QSA LANEDRI Series

[LL21]

I have a 'normal' Sablon Prince here powering the Lampizator. At some point I'm hoping to do a comparison w/ the Spectra Prince...

Hopefully, that means "At some point [soon]"! I would really like to know what kind of uplift you get in performance...the upgrade (as you well know) is not inexpensive, particularly for 2 to power our monos! Thank you for any insights when you get a chance!

 

[Willgolf]

View attachment 120674

For the last several years a company named Quantum Science Audio (QSA) has caused waves across the audio community with several product lines of fuses, duplex outlets, and 'jitter plugs'; they were known for quite a devoted following and also their high prices. In the beginning of 2023, a new brand named QSA-Lanedri was started to tackle the cable market using QSA technology. This is a review of my purchased QSA-Lanedri cables.

TLDR: I tried these cables and, holy cow, I'm keeping them!

Let's first tackle the 800 lbs gorilla in the room upfront when, almost a year ago now, I first heard about QSA-Lanedri cables: "What is this expensive non-sense? Do they really have some secret technology?" Doubt was understandably my initial impression of these cables despite the rave from some audiophiles who I trust and respect. The audio cable market is crowded with many esoteric companies, and QSA-Lanedri sounded to be on the outlandish end. As more trusted folks adopted QSA-Lanedri into their systems, my bias still did not change. QSA's vague descriptions of "acting at the quantum level", "superior flow of electrons", and "musical metal technology" really made it worse for me -- like many fellow audiophiles I consider myself educated in an area of science, and I tend to believe things that make sense and seem plausible. I especially like to be wowed by measurable demonstrations and logical electrical design, explaining why I am a fan of Shunyata cables. And then there's QSA-Lanedri's high prices.... it is even harder to overcome disbelief when a manufacturer tries to sell fairy dust and unicorn essence for $4,000 to $22,0000 (per cable).

View attachment 120675

Fast forward a year, and I bought QSA-Lanedri's Spectra Prince Infinity and the Gamma Infinity AC cords. So what happened? How did Keith break?

1. I let go of the desire to justify QSA's claims. No, I am not convinced they can actually measure quantum structure of metals, nor have the means to room-temperature superconductivity. But none of that matters. As an audiophile, I don't really need to know how my gears work -- it does not matter how my DAC measures, or my equipment's frequency response curves, or how my Valvo tube measures against the Telefunken. All that matters is that it sounds damn good to me. I am okay with believing voodoo (my words) if it truly blows me away; we make the same argument all the time in comparing digital front ends or NOS tubes. While I am sure some folks (ahem ASR) might flay me for this purely subjective approach, I'd also challenge those on the Objective camp to show me the psychoacoustic equations that will guarantee Keith's musical enjoyment.
2. Anas Lanedri offers a money-back trial that de-risks trying them in my own system. If I can try it and don't like it, no harm. And that facilitates our holy grail quest to pursue the best in sound, right?
3. Enough folks raved about them. My doubt weakened against the idea that there could be a growing international fanbase falling for some delusional placebo effect, especially when some of these people started with the same skepticism as I had. FOMO hit me that there might be something real here that I just need to try it out for myself.

Anas Lanedri is the co-founder of QSA-Lanedri, and he is the customer-oriented interface who kindly answered my myriad of questions and recommended specific cables for my needs. The poor guy gets bombarded with, let's just say 'passionate' and 'strong willed', questions from audiophiles all day especially due to their marketing, and he handles them with a kind patience and I appreciate that. He is also quick to respond either by email or his website chat. I was concerned about a potential placebo effect during the recommended 300-hour burn in, so Anas also kindly burned in my cables for a full week prior to shipping. The cables took less than 1 week to arrive from Belgium to Seattle, and each had a build quality commiserate with their price.

Over the subsequent weeks, the Spectra replaced the Shunyata Sigma V2 to supply the Denali V2/6000 power condition. The Gamma was tried both in place of my Shunyata Venom V10NR supplying my digital music server, and also for my Shunyata Alpha V2 supplying my dual mono tubed amplifier; the latter was found to achieve the overall best results. I took the QSA-Lanedri cables out of my system several times in my best attempts to do an A/B comparison, but this is somewhat difficult when I have to unpower my entire Denali conditioner. Accounting for the slight differences in my listening mood at various times of day/night, the below observations were consistent in my A/B/A/B/A/B testing.

