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

 

We treated this 7m DAC and are waiting to test it. This cable was discussed with Emile and he said it was a suitable cable for use with his switch and NIC.

View attachment 103408

Hi Roy,
What a brillant idea!!!

 

As previously stated, the impact of QSA treatment on video is simply HUGE. If you combine a QSA-treated power cord with a QSA-treated LAN cable and QSA-treated HDMI cable, I'm fairly confident you will be shocked, even if you are already pleased with your state-of-the-art video system. Whether you have the latest 8k OLED, QLED, local array dimming, Dolby Vision, etc., it won't matter and QSA treatment on the video source (i.e. BluRay player, video streamer, AV processor) seems to make at least as much difference as the same treatment on the display or projector.

With that said, if you have placed an order for a QSA-treated power cable or LAN cable with @QSA-LANEDRI and your intention is to use these items specifically for video, please let him know this. There is a modification of the QSA treatment that especially excels with video resulting in exceptional clarity and resolution. @QSA-LANEDRI will be introducing specific cables for video soon including a Gamma HDMI cable but for those who have already placed their order with Anas, please let him know if video is your intended use case.

This specific QSA treatment can be used with audio also and you may find that you actually prefer it with audio as the level of transparency is at another level, however, with audio, there is the risk that it may be too much of a good thing as it can be ruthlessly unforgiving and possibly expose the flaws in your system or in your recordings. It may also throw the balance of your system off. In some systems, we have found this specific treatment can sound a touch bright or fatiguing and so @QSA-LANEDRI felt it was best to suggest this treatment for video only. This is what I meant when I said previously that assessing video (or static images) does not completely translate to how a cable will perform with audio.

 

As previously stated, the impact of QSA treatment on video is simply HUGE. If you combine a QSA-treated power cord with a QSA-treated LAN cable and QSA-treated HDMI cable, I'm fairly confident you will be shocked, even if you are already pleased with your state-of-the-art video system. Whether you have the latest 8k OLED, QLED, local array dimming, Dolby Vision, etc., it won't matter and QSA treatment on the video source (i.e. BluRay player, video streamer, AV processor) seems to make at least as much difference as the same treatment on the display or projector.

With that said, if you have placed an order for a QSA-treated power cable or LAN cable with @QSA-LANEDRI and your intention is to use these items specifically for video, please let him know this. There is a modification of the QSA treatment that especially excels with video resulting in exceptional clarity and resolution. @QSA-LANEDRI will be introducing specific cables for video soon including a Gamma HDMI cable but for those who have already placed their order with Anas, please let him know if video is your intended use case.

This specific QSA treatment can be used with audio also and you may find that you actually prefer it with audio as the level of transparency is at another level, however, with audio, there is the risk that it may be too much of a good thing as it can be ruthlessly unforgiving and possibly expose the flaws in your system or in your recordings. It may also throw the balance of your system off. In some systems, we have found this specific treatment can sound a touch bright or fatiguing and so @QSA-LANEDRI felt it was best to suggest this treatment for video only. This is what I meant when I said previously that assessing video (or static images) does not completely translate to how a cable will perform with audio.

While it wasn't a priority for me before, I'm kind of curious about what a QSA Lanedri PC (with the 'clarity' treatement) would do to my Marantz SR8105 AVR.

I also had the blasphemous thought of a PC for the Apple TV 4K (which takes a Figure-8 terminated cord) wander through my brain shortly thereafter.

After chiding myself for the thought of applying a $2000+ power cable to a $350 gadget (even if it is the gadget that along with the TV clocks the most usage hours in my house) it made me wonder if there isn't room in the lineup for some more affordable (but meant-for-primarily-digital devices like streamers, media converters, displays, etc...) cables in the lineup?

Perhaps a QSA-Lanedri competitor to the well-regarded Shunyata V14 Digital?

 

After chiding myself for the thought of applying a $2000+ power cable to a $350 gadget (even if it is the gadget that along with the TV clocks the most usage hours in my house) it made me wonder if there isn't room in the lineup for some more affordable (but meant-for-primarily-digital devices like streamers, media converters, displays, etc...) cables in the lineup?

Perhaps a QSA-Lanedri competitor to the well-regarded Shunyata V14 Digital?

You raise a good point there about a lower cost lineup. Given all the R&D that went into the Gamma series, I can’t imagine that happening soon. The good news though is that the QSA Power Jitter lineup has some affordable models that can bring nice benefits to more affordable gear. You can borrow one of mine at some point to see what effect it has on your Apple TV or receiver.

 

We are working on multiple R&D tracks to expand the QSA Lanedri range of products. Our target is to cover the End-to-End audio chain partnering with selected companies to create the QSA Lanedri Series.

The scope of the End-to-End chain we target is from the electricity panel to the speakers covering every unit in between (power conditioner, source, DAC, Preamp...Speakers). We have all kind of candidates of those units in our labs but it is still long way ahead with lot of discoveries and never ending WoW's that keeps surprising us however we increase our expectations on the impacts.

