QSA LANEDRI Series

[TDX]

What's the difference between the Revelation Line and Infiniti Line?

 

[QSA-LANEDRI]

What's the difference between the Revelation Line and Infiniti Line?

The SQ impact of the Infinity Line is quit a huge on both horizontal and vertical levels. The infinity enriches more characteristics of the music and does enrich them to a much higher level.

The transparency, clarity, details, density, texture, soundstage without any trade-off are all pushed to new levels with the Infinity.

What I can say is that trying to describe the impact by words does not do justice neither to the Revelation nor to the Infinity Line. The listening sessions are not anymore about listening to music but one is swimming with body and soul in the ocean of music vibrations. One cannot not get sentimental when describing those experiences...

 

[auricgoldfinger]

I think it's important to understand that the bar set by the Revelation is very high, and no one will be disappointed if they choose products from that line. The Infinity enriches the music even further as @QSA-LANEDRI has already described. It is for people seeking the absolute pinnacle in sound quality.

 

[Kris]

I am looking for the pinnacle in SQ.
All 4 cables I ordered from QSA Lanedri are carring Infinity treatment .

Cables are the last chain in my system and untill now I was unable to decide
what to pick as everything I tried before has some trade offs.
I Was checking the top cables of best brands and this is still not finished.
Planning to compare in my system QSA Lanedri Ultimatum Ifinity speaker and power cables with 5 top performers from biggest and most expensive brands.

Not sure if gamma XLR with Infinity will be better than those top class competitors but we will see.

 

[kennyb123]

Three items from the Gamma Revelation line arrived here two nights ago. One was the XLR and the other two were power cords - one with a C15 and the other with a C19 connector. The XLR went in first, replacing a Shunyata Alpha v1 RCA used between my DAC and amp. I immediately sat to listen and was surprised by how listenable it was right out of the box despite there being evidence that it needed time to settle in. Within a half hour or so it became easier to listen past that, especially if I stuck to well-recorded jazz. This music was a treat actually as acoustic instruments had taken a nice step forward in terms of timbre, texture and tone.

Encouraged by what I heard I decided to swap in the power cords. I started by swapping out the Shunyata Delta XC between the wall and my Denali v1. Again I sat right down to listen. This was essentially a repeat of the experience with the XLR. It sounded better than I expected, but there was again evidence it needed time to settle, and again within a half hour or so it became easier to listen past that as long as I stuck to well-recorded jazz. Another half hour or so goes by and I figure - what the heck - and I swap in the other power cord. This one was substituted for the Shunyata Delta v2 used between my Denali v1 and Gustard DAC. A half hour or so after that I turned to one of my favorite tracks to use to evaluate difference: “All Blues“ from Trilogy 2 by the Chick Corea Trio. That album features some killer drumming and cymbal work from Brian Blades. The cymbals come across quite realistic on that track - especially so after processing it with PGGB-256. As a drummer myself, it’s extra special when I hear that stuff reproduced realistically. The way the energy radiates off those cymbals is captured so well with that recording. It was taken to the next level by swapping in the QSA Lanedri cables. Where on the cymbal Blades was shrinking it became easy to hear to the point where I could almost visualize it. The tone and timbre of the cymbals was spot on too.

Things had improved further when I sat down to listen last night. I played some Nat King Cole from “The Very Thought of You“ (also blasted with PGGB-256). His voice on this has always brought goosebumps. Last night though it blew my mind. He was just THERE right in front of me almost to the point where it seemed as if his ghost had made an actual appearance in my room. It wasn’t just that his voice was so convincing tonally, it was being articulated in a way I had not heard in this room before. I wish I could better explain it but I think it’s one of those things you gotta hear yourself. Goosebumps! Last night I was also able to expand my listening to include some rock. Bass had improved quite a bit over what I heard from my previous cables. If not only carried more weight, but timbre of bass instruments was better conveyed as well.

