power supplies resulted in tighter and cleaner bass.

I then introduced an inexpensive MiniDSP 2x4 active crossover between the wireless receiver and the subwoofer:



This allowed me to create a very steep 48dB/octave 30Hz low pass filter meaning that the subwoofer is now only seeing signal frequencies below 30Hz with very little audible bleed above 30Hz. While the resultant improvements from these devices were very welcome and necessary, the introduction of the Q-L Gamma RCA interconnects resulted in a much more profound step change. At this point, why not go all the way and so I decided to power this subwoofer with a Gamma Revelation PC. I'll cut to the chase, this inexpensive subwoofer now sees full-time duty when listening to both music and when watching movies. It now augments the Alexias without bringing them down and allows me to maintain bass dynamics that I can feel in my chest even at lower volumes. I had convinced myself that I didn't need more bass, that the Ultimatum speaker cables provided all the bass anyone could want but when more bass comes and the bass is clean, fast, controlled, defined, and seamless, it's like you can't ever have too much of bass like this.

 

I just got the QSA Ultimatum Speaker Cables. I cannot believe these things. They arrived in a square 14" x 14" box, 5 days direct from China. It weighed 37 lbs! Ha...

These cables are really beautiful. Even though they are smaller diameter from my current Inakustik 4004s, these are pure pure wire. The finish quality is so nice--white cloth sleeves (I love white sleeves on cables), really nice shrink wrap at termination with Gold printing, and the most insane "spades" as termination. They are crazy but fit perfectly fine on both speaker and amp. Also, surprisingly, they are also really easy to manage despite weight and size.

I will wait for these guys to break in for a bit before going deep but just had to say holy moly, these cables are shocking! I swear they reduced the noise floor, with crystaline clarity, holographic presence, holy sh-t dynamics, and just so so much control--like a major amplifier upgrade! I have experimented with a lot of QSA and own a lot of QSA Lanedri cables but these are on a whole other level. Congrats @QSA-LANEDRI.

 

I just got the QSA Ultimatum Speaker Cables. I cannot believe these things. They arrived in a square 14" x 14" box, 5 days direct from China. It weighed 37 lbs! Ha...

These cables are really beautiful. Even though they are smaller diameter from my current Inakustik 4004s, these are pure pure wire. The finish quality is so nice--white cloth sleeves (I love white sleeves on cables), really nice shrink wrap at termination with Gold printing, and the most insane "spades" as termination. They are crazy but fit perfectly fine on both speaker and amp. Also, surprisingly, they are also really easy to manage despite weight and size.

I will wait for these guys to break in for a bit before going deep but just had to say holy moly, these cables are shocking! I swear they reduced the noise floor, with crystaline clarity, holographic presence, holy sh-t dynamics, and just so so much control--like a major amplifier upgrade! I have experimented with a lot of QSA and own a lot of QSA Lanedri cables but these are on a whole other level. Congrats @QSA-LANEDRI.

I also finally recieved my Ultimatum Infiniti Speaker Cable.
I must agree that Romaz and Anas created something very special.

First 2 days are horrible if you used good cables before connecting QSA - L .
The sound is harsh on the top, muffled in bass and mids are supressed .
There is no transparency. So please be very patient If you get factory new cable like I did.
Those are very painful days.

But after the day 3 everything starts to change gradually.
Bass gets tighter and much better controlled, top end is less fatigue.

Few days after that you can expect transparency to show its character .
But again this is slow process.
There are ups and downs . So be patient, or just turn it on and come back a week later.

I am only little longer than a week of using them and already amazed by what they do.
After having personal contact with all top speker cables in my room I must say that it looks like Romaz might be 100% correct in his findings.
Ultimatum Infinity is probabbly going to perform much better than any cable in existence.
Why am I saying that after only about a week ? Well this cable already today offers something that none of the cables was capable of . The amount of Realism is on shocking level.
That itself will probabbly be the magical selling point of those cables.

I am not sure what will happen in next few weeks but that will be new to me as most of things I hear today are nothing I have ever audiotioned.
My system is on the top level And I have dedicated room so there are no restrictions to get full performance of Ultimatum Infinity Speaker cables .

its hard to imagine what will happen at the end of this trip as I also made order for Ultimatum Power cord . That will come in a month or Two.