QSA Lanedri cables is our first commercial step on this End-to-End QSA Lanedri journey enabling us to share with everyone the profound impacts and to have a feeling of what to expect from this QSA Lanedri journey.

With regard to QSA Lanedri cables, we are running the final R&D round for:
+ The Taiko Switch DAC cable
+ Headphone cables
+ Video setup cables (HDMI, LAN, power cables)

 

In terms of pricing structure, the QSA impact we are able to experience is the results of more than 22 years of R&D and the road of R&D is still heavy with what we need to achieve.

Our mission statement is to share the joy we found with the QSA Lanedri and for that we have put in a place a price structure to be able to allow, as much as we can, the different budgets to join this joyful experience.

The Gamma Series is beating almost everything out there in the market if not all of them at any price level. We compared the Gamma Series against 50k+ USD cables and they did not have a chance.

 

Here is the Gamma Revelation LAN cable. It looks like ordinary Cat 5 cable, but trust me, there is nothing ordinary about it. I made the mistake of first trying it in my home theater even though its ultimate home will be in my audio system. The cable is installed between a Unifi 60w switch powered by its stock SMPS and an nVidia Shield Pro powered by a Farad Super 3 with a QSA silver fuse. I was curious to see the effect connected to a non-audiophile switch.

After a mere 48 hours, I am simultaneously seeing more color vibrancy and depth. There is a complexity and richness to the color palette which was not present before. Blacks are much blacker, and whites are pure white. The picture has greater resolution. There is also a noticeable improvement in the sound quality of the 7.1 audio, which has more clarity. Last night after my wife left the room, I sat on the couch flipping channels because I was visually mesmerized in the same way people have described the listening experience in their audio setups.

It will be difficult taking this cable out of my home theater. I may have to buy another one for my audio system.

The Revelation LAN cable has now been in my home theater for around 10 days, and the picture has continued to evolve and improve along the lines I described above with ever greater refinement. Video quality took a step backward around day 5 but resolved itself in the next 24 hours. (Burn-in is real, so be patient.) The audio coming from the L/C/R channels in my sound bar now has more body and depth than ever before. At this point, my home theater looks and sounds its best yet.

 

After chiding myself for the thought of applying a $2000+ power cable to a $350 gadget (even if it is the gadget that along with the TV clocks the most usage hours in my house) it made me wonder if there isn't room in the lineup for some more affordable (but meant-for-primarily-digital devices like streamers, media converters, displays, etc...) cables in the lineup?

Perhaps a QSA-Lanedri competitor to the well-regarded Shunyata V14 Digital?

You bring up a fair point. In my case, I've added these expensive products to a $200 nVidia Shield TV Pro. The first thing I did was power this small device with a Paul Hynes SR4T and was pleasantly surprised by how much better the picture got. I then added an expensive QSA Silver fuse to the SR4T and was shocked by how much better it got. I only meant to try it but once I saw the results, there was no going back. This is a fuse that sells for close to $5k retail (although they can be purchased much less expensively if you purchase them directly from QSA in Hong Kong). From there, I added a QSA-treated HDMI cable and more recently, a Gamma Infinity power cord. Does this make sense for a $200 product? On paper, it sounds ludicrous but when you see the results, you realize the improvement is perhaps bigger than what you might see by upgrading your projector or flat panel which can cost much more money. It's quiet shocking really.

If your goal is to improve upon your Shunyata V14 Digital, that's not difficult to do. Just go up the Shunyata line to the next level. But with these cables, we're talking about a much bigger leap.

 

You bring up a fair point. In my case, I've added these expensive products to a $200 nVidia Shield TV Pro. The first thing I did was power this small device with a Paul Hynes SR4T and was pleasantly surprised by how much better the picture got. I then added an expensive QSA Silver fuse to the SR4T and was shocked by how much better it got. I only meant to try it but once I saw the results, there was no going back. This is a fuse that sells for close to $5k retail (although they can be purchased much less expensively if you purchase them directly from QSA in Hong Kong). From there, I added a QSA-treated HDMI cable and more recently, a Gamma Infinity power cord. Does this make sense for a $200 product? On paper, it sounds ludicrous but when you see the results, you realize the improvement is perhaps bigger than what you might see by upgrading your projector or flat panel which can cost much more money. It's quiet shocking really.

If your goal is to improve upon your Shunyata V14 Digital, that's not difficult to do. Just go up the Shunyata line to the next level. But with these cables, we're talking about a much bigger leap.

Yeah that’s a tough pill to swallow. $5-10k in cables/fuses for $200 piece of gear.

 

Lol, yes, this audiophile hobby (or any hobby where passion and emotions are involved) is a giant rabbit hole and gets insane very quickly where monetary decisions can be very difficult to justify. We each have to know where to draw the line. But despite the cost of these cables, I have never seen this level of improvement for the dollar spent even when you consider the impact of other components like speakers, amplifiers, DACs, etc. When you have a $200 component that improves your system so dramatically that you decide you don't need to upgrade to that latest $25k laser projector anymore or you decide you no longer need to upgrade your speakers or your amplification, it becomes easier to justify these moves. In the end, it becomes about the overall performance of your system and the satisfaction that one gets from it. Otherwise, why does anyone need to go beyond the products at the local Best Buy?

