QSA LANEDRI Series

[LL21]

R&D Update #3 - Improving the LAN cable

Unfortunately, certain cables do not and will never lend themselves to being large gauge and so QSA treatment on cables like this will have limited impact. With LAN cabling, because of the limitations of the design of RJ45 connectors, 23awg is about the largest wire you can use and that is the largest wire we have found. However, the connectors themselves can be quite large and so we tested a few variants. Blue Jeans Cable CAT6 UTP cables utilize Sentinel connectors in their standard configuration which BJC really like because they consistently allow their LAN cables to meet full bandwidth and with every LAN cable BJC makes, they provide measurements confirming this. As nice as the fancy and more expensive beefy metal connectors look, BJC claim they don't always measure well but since full CAT6 bandwidth isn't that crucial for audio, they went ahead and made some cables for us with much more expensive Belden REVConnect RJ45 connectors (both shielded and unshielded).

View attachment 111322

Once again, it was quite shocking to hear the uplift in SQ after treatment. The improvement was not subtle. It would be fair to say at least double the performance. I have not yet heard the new Spectra LAN cable that @QSA-LANEDRI is now marketing. This is being made for them by Sablon and Anas says they sound even better with far more density and so my curiosity is piqued.

One piece the Spectra Sablon "Combo" Ethernet cable comes with that I do have experience with is a Horn LAN Jitter and this little device is remarkable:

View attachment 111323
You basically place it "before" your LAN cable and if I am to be honest, it is a flavoring. For those who are absolute truth and transparency seekers, you might find yourself finding this device not to your liking and so you have the option to not use it but what I find this little device adds in my system is a heightened dose of "you are there" realism. It expands the sound field as if you've added vacuum tubes into your system and it's like your speakers disappear. I would never use them on their own or "after" the LAN cable because they soften transients but when used before the LAN cable, the combined effect is synergistic and can be magical. Holographically expansive, ethereal, saturated but realistic tone, non-fatiguing, supremely dynamic, and with tremendous presence. As much as I like to classify myself as a transparency seeker, I cannot get myself to remove this device from my network.

Most interesting...I am a big fan of Waversa which goes in between the Transport and DAC of the Zanden now. I am soon to be trying these LAN Jitters since the Zanden uses RJ45 for its i2s connections.

I understand there is Crystal, Standard and Horn (which according to QSA are in order: ultra transparency, analogue/warm, vintage tube sound). I am going to be trying 3 LAN Jitters from their Crystal and Standard lines (not their horn line which it sounds like you have good experience with and like). More to come. Thanks for posting...very helpful to read about your experience.

 

[alwayslearning]

I have already posted my impressions of various QSA Lanedri cables on pages 5 and 8 of this thread. This is an update based on some comparisons I have done over the summer. Specifically, I've been inserting my Gamma Revelation power cords in some different locations and comparing them to other power cords.

If you look back at my earlier posts, you will see that I concluded that the three QSA Lanedri power cords I acquired in late winter/early spring were substantially better than my Shunyata Sigma v2 XC and Shunyata Alpha v2 NR power cords (I mistakenly identified these as Delta v2 NR power cords in my earlier post). Those Shunyata power cords have all been sold, as have my old speaker cables and interconnects, replaced by QSA Lanedri cables.

Over the summer, I've spent quite a bit of time with a second stereo system that features a dCS Bartok headphone amp/streamer/DAC. In the past, I've used an Audience AU24 SE MP power cord on the Bartok, which is plugged into an Audience TSSOX power conditioner. I've always been pleased with the Audience power cords that I've used and this is no exception. Comparing the QSA Lanedri Gamma Revelation to the Audience on the Bartok, I found that the QSA cable bettered the Audience in the following areas with no downsides:

- clarity
- weight
- saturated tone color
- separation of instruments and voices
- immediacy and presence

Going into this comparison, I thought the Audience might have an advantage because of the synergy between the power cord and power conditioner (e.g., both use rhodium plated copper) and my Furutech GTX-D (R) NCF outlets, which also use rhodium. If there was an advantage, it was overwhelmed by the attributes above.