As promising as things were last night, it did not prepare me for what I heard tonight. My oh my what an improvement. Trilogy sounded so much better than I ever heard before. Had I not known it was Trilogy 2, I might not have guessed that it was because it sounded a lot less like a recording and lot more like an actually performance in front of me. Finally I got to hear what the QSA excitement is about! I don’t think I’ve ever experienced an upgrade that improved clarity as much as these cables have. The music just comes through as if it suffered less harm on the way to my speakers. And it’s only been three days! I think I need to call in sick tomorrow.

I’ll return again to report further progress. I hope this was of interest.

 

[jelt2359]

Over the past year, I have overhauled my entire system. I had purchased a Koda K10, which is a tremendous preamp, but it was a component that had its own character. Beautiful, silky- as you'd expect from a designer who used to work at Shindo. The problem was that my cabling then was also beautiful and coloured, and it became too much of a good thing. Paired with my Japanese 300b monoblocks, the sound was slow, lacked dynamism, and weak. However, I knew that these components were my 'endgame', and so I was pretty sure the problem lay elsewhere. With that, I began my journey.

I first swapped out my Mexcel 9700 from my preamp for a $1k (much cheaper) USD mid-range cord from this Japanese brand called AET, and the sound improved- the speed was better, and the veil was reduced. This brand has a reputation for being ruthlessly revealing- certainly not 'musical', and it seemed to counter the effects of my system well. From there I went up in the range of the AET cords, and ended up changing my 2x RCAs, Power cords to Extreme, Chord Dave, Preamp and Monoblocks; power cords to my conditioners; power cords to my switch and router; you get the drift. Everything was now AET. With each successive change the sound got quicker, clearer, and better. These are not particularly thick gauge chords, but I used them everywhere, to great results. Along the way, I even invested in benchmark AHB2 monos, which have a reputation for being dead neutral and measure really well, to get a better sense of what my Koda K10 preamp sounds like. I then got a benchmark LA4 to really compare and contrast with the Koda K10. This month, the last of my AET cords came in and I thought I was finally at the end.

With the 30 day risk-free trial, I had ordered the Gamma Infinity range to try purely out of curiosity after sterling reviews and good prior experience with QSA. At this point all my Mexcel, Black Cat, NCF and Sablon (I have a King) were out of my setup. The Gamma Infinities arrived last night and I set about trying them. I had ordered the SC, XLR, RCA, multiple PCs. When the first cord went in (XLR, to my benchmark AHB2 monos), I thought that this was more organic, less thin, and yet seemed to retain the speed and detail that I craved. But I wasn't sure- it felt like more brain burn-in was needed, or perhaps they needed to settle more. Then next I started swapping out PCs, first to my preamp Koda K10, then my DAC Chord Dave. Previously when I had made this change, the same power cord had about 2x the effect when used on my preamp vs my DAC. This time, however, adding the Gamma Infinity to the Preamp first, and then the DAC, seemed to result in an equal jump each time around. I read an earlier review that things only came together when they added the Ultimatum SC, but for me, every single component I added seemed to have the same equal jump in impact.

So what was that impact? It is initially disorienting because of how it changes that game. I had mentioned that the sound was initially more organic and less thin, but I thought I may need more brain burn in, because when you get changes like that, my experience is that it is always accompanied by a slower presentation with that glosses over details. Not so the QSA. There is lesser edge acuity, but I am reminded by how when I listen to a live performance, there is no edge acuity either, and yet the sound is extremely detailed- of course, since live performances are analog. Live performances also have a natural speed such that words like 'fast' or 'slow' are no longer relevant. This is what I experience with the Gamma Infinities. The reduction in edge acuity seems to come from such an increase in resolution that it now seems film-like, analog. Microdetail and layering appears greatly improved but does not at all sound forced or emphasised. "Speed" is no longer a relevant descriptor- the music just flows in the way it was intended.

