I’m going to make a bold claim – the biggest jump in audio performance most hifi owners experience is with their first system.
Think of their starting point, which today may be compressed music from a smartphone or similar, mutilated further via a lowly Bluetooth connection or budget wires to equally budget headphones. Compare this to an entry level hifi system (which probably costs the same as the latest smartphone) which lovingly handles music signals without any compression, and then add an analogue source for good measure, such as a turntable, and the differences won’t be minor. They’ll simply be gargantuan, and hugely rewarding for said listener.
There’s another vital element to this entry level system though, and that’s the cables linking it all together. Many may start with the basic types that come included with the hifi as I did back in the day. I remember being a little cynical about splashing out on aftermarket cables beyond those freebies, but that doubt lasted about as long as it took me to plug in my first set of dedicated interconnect and speaker cables, and the cynic got back in his box.
QED’s Performance Audio analogue interconnects come in 0.75, 1.5 and 3m lengths
What this taught me early on is that getting the cabling right was like getting my ears medically syringed, a performance per pound improvement that allowed my hifi components to operate at their best.
With these fond memories dancing round my mind, I find myself back in the present day with a couple of boxes from a company that had a big part to play in the early part of my hifi journey and still does. That company is QED, and the boxes contain descendants of the first cables that played such a significant role in improving my starter system, welcome to the all-new Performance range.
QED Performance speaker and interconnect cables in their smart stone grey finish, ready for install
Half century
QED has been around for 50 years now, and Performance represents the entry level series of its consolidated four tier range. It consists of a broad array of cable types to sate all inter-connecting needs including HDMI, optical, coaxial, USB, and Ethernet as well as the all essential Audio analogue interconnects and speaker cables featured here.
I specified an 0.75m RCA cable (£49) and 3m speaker cables (£139) which seems quite a bargain. And even if you up these lengths, your wallet won’t be taking a hiding as a 3m interconnect length is just £89, while 5m runs of speaker cables comes in at £179 for a pair.
Banana plugs feature a cold weld process to connect to the speaker cable with a maximum contact area
Both cables use 99.999% oxygen free copper as the primary conducting material with a 2.5mm² conductor area. The phono cables employ two separate copper components as a core providing alternate signal paths with the aim to minimise jitter and smearing of the sound. Next a layer of foamed polyethylene dielectric insulation has been specified to minimise signal loss while keeping capacitance at bay. This is wrapped in a zinc and manganese ferrite jacket that mitigates interference at high frequencies, before the outer layer tops things off utilising a durable Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE). Termination comes in the form of brass RCA phono plugs with a 24ct gold plated layer to maximise conductivity.
The speaker cables are built around QED’s XTube Plus construction which combines two elements. The first is a hollow LDPE (low-density polyethylene dielectrics) central tube to mitigate the ‘skin effect’, which forces the signal to the outer edges of the cable profile, increasing impedance. The second is intentionally bunched copper strands which twist around the tube to combat sound degrading eddy currents.
These are wrapped in a low density polyethylene jacket, connected to high quality banana plugs utilising a proprietary Airloc construction featuring a cold weld manufacturing process to minimise the risk of conductivity killing oxidisation. The banana plugs also get the same brass bodied 24ct gold plated construction as that of the phono plugs.
Cross section of the Performance speaker cable revealing its XTube plus construction
Installing the cables in my system highlights that these cables are budget in price only, as the build quality is immediately impressive. How QED has managed to craft such a premium feeling product at this price is testament to the R&D and manufacturing muscle at its elbow.
Performance
Partnering kit for reviewing purposes consists of my Arcam A25+ amplifier and matching the ST25 Streamer and Project Debut Carbon turntable, with the speakers from QED’s sister brand, Q Acoustics, in the form of the excellent 3030i standmounts.
To lay down a marker, I dig deep into my cable drawer and locate a basic set of cables like those that saw service in an early Waite system. With these installed there is no doubt of the talent of the kit in use in isolation across a variety of music, with good levels of detail and separation. Even the noise floor feels lower than I’d anticipated for cheap wires and those with no wider frame of reference may be impressed enough by the system as it stands.
So what do the QEDs add when brought into play? I made a start with vinyl and the Performance interconnects linking the amp and turntable, with the matching speaker cables serving the Q Acoustics. With the nights drawing in, Kate Bush’s 2018 reissue of 50 Words For Snow seems entirely fitting. This LP has an ethereal quality throughout, especially across its piano, synth and vocals, adding to its dreamy feel. The opener, Snowflake is no exception and it is clear when tested back to back with unbranded cables that the QED set bring value added to intonation and spacing of vocals, which lift these elements clear of the otherworldly instrumentation. The combined overall effect leaves edges a little more defined, without fully squaring them off. I’m impressed.
How then do they handle recordings that are a little harder hitting? With the audio cable installed between streamer and amp, the short answer is just as well. Take Easter by The Patti Smith Group at 16-bit/44.1kHz (FLAC) on Tidal, which shoots the band’s machine gun delivery through the prism of Iovine’s velvet glove production. Selecting the fiery riff of 25th Floor, it’s clear that the QED kit allows the refinement of the recording to shine through without neglecting the rawness, resulting in a boost to soundstaging, with the driving guitar and hammond riff stepping back to accommodate the yelling Smith vocal, as her sibilant, angry spoken word phrasing is delivering with almost spitting gusto. The net effect is a big uptick in excitement and impact as a result.
The performance range covers most conceivable interconnect needs, be they digital or analogue
From the ethereal to the raw, it’s time to test the QEDs against something more soulful. Michael Kiwanuka’s 2024 album Small Changes (24-bit/44.1kHz FLAC via Tidal) is a great candidate to determine the cable bundle ability’s low frequency delivery, so I play Lowdown (Part I), a track whose bass can engulf all other elements. However that isn’t the case here. Instead what is apparent is the distance the drums and guitars are afforded from each other, while the low notes show no ponderousness, instead being presented with detail, clarity and punch.
What these cables offer over the usual entry level breed is the cumulative effect of your system sounding much more ‘optimised’. As the way they are able to afford each element within a musical mix the space to breathe is something I’d expect of much more costly wires. Their sonic tonality is neutral, which had my system sounding much greater than the sum of its parts and at this price, you can’t ask for much more.
In summary
Running a decent hifi system on compromised cables is a bit like running a Ferrari on paraffin – it just makes no sense performance wise. Yet for many, investing in costly cables may be a stretch too far, or seem disproportionate to the price of their system.
That’s where the Performance series from QED comes in, because as entry level cables, they set a new benchmark at the price and are worth every penny.