View attachment 120676

With the QSA-Lanedri cables in place, what first hit me was an immediate increase in microdetails. While I already considered my system to be quite resolving, now I could hear über plankton: there was a low-level tape hiss from the mixing, a singer's off-mic quiet inhalation, and a marimba that I never noticed before. On another song, I swear that there is the very quiet squeal of a door opening which I never knew was hidden in the recording. Background instruments and vocals are more defined, clear, and slightly more prominent; an example of this is at 2:49 on Guns N' Roses' Sweet Child O' Mine, I never had noticed Axel's oooooooh background singing during this famous guitar rift; I discovered new background string plucks from Norah Jones' Come Away with Me. Macrodynamic swings were more impactful, and it felt as if the system had been freed from a restriction which I never knew it had.

The biggest change, however, was the culmination of everything that result in the music just sounding more real and conveyed greater expressiveness. I am now this much closer to the performers and did not realize previously I was only looking in through a window. There is just no other way to describe this. I cannot remember the original Broadway Cast of Les Miserables ever sounding this good, and I can hear the echo of the stage size and see the figures under the spot lights. Artists are more impressive in their talent, but without any hifi-esque fatigue. It would be silly to quantify the magnitude of the changes above; after all, even if it is 10%, in our common pursuit, that last 10% can be a very difficult gain. That 10% is when Eva Cassidy's What A Wonderful World brings a goosebump-raising smile when I'm listening at night. When you hear it, you'll know it's good.

A few days after I drafted this review, I pulled these cables out of my system as a sanity check. Yup, it's real. I never thought I'd say this, but my old loom sounds broken in comparison.

In full disclosure, I went into this QSA-Lanedri trial with a hopeful skepticism -- I wanted an improvement, but given the price of these cables, I would also have been delighted if they just did not work and I am absolved of its cost. My left brain still does not like Steven and Anas' marketing of using some weird secret treatment in which I'm asked to have faith but cannot fathom. And admittedly I also had some stubborn pride in my initial doubt that maybe these cables aren't as great as others had attested.

But happily, I'll eat my words: God damn, these cables are awesome! If you have the means, I'd suggest you try them as well.


ps. Anas also sent me the Gamma ethernet cable, which is the next subject of testing. Frankly I'm somewhat scared to listen to them, but will be jumping into that rabbit hole with a smile.

View attachment 120677

Keith
I always enjoy reading your reviews. I swear you should be an audiophile writer. I know the Lampi people (myself included) are gaga over tube and adapter rolling but there are more ways to bring music to new levels and I think QSA for me is exactly that product.

 

[Three quid]

Has the gamma infinity Ethernet changed since launch? Mine has pretty cheap looking plastic connectors, the picture in the previous page has much nicer metal ones and the cable itself is blue now?

 

[QSA-LANEDRI]

View attachment 120674

For the last several years a company named Quantum Science Audio (QSA) has caused waves across the audio community with several product lines of fuses, duplex outlets, and 'jitter plugs'; they were known for quite a devoted following and also their high prices. In the beginning of 2023, a new brand named QSA-Lanedri was started to tackle the cable market using QSA technology. This is a review of my purchased QSA-Lanedri cables.

TLDR: I tried these cables and, holy cow, I'm keeping them!

Let's first tackle the 800 lbs gorilla in the room upfront when, almost a year ago now, I first heard about QSA-Lanedri cables: "What is this expensive non-sense? Do they really have some secret technology?" Doubt was understandably my initial impression of these cables despite the rave from some audiophiles who I trust and respect. The audio cable market is crowded with many esoteric companies, and QSA-Lanedri sounded to be on the outlandish end. As more trusted folks adopted QSA-Lanedri into their systems, my bias still did not change. QSA's vague descriptions of "acting at the quantum level", "superior flow of electrons", and "musical metal technology" really made it worse for me -- like many fellow audiophiles I consider myself educated in an area of science, and I tend to believe things that make sense and seem plausible. I especially like to be wowed by measurable demonstrations and logical electrical design, explaining why I am a fan of Shunyata cables. And then there's QSA-Lanedri's high prices.... it is even harder to overcome disbelief when a manufacturer tries to sell fairy dust and unicorn essence for $4,000 to $22,0000 (per cable).