For a second comparison, I used another Gamma Revelation power cable to feed an Uptone JS-2 power supply. The JS-2 powers an Uptone-modified Mac Mini and either a Sonore Optical Module or a Zhone fiber optic router (the JS-2 has two rails). The Gamma Revelation replaced either an older Audience PowerChord e or an Audience AU24 SE MP power cable. Once again, the clear winner was the QSA cable and not by a small margin. Interestingly, the combination of QSA power cord and JS-2 power supply had a significantly greater (positive) impact when powering the router vs powering the Optical Module.

The third comparison I tried centered on the power cord feeding a Paul Hynes SR5 DR48 power supply, which I had custom made to power my Crayon CPH-P phono stage. Specifically, I compared a Sablon Prince power cable vs the Gamma Revelation. For about five days, I listened to my analog system with the Sablon Prince, which normally powers my Taiko Extreme music server. This is an excellent power cord and I liked what I heard. I had real doubts that the Gamma Revelation could beat it.

Consistent with my other comparisons, however, the Gamma Revelation was the clear winner and it did not take long after inserting the cold QSA cord to make that determination. The QSA cord had a big advantage in clarity. For example, lyrics and subtle nuances in a singer's presentation were much easier to understand. The Sablon was darker and more relaxed and I don't mind those qualities in general. However, the QSA cable brought forth more organic detail from the treble and did so with more PRAT and more energy. Bass was both more detailed and tauter with the QSA cable. To my ears and in my system, I preferred the QSA cable.

Of course QSA Lanedri will treat a Sablon Prince and sell it as a Spectra cable. By all accounts, these upgraded Sablons are much better than the Gamma series cables. So I will be looking to do that in the future.

 

[highstream]

If you ever get a chance, compare the GR with the WyWires Diamond power cord (and interconnects).

 

[alwayslearning]

If you ever get a chance, compare the GR with the WyWires Diamond power cord (and interconnects).

That would be interesting. I have owned a number of WyWires products including interconnects (Gold), speaker cables (the Daedalus version), and the Platinum headphone cables. I have a very high regard for WyWires. Alex also provides great customer service. So I would expect his power cord to perform at a very high level.

 

[BCRich1960]

Part 2 of my QSA/Lanedri journey. My apologies to Anas as this is not as thorough as I wanted it to be. My work schedule over the past 4 months as been absurd and has really prevented me from doing a proper listen/analysis add to that other system issues as well.

I received the rest of my Q/L order about a week after I received the Ultimatum Speaker Cables.
That order consisted of 2 Spectra Sablon Prince Infinity Power Cables, 1 Gamma Infinity Power Cable, 1pr Gamma Infinity XLR Cables and 1 Gamma Infinity Ethernet Cable.

QSA Notes:
5/10…. I decided to start with the Power Cables, I removed the 1st Audio Magic Natural Power Cable and replaced it with a Spectra Prince Infinity Cable on Digital side of my Audio Magic Nexus Power Conditioner. The Nexus requires 2 Power Cables; 1 for the Digital Component's and 1 for the Analog. It has 3 Banks of Outlets: Digital, Preamp and Amplifier.
My comments are brief as I failed to take notes as I was listening; this is all from memory and from comments made to @Exocer, I have years of listening with the AM Cables.

A little bit more forward than the Audio Magic Natural cable. But I suspect that will change over time. Very detailed but musical at the same time. Sounds live; the squeak of the strings on Larry Carlton’s guitar as he moves around the neck sounds as if he is in my living room.
Bass is nice and deep, more resolving, lower noise floor. I want to turn the Volume up. Soundstage is insane

5/12….Added 2nd Spectra Infinity to the Analog side of Nexus Power Conditioner. This swap is a bit disjointed in terms of changes as a result of a Power Cable issue on my Server.

I did make this comment to to @Exocer after adding the 2nd Spectra Cable.
Listening to Rick Braun “Night Walk” Album. There are parts that just sound Erie…
Should I swap the Server Power Cable out or wait a bit? I won’t be able to mess with anything tomorrow.

5/13…Added Gamma Infinity Power Cable to the Server…
Lower Noise Floor on the plus side, smaller stage right now. Definitely needs to open up.

I also swapped out 2 power cables on my 2 LPS; changed from Audio Magic Clairvoyant Liquid Air Cables to The Natural.
My comments were…
Swapped out the 2 cables; more air and much smoother mid range. PRAT doesn’t seem as hurried as well.