The sound is also extremely neutral to your components- listening to my 300b's and Koda K10, I felt for the first time that I was hearing the magic and beauty that they possess- that organic, true-to-life weight and color that Japanese components tend to have- without any of the downsides of slowness or lack of dynamism. In fact, the dynamism here is also tremendous, in that it feels like it is just reacting immediately to whatever the music throws at it, without increased exaggerated contrast, and certainly not muted veiling. Similar to the speed then, it almost feels like 'dynamism' is no longer a useful word here- I'm just hearing the music.

So here I am, having previously gone 180degrees to find the most ruthlessly revealing, neutral cords to get the most out of my setup, and finally realising now that neutrality shouldn't be compensating for what's missing in the setup. Neutrality should rather transmit the music faithfully, to allow your setup to shine. For the first time, the music sounds musical, not because I'm trying to make it musical, but because it is lifelike and real, with all the goodness that I'd imagined when I'd first bought this preamp.

It is hard to put this in words, but let me try. The 'musicality' I derive from a live performance is different from what I mean when I call an audiophile setup 'musical'. To me the latter typically means warm, mid-centric, rich, and emotional. If that is what you're looking for, you won't find it here. But if you want 'musicality'- the kind you find at a live venue, where you're mesmerised and will never consider all the audiophile attributes that you look for in your system because they seem completely irrelevant, as if you're now listening to a different species of performance- then you'll get it with the Gamma Infinity.

 

[kennyb123]

It is hard to put this in words, but let me try. The 'musicality' I derive from a live performance is different from what I mean when I call an audiophile setup 'musical'. To me the latter typically means warm, mid-centric, rich, and emotional. If that is what you're looking for, you won't find it here. But if you want 'musicality'- the kind you find at a live venue, where you're mesmerised and will never consider all the audiophile attributes that you look for in your system because they seem completely irrelevant, as if you're now listening to a different species of performance- then you'll get it with the Gamma Infinity.

You nailed it. I wish I would have been able to express it that way.

 

[romaz]

It needs to be stressed that there is a period of "accommodation" that takes place with any of the QSA-Lanedri cables. The first will be your own brain's accommodation to what you are hearing. You may initially question whether the increased bass, midrange forwardness, or treble sparkle that may come through is a deviation from neutrality compared to the "traditional" wire that this new cable is replacing. In my opinion, once settled, unless your system has balance issues to begin with, these cables should not sound bass heavy, midrange forward, or treble bright. In my opinion, what you are hearing is a more faithful rendering of what your equipment is capable of that your traditional cables were incapable of manifesting. If these cables perform in your system as they do in mine, you will feel as if you've upgraded your speakers, amplifiers, source, etc. The impact should not be subtle. Probably every high-end cable manufacturer will make this claim but compare these cables for yourselves and decide. The other accommodation that you need to prepare yourself for is a legitimate burn-in process that takes place with QSA treated cables. There are some who don't believe in cable burn-in and that's fine but should you hear some ups and downs with these cables over the first few days, just hang in there. Once things settle after about a week of continuous play, you should have a pretty good sense of what these cables can do and if they are a fit for your system. While this may sound cliché, the more traditional cabling that you replace with QSA-Lanedri cabling, unlike with some things where sometimes there can be "too much of a good thing", that has not been my experience. With each and every QSA-Lanedri cable I've added to my system, the level of "your are there" realism just grows and there seems to be no law of diminishing return that comes into effect.

 

[Alex G]

Over the past year, I have overhauled my entire system. I had purchased a Koda K10, which is a tremendous preamp, but it was a component that had its own character. Beautiful, silky- as you'd expect from a designer who used to work at Shindo. The problem was that my cabling then was also beautiful and coloured, and it became too much of a good thing. Paired with my Japanese 300b monoblocks, the sound was slow, lacked dynamism, and weak. However, I knew that these components were my 'endgame', and so I was pretty sure the problem lay elsewhere. With that, I began my journey.

