Just got my unit off the Fed Ex Truck.
It was really cold so I waited a while before turning it on.
I added a 1 Amp HiFI tuning fuse that I had , and I had another balanced interconnect that was the same as my others. I also had a Synergistic Tesla T2 power cord that I plugged into the Powercell.
First impression, it does increase the sound level. I also think it sounds a little bright.
But, it was fresh out of the box , I'll let it break in a few days before I comment further. |
I just ordered a unit. I hope to have it before the weekend. |
Preale, Did you find much difference in sound quality between the fresh out of the box and the 150 hours of use? |
Thanks for the help. One more question.
Is this the type of unit that you leave on all the time ?
I hope Fed Ex delivers it tommorrow. |
Preale, I let the tuner play overnight and I will continue to play the tuner during the times I am not playing my music for at least a couple of weeks.
I am a firm believer that all electronics take time to sound there best. But so far this morning, the edge has settled down.
Marc777, I am using the original HIFI fuse with the QOL. I do have a Supreme in my Preamp and the silvers in my CD/Dac player. It might be awhile before I put in the standard fuse that came with the unit back in. |
Well, I am a little embarrassed to post this but what the heck.
My earlier statement about the Qol sounding a little bright was the cause of my way too many tweaks.
I found that the spades of my AudioPrism ground controls were touching the body of my Walker HDL Links, (On both L and R sides). Once I separated them the brightness went away and the soundstage expanded every which way.
I am now listening to Olivia Newton John and she has her tongue in my ear. |
I will be posting my impression of the Qol this weekend. |
I have also posted my review of the BSG Qol after 7 days of continuous use in the Audiogon section under Preamps.
BSG Qol Review February 2012.
I received my Qol unit late in the day last Saturday via Fed Ex. The Qol unit was very cold when I unpackaged it so I let it rest. Still, I was curious as heck so I did manage to play it for about 30 minutes that night.
I installed the Qol between My Pass XP-10 Preamp and Pass Labs X350.5 Amp. I was fortunate because I had another set of balanced interconnects just like my others and a Synergistic Tesla Power cord just like my others and I even had a 1A spare HIFI Tuning fuse available.
First impression, I thought it sounded kind of bright and with limited, if any, sound quality improvement.
The next day on Sunday, I played the Qol for a while, but again, I thought it was kind of bright sounding. I attributed it to needing some break in time. I then hooked the Qol up to a tuner and continuously played music 24/7 even when I was not actually listening to my music.
Well, I am a little embarrassed to post this but what the heck.
My earlier thoughts about the Qol sounding a little bright and the sound quality lacking turned out to be because I am using way too many speaker tweaks.
I found that the spades of my AudioPrism ground controls were touching the copper body of my Walker HDL Links, (On both L and R sides). In essence it was shorting out. It must have occurred when I was rerouting some of the cabling. Once I separated them the brightness went away, the sound quality greatly improved and the soundstage expanded every which way. I could actually hear that change occur when I was behind my speakers.
I wonder if I should just remove all of my speaker tweaks? Maybe later.
Since then, I have continued to break in the Qol by continually playing music through it. I believe the sound quality is still improving. So, anyone who says it is plug and play is not getting the full potential of the unit. Not sure how long the break in should take but 200 hours seems to work best for most electronic components.
Well my room also has problems that were preventing me from fully enjoying the Qol.
The Qol is certainly a different animal than what I have been used to. The Qol needs open area to do its magic.
So first off, I have had in my room for about a decade Argent Room Lenses.
For those unfamiliar to this room correction item, they are made with 3 pipes attached to a stand called dark matter. Anyway, the pipes are designed to work as a Helmholtz Resonator. There are 3 of these units in the room. Two were flanking the outer side of the speakers and one in the center of the room. These units worked fantastic, especially before my basement dedicated room was finished and I installed defined walls.
The Room Lens captured the side reflections and defined the soundstage.
Anyway, the Qol unit works almost the opposite by expanding the soundstage. So, I removed the Argent Room Lens from the room and played some music, and yes, the soundstage opened up.