5/16… Switched the Gamma Infinity with the Spectra on the Server….. The GI went to the Analog side of the Power Conditioner.
Definitely a different presentation.
When I put the GI on the server the soundstage appeared to be closer. The opposite happened with the Spectra, it got pushed back.
Definitely meatier; soundstage is wider too. Not sure I’m happy with the PRAT though. It seems sluggish.

5/17…The Spectra is sounding sublime right now on the server. Not listening too much as I want to give things a chance to settle in. Still no XLR or Ethernet yet.

5/19….Still lacking Soundstage width with the Spectra Infinity on the Server. This is not how I felt 2 days ago.

This is a DUH moment….
I just figured out my soundstage issue. I had moved the 2 huge boxes that the QSA-Lanedri cables shipped in against the wall at the top of the stairs. That space is directly behind my speakers. I just moved them into my kitchen. The left side just opened up.

In the end I put the Gamma Infinity back on the Server. I preferred it there; the system seemed more balanced and there was a substantial difference as far as PRAT was concerned.

5.20……Added XLR’s….
At first listen I felt like the speakers were in the room and was sounding constricted. Probably less than an hour of playback it’s starting to open up a bit.

Was asked if I am enjoying my system more than ever?
My response was I would have to say yes, absolutely.

5/27…..
I woke up at 4:30 ish, couldn’t fall back to sleep. Made a cup of coffee and sat down to listen to some music. Around 6am I decided to put the Gamma Infinity Ethernet Cable in. Noticing an improvement in the Mid-Range among other things.

I tried the Ethernet Cable in various locations. The first being from the EtherRegen A Side to my Server. My above comments were a result of that placement. I also tried it from the wall to the A Side of the ER, I did not like it there. There seemed to be a loss of focus. I also tried it on the B Side of the ER to my Sonore Optical Module Deluxe; I could not get it to work there at all. It resides on the Server, where it all began.

The ensuing months resulted in some system issues with other components creating some down time. All back to normal now and am once again enjoying my system. Now if the insanity at work would end all would be good.

The overall impact these cables have made in my system is remarkable. The realism they present is mind boggling. Dynamics, resolution, tonal quality, musicality, transparency all have improved significantly.

Props to my probably 20yr old Totem Acoustic Mani-2 Signature Speakers; every change I have made over the years they have been more than up to the task of presenting those changes in a exemplary manner.
Many times I have said I should think about something different; but when it comes down to it I can’t part with them.

Future plans include possibly another Spectra Sablon Price Infinity Power cable for my Bricasti M25 Amp.
There are other places I could make changes but I have to start thinking about retirement.

Cheers everyone! I hope you all are as thrilled as I am.

 

[auricgoldfinger]

I tried the Ethernet Cable in various locations. The first being from the EtherRegen A Side to my Server. My above comments were a result of that placement. I also tried it from the wall to the A Side of the ER, I did not like it there. There seemed to be a loss of focus. I also tried it on the B Side of the ER to my Sonore Optical Module Deluxe; I could not get it to work there at all. It resides on the Server, where it all began.

If possible, you might want to remove the EtherRegen and OM Deluxe to determine if they are still making a positive difference in your system.

 

[BCRich1960]

If possible, you might want to remove the EtherRegen and OM Deluxe to determine if they are still making a positive difference in your system.

Thanks for the suggestion. I can only remove the OMD as I need a SFP Port for my Signature Rendu SE Optical. Right now the OMD allows me to place the SR on the B Side of the ER. All of my Network component's are located in a closet below my listening room, that limits my experimentation as well. I actually just purchased the new version of the OMD. I have tried various configurations over the span of using these devices and always ended up sticking with the OMD. Who knows; the ER2 may change things.
Mike

 

[LL21]

Most interesting...I am a big fan of Waversa which goes in between the Transport and DAC of the Zanden now. I am soon to be trying these LAN Jitters since the Zanden uses RJ45 for its i2s connections.

I understand there is Crystal, Standard and Horn (which according to QSA are in order: ultra transparency, analogue/warm, vintage tube sound). I am going to be trying 3 LAN Jitters from their Crystal and Standard lines (not their horn line which it sounds like you have good experience with and like). More to come. Thanks for posting...very helpful to read about your experience.

QSA LAN Jitter is in as of this Friday, a trial. Crystal Gold. Intriguing...more to come.