View attachment 120675

Fast forward a year, and I bought QSA-Lanedri's Spectra Prince Infinity and the Gamma Infinity AC cords. So what happened? How did Keith break?

1. I let go of the desire to justify QSA's claims. No, I am not convinced they can actually measure quantum structure of metals, nor have the means to room-temperature superconductivity. But none of that matters. As an audiophile, I don't really need to know how my gears work -- it does not matter how my DAC measures, or my equipment's frequency response curves, or how my Valvo tube measures against the Telefunken. All that matters is that it sounds damn good to me. I am okay with believing voodoo (my words) if it truly blows me away; we make the same argument all the time in comparing digital front ends or NOS tubes. While I am sure some folks (ahem ASR) might flay me for this purely subjective approach, I'd also challenge those on the Objective camp to show me the psychoacoustic equations that will guarantee Keith's musical enjoyment.
2. Anas Lanedri offers a money-back trial that de-risks trying them in my own system. If I can try it and don't like it, no harm. And that facilitates our holy grail quest to pursue the best in sound, right?
3. Enough folks raved about them. My doubt weakened against the idea that there could be a growing international fanbase falling for some delusional placebo effect, especially when some of these people started with the same skepticism as I had. FOMO hit me that there might be something real here that I just need to try it out for myself.

Anas Lanedri is the co-founder of QSA-Lanedri, and he is the customer-oriented interface who kindly answered my myriad of questions and recommended specific cables for my needs. The poor guy gets bombarded with, let's just say 'passionate' and 'strong willed', questions from audiophiles all day especially due to their marketing, and he handles them with a kind patience and I appreciate that. He is also quick to respond either by email or his website chat. I was concerned about a potential placebo effect during the recommended 300-hour burn in, so Anas also kindly burned in my cables for a full week prior to shipping. The cables took less than 1 week to arrive from Belgium to Seattle, and each had a build quality commiserate with their price.

Over the subsequent weeks, the Spectra replaced the Shunyata Sigma V2 to supply the Denali V2/6000 power condition. The Gamma was tried both in place of my Shunyata Venom V10NR supplying my digital music server, and also for my Shunyata Alpha V2 supplying my dual mono tubed amplifier; the latter was found to achieve the overall best results. I took the QSA-Lanedri cables out of my system several times in my best attempts to do an A/B comparison, but this is somewhat difficult when I have to unpower my entire Denali conditioner. Accounting for the slight differences in my listening mood at various times of day/night, the below observations were consistent in my A/B/A/B/A/B testing.

View attachment 120676

With the QSA-Lanedri cables in place, what first hit me was an immediate increase in microdetails. While I already considered my system to be quite resolving, now I could hear über plankton: there was a low-level tape hiss from the mixing, a singer's off-mic quiet inhalation, and a marimba that I never noticed before. On another song, I swear that there is the very quiet squeal of a door opening which I never knew was hidden in the recording. Background instruments and vocals are more defined, clear, and slightly more prominent; an example of this is at 2:49 on Guns N' Roses' Sweet Child O' Mine, I never had noticed Axel's oooooooh background singing during this famous guitar rift; I discovered new background string plucks from Norah Jones' Come Away with Me. Macrodynamic swings were more impactful, and it felt as if the system had been freed from a restriction which I never knew it had.

The biggest change, however, was the culmination of everything that result in the music just sounding more real and conveyed greater expressiveness. I am now this much closer to the performers and did not realize previously I was only looking in through a window. There is just no other way to describe this. I cannot remember the original Broadway Cast of Les Miserables ever sounding this good, and I can hear the echo of the stage size and see the figures under the spot lights. Artists are more impressive in their talent, but without any hifi-esque fatigue. It would be silly to quantify the magnitude of the changes above; after all, even if it is 10%, in our common pursuit, that last 10% can be a very difficult gain. That 10% is when Eva Cassidy's What A Wonderful World brings a goosebump-raising smile when I'm listening at night. When you hear it, you'll know it's good.