 

Here's another way to look at it. Once you realize how different these cables perform from traditional cables and you realize that with these cables, the products that you can buy at your local Best Buy or Costco suddenly outperform much more expensive products sold at boutique stores, ultimately, these cables (or at least the treatment rendered to them) start to look like a value. In my case, I got involved with this stuff because of the absolute performance they provide irrespective of price. But as I began replacing more and more cables, I found that they offer value that I never previously considered, that my intended upgrades for this year (specifically a new pair of Wilson Alexx Vs and a JVC DLA-NZ9 laser projector) were no longer warranted because I felt I had already achieved the benefits.

 

When you have a $200 component that improves your system so dramatically that you decide you don't need to upgrade to that latest $25k laser projector anymore or you decide you no longer need to upgrade your speakers or your amplification, it becomes easier to justify these moves.

I’m not disagreeing on the cables, I’m just flabbergasted by the gear (ie. AppleTV, nVidia Shield TV Pro, network switches, master clocks, etc) that use cables/accessories that cost many times more. I have that problem as well.
For us audio/video files, that makes sense but others would call us audiofools.

 

Like many, I have a love/hate relationship with cables. I hate that they make more difference than they should (and with QSA-Lanedri cables, they make more difference than many other components I've owned). I also hate that they can cost so much. But with these cables specifically, I have never enjoyed my system more.

 

It's the unenviable Catch-22 of the audio/videophile... and while I'm the first to admit that a multi-thousand dollar power cord can breathe all kinds of life into sub-$1000 equipment of all shapes and sizes, it does give me pause every time I try it. The usual argument is "for that kind of money, you should just buy a higher quality component and then put a fancy shmancy cord on it as an upgrade later."

However, for some things, like an Apple TV or NVidia Shield, there really is no "higher rung" on the ladder. If you want better, short of enjoining a boutique modifier like ModWright (et al.) to void your warranty in a beneficial manner, all you can do is wait a few years for the next, best offering... or start throwing cables at it.

I love @kennyb123 's suggestion of the QSA Jitter plugs as a cost-effective way to boost the performance without breaking the bank. I'm rocking an old Purple Flare with my Apple TV and I think my television is using an even cheaper Audioquest NRG-2. These are just extra demonstration cables I've had laying around for a decade or more that aren't worth reselling but are still big steps up from OEM cabling. Adding some QSA Jitters to the end, even cheap ones, would likely seem revelatory.

 

The QSA Power Jitters are a good way to get your feet wet with what this treatment can offer and they are remarkably impactful. I won't discourage you from going this route. If you already have a full loom of another manufacturer's power cords that you enjoy and don't want to get rid of, the Power Jitters are a good option but the better Jitters (Silver and higher) cost more than the Gamma series power cords (with the introductory pricing) and won't have the same impact. A Power Jitter is basically the wall plug portion of a power cable that has received treatment.

 

In terms of pricing structure, the QSA impact we are able to experience is the results of more than 22 years of R&D and the road of R&D is still heavy with what we need to achieve.

Our mission statement is to share the joy we found with the QSA Lanedri and for that we have put in a place a price structure to be able to allow, as much as we can, the different budgets to join this joyful experience.

The Gamma Series is beating almost everything out there in the market if not all of them at any price level. We compared the Gamma Series against 50k+ USD cables and they did not have a chance.

Obviously a lot of work to do, but I am sure you must be very pleased with the responses to date so all best wishes for the future.
Have you considered whether it would be possible to somehow exhibit these cables at his year's High End Show in Munich?
I can well imagine that they would be a huge draw.

 

Just over 10 days have passed since my Gamma Revelation XLR and power cords were swapped into my system. It seems that they have now passed the point where insufficient burn-in was evident. For the last few nights, it‘s been all goodness. Extreme goodness, in fact.

 

Obviously a lot of work to do, but I am sure you must be very pleased with the responses to date so all best wishes for the future.
Have you considered whether it would be possible to somehow exhibit these cables at his year's High End Show in Munich?
I can well imagine that they would be a huge draw.

The Munich High End Show is in our plan but It will be tight for this year to exhibit the QSA Lanedri cables.

 

Just over 10 days have passed since my Gamma Revelation XLR and power cords were swapped into my system. It seems that they have now passed the point where insufficient burn-in was evident. For the last few nights, it‘s been all goodness. Extreme goodness, in fact.

Could you plese elaborate more ?

 

Could you plese elaborate more ?

For the first week, excellent recordings sounded magical, but lesser recordings had a bit of an unnatural edge. It took a few days for me to even want to try to listen to lesser recordings. But that changed after about 9 days. Everything sounds better than ever. The clarity from these products is just astounding.