 

[Willgolf]

QSA LAN Jitter is in as of this Friday, a trial. Crystal Gold. Intriguing...more to come.

I have the Crystal SilverJitter at the end of my Power Conditioner to the wall outlet. I noticed a positive change immediately, so I look forward to your results. I have the Silver Horn QSA outlet coming which will replace my Silver Jitter

 

[LL21]

I have the Crystal SilverJitter at the end of my Power Conditioner to the wall outlet. I noticed a positive change immediately, so I look forward to your results. I have the Silver Horn QSA outlet coming which will replace my Silver Jitter

Yes, I definitely remember your posts and helpful commentary...and specifically intended to come back to you. I will be trialing a Crystal Gold Jitter for the Torus as well. However, the current jitter I am trialing is their LAN Jitter which is for RJ45 connections (in this case, on both ends of the i2s connection between the Transport and DAC.) Again...more to come! Definitely look forward to comparing notes!

 

[cmarin]

I recently purchased a QSA Infinity SFP+ DAC cable to connect the new Taiko Audio switch to the Taiko Extreme server and a QSA DC Extension cable from the Nordost LPS to power the new Taiko Audio.

The SFP+ cable arrived first and resulted in a significant improvement over the already significant uptick in SQ from the Taiko Switch.

The DC Extension cable arrived a week ago. After about 100 hours it kicked in with an even greater improvement in all the usual left brain analytical audiophile criteria including clarity, soundstage and above all a palpable increment in the bass response. No thought of needing a subwoofer now. But an even more valuable improvement was the enhanced engagement. Truly wonderful. Highly recommended add-ons.

 

[alwayslearning]

I recently purchased a QSA Infinity SFP+ DAC cable to connect the new Taiko Audio switch to the Taiko Extreme server and a QSA DC Extension cable from the Nordost LPS to power the new Taiko Audio.

The SFP+ cable arrived first and resulted in a significant improvement over the already significant uptick in SQ from the Taiko Switch.

The DC Extension cable arrived a week ago. After about 100 hours it kicked in with an even greater improvement in all the usual left brain analytical audiophile criteria including clarity, soundstage and above all a palpable increment in the bass response. No thought of needing a subwoofer now. But an even more valuable improvement was the enhanced engagement. Truly wonderful. Highly recommended add-ons.

Do you have a sense of the relative improvement from the SFP+ DAC cable vs the DC Extension cable? I realize this can be difficult to determine sometimes but as a prospective buyer of both cables, I'm always looking for the most bang for my buck.

 

[cmarin]

Do you have a sense of the relative improvement from the SFP+ DAC cable vs the DC Extension cable? I realize this can be difficult to determine sometimes but as a prospective buyer of both cables, I'm always looking for the most bang for my buck.

Wish I could tell you with any certainty. But although the improvement increment from the DC extension cable appeared greater than the increment associated with the DAC cable, it is possible that the increment value would be reversed if the DC extension cable was installed first.

Doing it right would require sufficient time to let the cables settle in after the change. And the results would likely be very system dependent. Unfortunately, at this point, I'm more of an install and let it ride kind of guy, especially if it sounds good.

Probably the best way to find out, is to try it out yourself in your system under a trial period with a small restocking fee.

Cheers

 

[Barry2013]

I have started a new thread QSA Jitter Plug so as not to divert this thread from posts on cables, but which people may have missed.
Very impressive

 

[kennyb123]

Several months ago, I was given the opportunity to audition the QSA Lanedri Gamma Infinity BNC cable thanks to @romaz. This is a 75 ohm cable so it can serve as a clock cable. I tried it between my REF10 SE120 and EtherRegen. I posted my findings on a few other forums but held off on doing so here as there was another step I wanted to take first. This QSA-L clock cable really surprised me as it brought improvements to the ER that I never imagined that a clock cable could bring, but at the price I thought maybe the bang for the buck wasn't as compelling. What I wanted to hear was if I could get the same kinds of improvements from one fo the newest entries in the QSA Lanedri lineup: the DC extension cable, now being offered at a limited prince of $1000. How well might this boost the performance of my EtherRegen and a few other DC powered devices?