 

romaz, Before you added the Gamma Revelation PC for your subs, were you having any problem with integration of them with the main speakers? I have a Gamma Infinite PC from wall to regenerator (PSA P15) and Gamma Infinite XLR's from preamp to ATC SCM50 floorstanding actives. My JL Audio e-110 subs (on 15" pedestals) have WyWires Diamond PC's and IC's. Both QSA cables got 300 hours in my desktop computer system before hitting the main one, and now have an additional 50-100 hours on them. In that latter time, I've found the QSA bass effect so strong that I had to continuously turn down the subs' volume knobs, now at maybe 1/8 volume, but still the integration isn't smooth. I'm not sure how much that's the result of having a mixed cable system -- QSA + WW Diamonds and one PAD Neptune -- or the difference between the ATC's and subs. It was an oversight on my part not to have ordered QSA's for the subs at the time of the promotion.

 

romaz, Before you added the Gamma Revelation PC for your subs, were you having any problem with integration of them with the main speakers? I have a Gamma Infinite PC from wall to regenerator (PSA P15) and Gamma Infinite XLR's from preamp to ATC SCM50 floorstanding actives. My JL Audio e-110 subs (on 15" pedestals) have WyWires Diamond PC's and IC's. Both QSA cables got 300 hours in my desktop computer system before hitting the main one, and now have an additional 50-100 hours on them. In that latter time, I've found the QSA bass effect so strong that I had to continuously turn down the subs' volume knobs, now at maybe 1/8 volume, but still the integration isn't smooth. I'm not sure how much that's the result of having a mixed cable system -- QSA + WW Diamonds and one PAD Neptune -- or the difference between the ATC's and subs. It was an oversight on my part not to have ordered QSA's for the subs at the time of the promotion.

Yes, no doubt.

These have been my observations: The higher the quality of your main system's bass, (1) the harder it is for a subwoofer to match it making integration more challenging and (2) the less you need a subwoofer, especially if your main speakers are already full range. Before adding the QSA-Landedri cabling, my old SVS subwoofer was already having a hard time keeping up. It just sounded too slow and bloated and it very obviously smeared the higher frequencies. When I added the Ultimatum speaker cables and then the interconnects and as I gradually replaced all my power cables with Q-L cables, there was really no point to use this subwoofer at all.

I had no realistic expectations of being able to resurrect it because I felt it was too flawed and lacked modern tech like DSP room correction and so I was indeed surprised when the wireless kit, external digital crossover, Gamma RCA interconnects, and Gamma PC made it not just viable but now a very welcome fulltime addition to my 2-channel listening. The subwoofer is a specific scenario where I don't think you benefit by upgrading from Reference to Infinity with Q-L cabling. Save your money. But what the Q-L Gamma RCA interconnect and Gamma power cord bring to this old subwoofer are greater, more effortless drive, responsiveness, agility, control, and definition, pretty much the same things they bring to my main speakers. At reference volumes (the volume you would hear at a live event), the subwoofer's impact is much less necessary because my main system's bass is in full effect and so at these volumes, the subwoofer gain is set to a minimum but as you know, with lower volume listening, the first things to disappear are your lower octaves and before you know it, the presentation starts to sound thinner, brighter, and more threadbare and the less you feel the music in your chest. It is during these times when this subwoofer has become indispensable but these happen to be the volume levels I listen to the most often.

Having said that, in my case, there are still limitations with this subwoofer with respect to integration. What's nice about the MiniDSP active crossover is that it has 4 outputs that you can switch among very easily and each output can have different settings and so I programmed different low pass filter settings for the 4 outputs (30, 40, 60, and 80 Hz) so I could test them. From 40-80 Hz, I can more easily tell I have a subwoofer playing and as I set the cutoff frequency higher and higher, my ears begin to be able to localize the subwoofer in my room. It is at 30 Hz where this subwoofer disappears and I find virtually seamless integration with the Alexias while still providing me the bass that I can feel in my chest at lower volumes.