I first swapped out my Mexcel 9700 from my preamp for a $1k (much cheaper) USD mid-range cord from this Japanese brand called AET, and the sound improved- the speed was better, and the veil was reduced. This brand has a reputation for being ruthlessly revealing- certainly not 'musical', and it seemed to counter the effects of my system well. From there I went up in the range of the AET cords, and ended up changing my 2x RCAs, Power cords to Extreme, Chord Dave, Preamp and Monoblocks; power cords to my conditioners; power cords to my switch and router; you get the drift. Everything was now AET. With each successive change the sound got quicker, clearer, and better. These are not particularly thick gauge chords, but I used them everywhere, to great results. Along the way, I even invested in benchmark AHB2 monos, which have a reputation for being dead neutral and measure really well, to get a better sense of what my Koda K10 preamp sounds like. I then got a benchmark LA4 to really compare and contrast with the Koda K10. This month, the last of my AET cords came in and I thought I was finally at the end.

With the 30 day risk-free trial, I had ordered the Gamma Infinity range to try purely out of curiosity after sterling reviews and good prior experience with QSA. At this point all my Mexcel, Black Cat, NCF and Sablon (I have a King) were out of my setup. The Gamma Infinities arrived last night and I set about trying them. I had ordered the SC, XLR, RCA, multiple PCs. When the first cord went in (XLR, to my benchmark AHB2 monos), I thought that this was more organic, less thin, and yet seemed to retain the speed and detail that I craved. But I wasn't sure- it felt like more brain burn-in was needed, or perhaps they needed to settle more. Then next I started swapping out PCs, first to my preamp Koda K10, then my DAC Chord Dave. Previously when I had made this change, the same power cord had about 2x the effect when used on my preamp vs my DAC. This time, however, adding the Gamma Infinity to the Preamp first, and then the DAC, seemed to result in an equal jump each time around. I read an earlier review that things only came together when they added the Ultimatum SC, but for me, every single component I added seemed to have the same equal jump in impact.

So what was that impact? It is initially disorienting because of how it changes that game. I had mentioned that the sound was initially more organic and less thin, but I thought I may need more brain burn in, because when you get changes like that, my experience is that it is always accompanied by a slower presentation with that glosses over details. Not so the QSA. There is lesser edge acuity, but I am reminded by how when I listen to a live performance, there is no edge acuity either, and yet the sound is extremely detailed- of course, since live performances are analog. Live performances also have a natural speed such that words like 'fast' or 'slow' are no longer relevant. This is what I experience with the Gamma Infinities. The reduction in edge acuity seems to come from such an increase in resolution that it now seems film-like, analog. Microdetail and layering appears greatly improved but does not at all sound forced or emphasised. "Speed" is no longer a relevant descriptor- the music just flows in the way it was intended.

The sound is also extremely neutral to your components- listening to my 300b's and Koda K10, I felt for the first time that I was hearing the magic and beauty that they possess- that organic, true-to-life weight and color that Japanese components tend to have- without any of the downsides of slowness or lack of dynamism. In fact, the dynamism here is also tremendous, in that it feels like it is just reacting immediately to whatever the music throws at it, without increased exaggerated contrast, and certainly not muted veiling. Similar to the speed then, it almost feels like 'dynamism' is no longer a useful word here- I'm just hearing the music.

So here I am, having previously gone 180degrees to find the most ruthlessly revealing, neutral cords to get the most out of my setup, and finally realising now that neutrality shouldn't be compensating for what's missing in the setup. Neutrality should rather transmit the music faithfully, to allow your setup to shine. For the first time, the music sounds musical, not because I'm trying to make it musical, but because it is lifelike and real, with all the goodness that I'd imagined when I'd first bought this preamp.

It is hard to put this in words, but let me try. The 'musicality' I derive from a live performance is different from what I mean when I call an audiophile setup 'musical'. To me the latter typically means warm, mid-centric, rich, and emotional. If that is what you're looking for, you won't find it here. But if you want 'musicality'- the kind you find at a live venue, where you're mesmerised and will never consider all the audiophile attributes that you look for in your system because they seem completely irrelevant, as if you're now listening to a different species of performance- then you'll get it with the Gamma Infinity.