A few days after I drafted this review, I pulled these cables out of my system as a sanity check. Yup, it's real. I never thought I'd say this, but my old loom sounds broken in comparison.

In full disclosure, I went into this QSA-Lanedri trial with a hopeful skepticism -- I wanted an improvement, but given the price of these cables, I would also have been delighted if they just did not work and I am absolved of its cost. My left brain still does not like Steven and Anas' marketing of using some weird secret treatment in which I'm asked to have faith but cannot fathom. And admittedly I also had some stubborn pride in my initial doubt that maybe these cables aren't as great as others had attested.

But happily, I'll eat my words: God damn, these cables are awesome! If you have the means, I'd suggest you try them as well.


ps. Anas also sent me the Gamma ethernet cable, which is the next subject of testing. Frankly I'm somewhat scared to listen to them, but will be jumping into that rabbit hole with a smile.

View attachment 120677

Thank you, @keithc, for your thoughtful review. It's heartening to see such a genuine reflection of the hurdles we face in introducing QSA Lanedri cables to newcomers. Your experience echoes my own initial astonishment, few years ago, at the profound effect of the QSA fuse—such a seemingly small component yielding dramatic results. This revelation sparked the QSA Lanedri journey. Establishing a new brand with revolutionary yet private technology certainly poses challenges and can be misconstrued as mere marketing. However, our faith in the remarkable capabilities of our cables is steadfast. Starting with a circle of audiophile friends and now reaching out to the public, our mission has been to share the extraordinary enhancement in audio experience we've discovered. We trust that our risk-free trial and money-back guarantee will allow music lovers to personally validate the profound impact of our cables in their own systems.

 

[QSA-LANEDRI]

Has the gamma infinity Ethernet changed since launch? Mine has pretty cheap looking plastic connectors, the picture in the previous page has much nicer metal ones and the cable itself is blue now?

The Gamma Ethernet cable has been improved with a new iteration. We've collaborated with Blue Jeans Cables to craft an Ethernet cable tailored for us to optimize performance impact. While the wire remains the same, the introduction of the REVConnect connector has elevated its performance.

To arrange an upgrade to the latest version, please send me a private message.

 

[ssfas]

Has the gamma infinity Ethernet changed since launch? Mine has pretty cheap looking plastic connectors, the picture in the previous page has much nicer metal ones and the cable itself is blue now?

I spoke to Belden about this at some length. The "cheap looking plastic connectors" on Blue Jeans ethernet cables are the best for domestic use because they are factory fitted and tested to meet the TIA/EIA specifications, which they tell me are tight. The metal casing connectors will offer no benefit in a domestic environment.

REVConnect is a Belden commercial product - they call them "field-termination connectors", the purpose of which is to save money by making on-site manual terminations quick and easy, reducing engineer time and system down-time. They are also specifically designed to be used with Belden's bonded pair cables. Telegartner connectors exist for the same purpose. They do not give a better connection against factory fitted and tested plastic connectors. "REV" is an acronym for "Reliable Easy Versatile", which is what they are designed for.

I've had to do my own connections with plastic connectors and a crimper and it's a pain for a novice, but a little practice makes perfect. A complete kit with crimper and connection tester is about $30. The REV crimper is $150, but if you're running your own long cable runs (I have several 20m+) it looks like a great connection system.

DataTuff® Industrial REVConnect

www.belden.com

Belden told me they work with other audio brands, for example to supply internal wiring or branded cables. There are products around with internal Iconoclast cable. It is always bulk cable, the cable itself never changes. What the customer does with it is up to them.

 

[keithc]

Was just listening to this favorite recording, movement V @ 2:56, wow those bells are just hauntingly real. I never realized the 2nd bell had some higher order harmonic or perhaps resonance from an adjacent bell which could be heard, and together with the sense of spaciousness and audible details of the bassoonists inhaling the whole performance is at a previously unheard level (in my system)!!