 

Thanks, romaz. Reassuring to hear you've been dealing with the same issue. I assume you meant "don't benefit by upgrading from Revelation to Infinity," not Reference. My 24db crossover on e-110's is at 40 Hz, but I do run the ATC's full frequency, i.e., no external crossover. Given the latter and the Infinity's strong bass, it makes sense that my subs' volume needs to be way down. How far down has been hard to pinpoint yet. The reason for the subs in my view, even at low volume, is that they add a desirable fullness to the sound. Although I'm not a fan of DSP, I have to say that your wireless subs project is very resourceful.

 

Hi all, I’m a long time lurker here in WBF but I’ve been following this QSA-L journey for a while now after a few mates from the AS site nudged me about it. I have a few purple QSA fuses in my system for a few years now so I’m familiar with the natural house sound it the QSA tech offers.

I ordered 2 AC cables sometime back but only had them arrive 2 weeks ago (no fault of Anas and team) and had them on continuous burn for around 200 hours before critical listening. I have the GR and GI versions. Locations for them in my system not quite concluded yet but presently using the GI on my Vinnie Rossi L2iSE preamp and GR on my Paul Hynes DR7t+ as an external supply powering my Pink Faun Ultra USB card in a Pink Faun 2.16x streamer.

Very nice improvement to my system sound and follows mostly the same as others have reported - more details, tighter bass and overall more control and micro dynamics. The cables they replaced were pretty old MIT and large girth Pangea cables so I did expect quite an improvement and it came to be so.

An interesting thing I’m noting is that I’m now more connected to the music emotionally. I think it’s because I’m can hear the intention of the artists better. Also, it’s always been there but now, the background stage shape, size and weight of the air is more apparent than before.

Any downsides? Yes, I’m finding I am playing louder than before and along with that, the images are projecting larger and more forward than I’m used to. I’ll wait another 200 hours more and then start tuning the system to bring back my preferred balance.

These QSA-L GI and GR power chords have done enough for me to be interested in their UI speaker cables. I want to experience the "Space vessel vs. Bike" difference as Anas put it! :-D

 

Nice write-up Clement!
It difficult to imagine your system being more dynamic and more true to timbre than it sounded a few weeks ago when I heard it before your Spectra cables arrived. It presented itself as refined, holographic and with an impeccable ability to grip you emotionally. Part of why it was so gripping was its brute force, and the sense of never running out of extension in either the high or low frequencies. A world class system if there was one. It was my first time hearing a horn based system, or any set of speakers this size. It was an experience I will never forget. That being said, I will have to carefully plan my trajectory into owning a set of horns as I did find some portions of some songs to periodically "shout", which is a characteristic of horn speakers as i've been told.

Some notes from my initial interaction with you:


"The sound enters the room in an extremely non-boxy and open fashion. It's as if the sound comes from a stage of musicians/singers versus a stereo system. If you blindfold an ordinary person and have them sit in that room, the would get the sense of being at a live venue because of the sheer scale and naturalness of the presentation."
Looking forward to visiting again. I will write a follow up post after that visit!

In the spirit of staying on topic:

My Gamma Revelation power cord has found a home on my Wyred4Sound STP SE preamp. It sounds magical there. It transformed my listening for the better. Everything just sounds so much more engaging and real. I will likely explore trying it on dac again next.


Cheers,
-Rob

Replying to my own post with an update.

Last Friday I had a chance to hear Clement's system again after the QSA cable additions.

1. Ultimatum SC
2. Spectra Infinity PC

A few weeks had gone by between listening sessions, and I will note that I believe there is still some time left for Clement's cables to break in and reach there peak. That being said, these cables improved the emotional engagement of Clements system to a huge degree. Please excuse me while I mirror the many other bits of feedback provided in this thread.

Going back to this statement I made "...as I did find some portions of some songs to periodically "shout", which is a characteristic of horn speakers as i've been told." - I did not notice a hint of this during my more recent listening session.