Amazing description. Really well said. Really mirrors not only my impressions of the QSA Lanedri cables but shows that we have clearly been on similar system journeys and like a similar sound.

This week I got my QSA Lanedri order. I received 3 Gamma Infinity power cords, 1 pair of Gamma XLRs, and 1 Revelation power cord. I am still waiting on a LAN and Ultimatum power and speaker cables. Needless to say, I've jumped fully in. I felt good doing this because I knew the impact that QSA fuses and outlets had already made. The cables have been settling into my system for the past 2.5 days while I was gone on a trip to LA.

I got back late last night and decided to listen for an hour or two even though it was late. It was a pretty insane experience and I've been trying to figure out how to describe what I was hearing since. Your description really helped and it reminded of an observation that an audio friend of mine made a while back which I want to riff on and which also makes way more sense to me now in light of these cables' impact.

My friend described the act of listening to a really good system as being the opposite of relaxing...that real sound grabs your attention in a primordial way that is highly distracting. I think this is right and that the difference between "stereos" and real sound is really really vast...way vaster than we commonly acknowledge in this hobby. A stereo can be "engaging" but all of music we listen to from them is still ulitmately engaging and understood within the experience of a stereo. And, that even with really good stereos you can still listen to music in the background or tune it out if you want to pay attention to something else. Correspondingly, the desired result in building stereos can often be one of creating pleasant-ness the most amount of the time, and maybe we even "balance" our stereos to be pleasant and "listenable" most of the time with the largest amount of music and, thus, all music kind of sits inside this listenable or palatable box that your brain can compartmentalize as fitting inside that experience.

Real sound you instinctively pay attention to right away--sometimes in a fight or flight way. It activates different parts of your brain and senses, deep senses. It can be very distracting.

I'm not sure really what is happening with QSA or with the QSA-Lanedri cables, but things feel legitimately real. I don't want to rush to conclusions but I'm pretty confidant that it is the biggest jump in system REAL-ness, whatever that means, that I've ever experienced, regardless of type of gear. Things are not chill. At all.

Last night, I was listening to Neils Frahm Felt and Spaces. Frahm plays the piano and the way he mics many of his recordings you can hear the pedal work, his breathing, the hammers hitting and even the hinges of the hammers. I always marvelled that you could hear these things and with past upgrades you could hear more of that detail including the resonant harmonics of the piano cabinet itself as you added better gear. What happened last night is those noises became distracting---in the best way. My heart was literally racing, my brain was looping. It was really like I was on drugs, like I was hallucinating. From what I was hearing it felt like I was really sitting 3 feet behind Neils Frahm. I could hear and feel his breathing, his feet hitting the pedals and almost the floor moving because of how he was hitting those pedals, his fingers hitting the keys, the wooden armature of the piano parts moving, to the point that it was just as much part of the song as the song and I didn't really know what to pay attention to. In fact I couldn't help but pay attention to ALL of it which is why it felt overwhelming. My mind was racing to piece together why this thing that felt so real was not there, like a great illusion where you cannot figure out the trick. My wife even sat down and was like wow all those noises are really distracting! HA.

 

[Alex G]

I cannot wait to hear more of everyone else's reactions in this thread because I'm looking for ways to make sense of what I am hearing.
Will report back more esp as those cables settle more. I imagine it will make another big jump even this weekend.

 

[LL21]

I cannot wait to hear more of everyone else's reactions in this thread because I'm looking for ways to make sense of what I am hearing.
Will report back more esp as those cables settle more. I imagine it will make another big jump even this weekend.

Nice system! I was wondering if you have tried/considered trying QSA in your Robert Koda? It seemed from your post that you might have. I am unlikely to try...I am no techie and do not like changing our fuses, risk something happening, and then not possibly having manufacturer coverage. That said, I have read great things about their fuses in equipment...and was very curious to know if the QSA fuses worked well in Robert Koda.