Thank you QSA-Lanedri and Lampizator!

 

[keithc]

Just for funsies.
My wife was

 

[flkin]

The Christmas tree lights must blink more dynamically with less noise using the QSAL cable!

 

[QSA-LANEDRI]

To alleviate the challenge of lengthy burn-in times for our cables, we have chosen to pre-burn them before dispatch, utilizing the Telos QBT specifically for this purpose.

We anticipate receiving the unit by the end of December. For those wishing to apply burn-in to their existing QSA Lanedri cables, we are more than happy to provide this service.

 

[QSA-LANEDRI]

Today, I visited the Telos headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, where we had the opportunity to meet with Jeff, the CEO of Telos, to discuss our specific needs for cable burn-in and to evaluate the Telos burn-in equipment.

Our afternoon was productively spent conducting various tests and listening sessions, allowing us to understand the potential impact of the Telos equipment. The initial impressions from using the 0-100kHz Telos QBT are quite promising. Initially, we considered using the commercial version of the Telos QBT burn-in machine. However, after in-depth discussions with Jeff, we realized that achieving optimal burn-in performance for QSA Lanedri cables would necessitate custom modifications. This realization has led us to the decision to develop a bespoke burn-in machine tailored to our specifications, a project that will unfold over the next year due to its complexity and the need for multiple testing iterations.

In light of these developments, we have chosen not to use the commercial Telos QBT version for now, as we believe customization is crucial for the desired outcomes. Consequently, we have decided to proceed with dispatching the first batch of Ultimatum power cables without the Telos QBT burn-in process, to avoid any further delay.




I must also commend the extraordinary hospitality provided by Jeff and his team. Our time spent there, enjoying their remarkable audio setup, was truly memorable. A heartfelt thank you to Jeff and everyone at Telos!

 

[keithc]

Our afternoon was productively spent conducting various tests and listening sessions, allowing us to understand the potential impact of the Telos equipment. The initial impressions from using the 0-100kHz Telos QBT are quite promising. Initially, we considered using the commercial version of the Telos QBT burn-in machine. However, after in-depth discussions with Jeff, we realized that achieving optimal burn-in performance for QSA Lanedri cables would necessitate custom modifications. This realization has led us to the decision to develop a bespoke burn-in machine tailored to our specifications, a project that will unfold over the next year due to its complexity and the need for multiple testing iterations.

In light of these developments, we have chosen not to use the commercial Telos QBT version for now, as we believe customization is crucial for the desired outcomes. Consequently, we have decided to proceed with dispatching the first batch of Ultimatum power cables without the Telos QBT burn-in process, to avoid any further delay.

Thanks for sharing Anas. Fascinating write up.
Is Jeff implying that different cable designs require different burn-in processes? Did he say what particular aspects of a cable would drive the change in approach?

 

[QSA-LANEDRI]

Thanks for sharing Anas. Fascinating write up.
Is Jeff implying that different cable designs require different burn-in processes? Did he say what particular aspects of a cable would drive the change in approach?

Regarding the commercial Telos QBT, the key difference lies in the duration required for optimal burn-in, which varies depending on the type and specifications of each cable.

For cable manufacturers, Jeff offers a specialized service where he provides custom units. These units are tailored to the manufacturer's specific cable specifications and are built using upgraded components to ensure they precisely meet the needs of the manufacturer's products.

 

[QSA-LANEDRI]

An attempt to capture the transformation using my mobile phone to record the impact of the Ultimatum Infinity power cable on the Telos audio setup (Listening session with Jeff on 15/12/2023).

Telos Listening Room – Before the change:

Utilizing one Ultimatum Infinity Power Cable in the Telos Audio Setup – After the change:

The Ultimatum Infinity power cable had zero hours of burn-in.

 

[flkin]

My daughter had no idea what was going on when I played the 2 clips above to her. She mentioned the second clip appeared sharper in sound. Asked if she meant clearer or tonally more accurate, she said it was just that.