The sound was more holographic, real, dynamic and more engaging. I am not really "qualified" to say it sounded more analog, because I do not own a top tier analog system nor do I have access to one for extended listening but I will say that the system sounded less "digital" than I remember. I noted to Clement that I felt the highs were more extended without a hint of harshness, but I think this may have been due to improved overall tonal balance. The mids were less recessed, and there was more cohesion across the entire frequency range. There were many more "wow" moments. We did not capture the original playlist, but towards the end of our session we did play one of the tracks I had remembered hearing during my first visit and it sounded more much visceral and "real".

The Ultimatum SC's cost more than my DIY mains, but I am thinking of ways to incorporate some Lanedri SCs (maybe a lower tier) into my system when the time is right. @QSA-LANEDRI it was a pleasure hearing these in person finally.

Clement tends to lean towards tracks with strong vocals, and I tend to listen to more instrumental tracks. His system encouraged me to try and expand my catalog to include more vocal artists. The QSA cables have strengthened the expression of vocals. You hear a lot more texture and nuance.

Happy listening all and @Dubshow thanks for the invite!

When you're satisfied with your own system it can be VERY educational and fun to hear systems that are many tiers above what you are familiar with. I got the opportunity to do so with nothing but excitement for what's ahead in this journey.

Cheers,
-Rob

 

I am speechless. I was thinking how can I describe you my experince with QSA Lanedri cables. And I still don’t know how.
I received my first demo cables 2 months ago. I had the chanche to try the entry level Gamma Infinity power, RCA and speaker cables. They were good, better than most cables I’ve ever used, but they were just very good sounding cables.
Then my Ultimatum Infinity speaker cables arrived with a demo dac, dc, rca and lan cables 2 days ago. Anas told me that the cables are brand new, they need serious burn in time. So I connected everything and planted not to listen them for a week. Of couse I could not resist. I listend to some music last night after midnight on low or medium volulume level. After that I only can say that you should call Anas and order your QSA Lanedri cables
I realy can’t desribe the experince. Unreal, shocking, beautifull, scary, out of the world.
And this is just the second day with the cables. I had very expensive cables, some of them over 30.000€. They are not even close to Lanedri cables, in my opinion
Thank you Anas for the cables, for your trust to send me demo cables without knowing me at all. Be back with the rest of the story…

 

Hi All,
This is my very first post on WBF and I’m very happy it is focused on QSA Lanedri.
My QSA history is similar to most that have chimed in here. I started with QSA Fuses; Lite Blue, swapped out a few for Yellow, Violet and Red. As of now my primary component’s comprise of 3 Violet and 1 Red plus I have 2 Red/Black Outlets at the wall. Every move I have made as shown a change/improvement to my system. When the QSA Lanedri surfaced I was intrigued but at the same time I was quite pleased with how my system sounded. I debated for the 2 months that the promotion was available and at the bewitching hour I decided to make a move. A rather big one at that and I am glad I did. All of my existing cables were Audio Magic Natural’s or Clairvoyant Liquid’s with Pulse Gen ZX’s attached both lines were their top tier offerings when they became available. My Analog XLR Cable’s were Audio Magic and Silversmith Audio. I decided on the following Power Cable;: 2 Spectra Infinity Prince’s, 1 Gamma Infinity. A pair of Gamma Infinity XLR’s, Gamma Infinity Ethernet and originally a pair of Ultimatum Revelation Speaker Cables. After a few emails back and forth with Anas the Revelation level went to Infinity level.
I guess it took about a month or so for product to begin shipping. The first items to arrive were the Ultimatum Speaker Cables.

My game plan was to start with the Power Cables; one at a time, then add the XLR’s, Ethernet and Speaker Cables in that order. So there the Cables sat on my Living Room Floor. I was determined to stick to the game plan. Needless to say that didn’t last very long. I was unsure how long of a wait the rest of the order was gonna take to arrive; if I recall Anas said shortly thereafter the Speaker cables were shipped the rest would ship. No specific time frame was given. After multiple text’s with my friend Rob @Exocer I decided to go for it. Holy Moly……
Like everyone else my experience was transformative; Lower Noise Floor, Detail Retrieval was out of control, wider and deeper soundstage. The Musicality of the system was to die for; the big thing that I was surprised about was my overall connection to the music. Everyone said that was the icing on the cake; I had not experienced that previously and I said to myself; now I get it. My system has change dramatically over the past year or so from a component standpoint. More on that with my next post……
All I can say is Thank You to Anas and everyone else involved in this endeavor. It is game changing without a doubt.
Enjoy the Music!!!
Mike

 

...I had the chanche to try the entry level Gamma Infinity power, RCA and speaker cables. They were good, better than most cables I’ve ever used, but they were just very good sounding cables..."