First off, as far at the clock cable, what shocked me about this was that the improvements I heard were more like what I'd normally expect from upgrading an analog cable like an interconnect. More of the music was being passed along - especially in terms of natural timbre. And this was even with music that was stored on the local drive of the K50. How the heck it could accomplish that is something I don't understand. [This was relative to my normal cable which is a 75 ohm Shunyata Alpha v1. And, as an aside, I also tried the QSA-L clock cable with my DAC, but in this case, it not being a 50 ohm cable hindered its performance. I found I still preferred my Shunyata Sigma v2 clock-50 cable.]

Fast forwarding to the DC extension cable, mine was furnished with a male 2.1mm barrel on one side and a 2.1mm barrel on the other. That made it really easy to use with my EtherRegen. This is powered with a Farad Super3 so I just plugged my Audio Sensibility Signature Silver DC cable into the extension cable, and then plugged the extension cable into my ER. The effect this had was more like that of a power conditioner. Clarity improved as a result of the noise floor dropping. The noise floor dropped, the sound stage expanded, and there was greater clarity. Timbre improved as well but I can't say if it had improved things as much as the QSA-L clock cable as I no longer had it on hand. It did seem to me that the bang for the buck in the case of the extension cable was a lot better. The improvement I heard most certainly justified the price.

My next trial was to see what effect the extension cable would have on my video system if used with my Nvidia Shield Pro. This is powered by an inexpensive Chinese linear supply (this one) that was shipped with the appropriate cable that is terminated with the (proprietary?) connector that supports the Shield Pro. I actually ordered another one of these cables (this) so that I could slice it up in a way that I could insert the extension cable. With the extension cable in place, the audio improvement was immediately apparent. Even when watching an NFL game streaming from prime, it was obvious that audio had improved. Voices were clearer, more articulate, and more natural. It was so apparent that I could even notice the improvements from the next room. Improved clarity could be heard as well in the surround field. [I have a 5.2.4 system with Marantz SR6015 driving Elac Unifi speakers]. On the video side, my 77" OLED showed improvement too. Colors became more saturated, coming closer to what I see from 4k discs.

At the urging of @auricgoldfinger and @QSA-LANEDRI, I just last night I tried the extension cable with a device acting as my router too. Despite trusting their advice, I didn't expect much there as I'm not using a single box as a router as the Unifi hardware that I have splits that functionality amongst three different boxes. The first box in the path is what they call the Unifi Security Gateway. This is presently powered with the stock SMPS, which as luck would have it includes a cable terminated with a 2.1mm barrel connector - exactly the size needed to be able to use the extension cable. The results from this on my two channel system astonished me - but it was such a large improvement that I really need to spend a bit more time going back and forth just to make sure that I heard things correctly. As when I used the extension cable with my EtherRegen, the impact of the extension cable with my Security Gateway was like that benefits one gets from a power conditioner. Clarity improved, the soundstage just became even more expansive and there was an increase in purity. The treble sounded so extended and pure that it almost had me thinking that I was getting the chance to listen through younger ears. Yeah, I know that sounds crazy so please take that with a grain of salt until I've had the chance to reconfirm my findings over the next couple of nights.

 

[QSA-LANEDRI]

@kennyb123 Thank you for the shared impressions. We released a limited quantity of the Gamma DC Extension power cable at a low price to introduce new users to the QSA Lanedri and share the experience.

With regard to the Gamma BNC cable, we have recently added the 50 Ohm version.

 

[QSA-LANEDRI]

Unfortunately, I received heartbreaking news about Brian's health (@auricgoldfinger).

It's devastating to hear that his condition has worsened significantly since we last discussed about three months ago. Back then, he had mentioned that he had a couple of years left. Despite the pain he's going through, he shared with me how music is helping him cope with his situation.

My thoughts and prayers are with you, Brian.

 

[kennyb123]

It's devastating to hear that his condition has worsened significantly since we last discussed about three months ago.

Truly devastating news.

Despite the pain he's going through, he shared with me how music is helping him cope with his situation

My thoughts and prayers are with him too.

 

[jeremya]

Truly devastating news.

My thoughts and prayers are with him too.

+1…

 

[Dubshow]

The QSA Infinity Ultimatum Speaker cables review is here!

QSA Lanedri Infinity series Ultimatum Speaker Cables

Music playback has been special around these parts since I took a leap of faith and auditioned a mere fuse. The QSA’s exquisite sounding series of fuses has been perhaps the most impactful and impressive product to have graced my listening space for one main reason: its effectiveness at ridding...

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