 

[LL21]

View attachment 121652View attachment 121653View attachment 121654View attachment 121655View attachment 121656View attachment 121657View attachment 121658View attachment 121659Today, I visited the Telos headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, where we had the opportunity to meet with Jeff, the CEO of Telos, to discuss our specific needs for cable burn-in and to evaluate the Telos burn-in equipment.

Our afternoon was productively spent conducting various tests and listening sessions, allowing us to understand the potential impact of the Telos equipment. The initial impressions from using the 0-100kHz Telos QBT are quite promising. Initially, we considered using the commercial version of the Telos QBT burn-in machine. However, after in-depth discussions with Jeff, we realized that achieving optimal burn-in performance for QSA Lanedri cables would necessitate custom modifications. This realization has led us to the decision to develop a bespoke burn-in machine tailored to our specifications, a project that will unfold over the next year due to its complexity and the need for multiple testing iterations.

In light of these developments, we have chosen not to use the commercial Telos QBT version for now, as we believe customization is crucial for the desired outcomes. Consequently, we have decided to proceed with dispatching the first batch of Ultimatum power cables without the Telos QBT burn-in process, to avoid any further delay.

View attachment 121662


I must also commend the extraordinary hospitality provided by Jeff and his team. Our time spent there, enjoying their remarkable audio setup, was truly memorable. A heartfelt thank you to Jeff and everyone at Telos!

Fantastic pictures! Thanks for sharing. Can I ask you to indulge a question about the Tidal La Assoluta 4-tower? Did you hear them with and without the sub towers? Most curious as to what happens (or even what you might have been told happens) when you add the towers to the main Assolutas.

Thanks and congrats on creating QSA Lanedri with such strong feedback from those who have gone across to your cables...still considering myself.

 

[LL21]

An attempt to capture the transformation using my mobile phone to record the impact of the Ultimatum Infinity power cable on the Telos audio setup (Listening session with Jeff on 15/12/2023).

Telos Listening Room – Before the change:

Utilizing one Ultimatum Infinity Power Cable in the Telos Audio Setup – After the change:

The Ultimatum Infinity power cable had zero hours of burn-in.

Thanks for sharing. Doing similar things myself in changing over from Entreq Peak 4 binding posts (on the Entreq grounding box) to the new Max Ts.

 

[Willgolf]

Thanks for the videos. In my opinion the 2nd video was a major step forward for SQ in every way.

I have had the QSA Ultimatum Infinity Speaker cables and the Ultimatum Infinity Power Cord on my Inakustic 4500 power conditioner for a couple of months. I also have the Gamma Infinity Power cords on my amps. In the future, I have the BNC cable.
I can say that I am super happy with the results. So much so that I question the 6 figure investment I am making to get new speakers. I would describe the changes I have noticed a 25% improvement in overall SQ. This is major to me as with most tweaks I have tried I am lucky to get 3-5%.

When I get my new speakers they have an external crossover that requires 3 speaker cables, I have one Ultimatum Infinity speaker cable which will go to the bass component, and two Gamma Infinity speaker cables so it will be interesting to see what happens.
The words I would use to describe the improvements are enhanced clarity, detail, soundstage, and vocals. Everything sounds like the music is right in front of you. A live concert without your eardrums being blown off. You can hear every instrument. A symphony with you sitting center stage. The best headphones without any outside interference or distortion.

I made a substantial investment with Anas and I did not take it lightly. The good news is I am done. This is end game for me. I am happy and satisfied.

One final caveat is that I have all stock fuses in all of my components. I also moved my QSA Silver Jitterplug from my power conditioner to my theater room JVC movie projector and I did get a slight improvement in picture quality.

I am functionally blind so music is really important to me. I am in seventh heaven!

 

[ssfas]

My daughter had no idea what was going on when I played the 2 clips above to her. She mentioned the second clip appeared sharper in sound. Asked if she meant clearer or tonally more accurate, she said it was just that.

Really? I thought YouTube hifi videos were about as useful as taking a Ferrari for a test drive in a drive-in car wash.

 

[keithc]

Really? I thought YouTube hifi videos were about as useful as taking a Ferrari for a test drive in a drive-in car wash.

I could hear the obvious difference between those two short clips ob my iPad speakers…

… even with the bathroom fan on.