I've spent the past few weeks with the GI power and XLR, along with a LAN cable Anas kindly sent along for evaluation that unfortunately being w/o streamer I could only test between router and desktop PC. After comparison with WyWires Diamonds in two conditions in my main system over the past couple of weeks -- see my Sig -- the QSA's are being returned. Before getting into a few specifics, I'll say that if I could combine the best of each, I'd be a happier camper.

Condition 1: Power cord wall to P15 regenerator; XLR's from VAC Master preamp to ATC SCM 50 floorstanders.
Condition 2: Same, with a Wyred power conditioner w/ DC snubbing inserted in series between wall and P15 (power cords still tested from wall).
Note: All combinations of the four cables were tested.

If you ever saw the 1950's American TV program Dragnet, you'll no doubt remember Detective Friday's oft-repeated phrase, "Only the facts, Mam, only the facts." That's what the GI's remind me of: precise, clearly bordered images, bone dry. With the first two qualities, the best I've ever heard. Replacing the GI XLR's with the WW Diamond's opened up the sound tremendously, bringing a much greater sense of three dimensionality, air, undertones/overtones, complexity, delicacy, sense of sonic immersion and musical (or performer) expressiveness. Switching over to a comparison of the power cords, it was somewhat closer, but the same differences were clearly there. Adding the Wyred conditioner improved the P15's delivery, especially improving imaging and precision, although not to the GI's level. In the end, given the choice between precision and dry vs. immersion and expressiveness, I'm opting for the latter. Others with different systems and/or tastes might well make a different choice.

One thing Anas raised was that between wall and conditioner/regenerator something larger than the GI power cord is needed. In principle, that's true: the GI is 10 gauge, the Diamond probably around 6 gauge. Still, with my system drawing only around 500-600 watts and my testing all combinations -- including at one point mixing in WW Platinum power cord (14 gauge?) -- I'm not seeing that cord size itself was decisive. Rather, I suspect the QSA cords were limited by the nature of the underlying Iconoclast (Beldin) cables, rather than what I heard being the result of a specifically "QSA induced sound." That is to say, the Spectra and Ultimatum, while both substantially larger, most importantly start from different designs and materials and, at least in the Sablon's case, voicing. Thus they would presumably return different results. In line with this view, Mark of Sablon (Spectra) commented in the WBF thread that he found "the QSA treatment to impart a greater tonal density in the presentation." That leads me to wonder what the Diamonds would sound like with the QSA treatment. While I understand that a Spectra demo is available -- something not mentioned and perhaps not available during the promotion -- I envy those of you that can consider the Ultimatum.

 

Still, with my system drawing only around 500-600 watts, I'm not sure cord size itself was decisive

What matters is how well dynamic demands for current are being met. The lower the impedance, the better in this regard. The QSA process seems to lower impedance, but I can’t imagine that it would get a 10 gauge cord to meet instantaneous demands for current as well as a 6 gauge cord can.

 

What matters is how well dynamic demands for current are being met. The lower the impedance, the better in this regard. The QSA process seems to lower impedance, but I can’t imagine that it would get a 10 gauge cord to meet instantaneous demands for current as well as a 6 gauge cord can.

I don't disagree. I just find it hard to believe that the differences I heard were the result of gauge vs. limitations of the underlying cables. I tested and mentioned the XLR's first because that's where any gauge difference, and I'm not seeing any, showed up most starkly. Using different cables for comparison (than the Diamonds) would presumably turn up at least partially different results, tastes aside.

 

I just find it hard to believe that the differences I heard were the result of gauge vs. limitations of the underlying cables. I tested and mentioned the XLR's first because that's where any gauge difference, and I'm not seeing any, showed up most starkly.

I was only responding to your mention of a static power draw as I don’t think that number was particularly helpful.