 

[Alex G]

Nice system! I was wondering if you have tried/considered trying QSA in your Robert Koda? It seemed from your post that you might have. I am unlikely to try...I am no techie and do not like changing our fuses, risk something happening, and then not possibly having manufacturer coverage. That said, I have read great things about their fuses in equipment...and was very curious to know if the QSA fuses worked well in Robert Koda.

Really nice system! Haha.
Actually...I have never opened it! I thought there were magnetic breakers inside, not fuses. Are there fuses? Man...I guess I can unscrew the top .

 

[jelt2359]

I swapped my power amps last night from the 300b monos (RCA only) to the Benchmark AHB2 monos (XLR only). My Gamma RCAs have not arrived yet, so I wanted to put the Gamma XLRs in the chain. The music put a smile to my face. One of the things I look for in a neutral setup is- does poorly recorded music sound flat, monotone and boring? Just like when I go to a hastily set up venue, sometimes the sound is sibilant, harsh, boring. When it's supposed to sound bad, it should sound bad.

The Gamma Infinities definitely sound boring with poorly recorded material. I heard shades of grey, and not technicolour- again, no exaggerated contrast. Interestingly however it does so in a refined way. The sound continues to sound lifelike, organic and analog. So detailed that its smooth. But nonetheless, it doesn't add anything to 'save' a bad recording.

Maybe I'm a bit odd that way, but what brought a smile to my face last night was how boring my bad recordings sounded. That's exactly what I wanted to hear.

 

[Alex G]

I swapped my power amps last night from the 300b monos (RCA only) to the Benchmark AHB2 monos (XLR only). My Gamma RCAs have not arrived yet, so I wanted to put the Gamma XLRs in the chain. The music put a smile to my face. One of the things I look for in a neutral setup is- does poorly recorded music sound flat, monotone and boring? Just like when I go to a hastily set up venue, sometimes the sound is sibilant, harsh, boring. When it's supposed to sound bad, it should sound bad.

The Gamma Infinities definitely sound boring with poorly recorded material. I heard shades of grey, and not technicolour- again, no exaggerated contrast. Interestingly however it does so in a refined way. The sound continues to sound lifelike, organic and analog. So detailed that its smooth. But nonetheless, it doesn't add anything to 'save' a bad recording.

Maybe I'm a bit odd that way, but what brought a smile to my face last night was how boring my bad recordings sounded. That's exactly what I wanted to hear.

I'm going to put my Benchmarks in tomorrow too! Wish I had some Koda 160s to drop in like @LL21

 

[jelt2359]

Nice system! I was wondering if you have tried/considered trying QSA in your Robert Koda? It seemed from your post that you might have. I am unlikely to try...I am no techie and do not like changing our fuses, risk something happening, and then not possibly having manufacturer coverage. That said, I have read great things about their fuses in equipment...and was very curious to know if the QSA fuses worked well in Robert Koda.

Would be interesting to hear your experiences with your superb koda system, and how it responds to QSA (if you're going that way)...

 

[Kris]

It will be a very hard waiting for my QSA Lanedri order as far as I see.
Looks everyone happy after 0 - 3 days.
Romaz mentioned they need a week of constant play to be at the proper level.
When should we expect the full performance ?

 

[auricgoldfinger]

I have some Gamma power cords and an Ethernet cable on hand. In case anyone is interested, here are a few photos of a Gamma Revelation PC which is not yet in my system.

 

[Kris]

Great . Can you post the lan cable pictures ?

 

[auricgoldfinger]

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.

 

[wil]

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.

@auricgoldfinger, could you try to describe in more detail a comparison between what you’re seeing before the QSA Lan and after in your home theater?

When you say you see more complexity, would you say more gradations and subtlety to the colors? Do the colors seem lifelike? For instance, If there is an outdoor scene on your tv with similar natural lighting to what you can out your window do you find them to look more similar with the QSA Lan?

This is obviously what you would hope for!

And this would be the opposite of what one generally sees for instance at a Best Buy showroom or the like where the color saturation and contrast are pumped up to exaggerated and unnatural levels.

I think looking at the effect of cables on TV can be a useful way to get insight into what they will do with audio as well.