The other problem I had was my Eggleston Andra 2 speakers were extremely toed in. The Toe in angle was so much that the image was directed to the center of my head. The music sounded like Olivia Newton John had her tongue in my ear. Not necessary a bad thing, but not correct for the recorded soundstage.
Well these speakers weigh 215 lbs and have 2 Audio Point spikes on them making it very difficult to just change the toe in angle.
I found that Herbie Labs sells a glider designed for Speaker spikes and with this glider I could move the speakers. So I ordered a set of them.
I received the Speaker spike Gliders a few days later and I went about reducing the amount of toe in. After the change, the soundstage became enormous.
I now have my speakers just about at a 90 degree angle and 36 from the side walls. But I will continue to experiment with placement further.
Well now it is almost 7 days later, how does the Qol sound? One of the big benefits of the Qol is the change in dynamics. I mean it is actually hard to find a volume set point to just leave alone. The music can go from soft to loud in a heartbeat. Funny, that even though the music appears to be quite louder, my Pass Labs Amp meter moves very little. This indicates to me that the increased dynamics is not pulling anymore current from my Amp.
With the Qol engaged, the music takes on a natural sound and image. The soundstage becomes very wide and deep. My speakers virtually disappear. I know that is said all the time, and before the Qol I thought my set up was awesome, but with the Qol you can hear deep into the recordings. The center image is the best I have ever heard. I can now hear background singers clearer and my toe tapping has increased.
The frequency extremes are heard with an authority. What I mean by that is that they are no longer buried in the mix but sound like they were part of the intended sound, if that makes sense.
Not all recordings were as hyped up as others. I guess each recording has its own reverb, echo, and different out of phase anomalies.
So the $4000 question, is it worth the money ?...
Well, if you want the deepest, widest soundstage and the wildest dynamics your components can handle, what price is that worth to you?
For me, its a keeper, no question. |
Its a 1 Amp slow blow. The numbers are a bit confusing. |
Phil, My answer to your question is yes.
By the way, I at one time owned the top of Zu's cable. Today, I use a simple 5N Pure soft annealed silver cable at a fraction of the Zu cable cost.
Again, to my ears, my system, my tastes I think it sounds better.
Don't get mad or upset, go listen for yourself to a Qol. |
213cobra,Phil, My comments about the Zu Cable were to show that the Zu owner has HIS OPINION of the Qol unit, and I'm also sure he thinks his Variel and Ibis cables are one of the best cables.
But, in MY OPINION they were bested by my inexpensive DIY cables big time.
Again, different tastes, systems, and ears.
Don't pay attention to the so-called experts. Quite frankly I and others posting about the Qol unit are only sharing our experience. The Qol really needs to be heard in YOUR system,
Marc777 I agree with you about the burn(break) in. I think the unit is smoothing out ever so nicely. I have the original gold HIFI tuning fuse in mine. I would be interested in how the Supreme works. |
Preale, Wow, I have to try that. Right now I am using the second output for my 2 JL Audio powered subs.
But I will say this,I watched the movie "The Thing 2011" in stereo using my 2 channel rig and there was so much detail and wallop to the movie it was quite impressive. The Qol probaly should have been a multichannel device. Probably in version 2.0 |
Preale, With only an analog input on the Qol, how are you driving the rear channels? |
Great Video. "I'm sticking with Mono" |
Marc777, So how did the Supreme fuse work out? |
Preale, I have the regular version of the HIFI Tuning fuse in mine. I'm going to get a Supreme.
Oddiophool, the 6 moons review was poorly written, I couldnt tell if they liked it or not.
Suffice to say I find all their reviews too flowery with little substance. The Qol needs to be listened with the volume left alone instead of constantly fiddling with it like they did in the review. The dynamics is one of its main virtues.
Plus they tried it in so many systems with so many different listeners. Terrible way to do an analyis. |
Anyone else try out the Qol ? |
Pipedream, Glad you are enjoying the Qol. I have had mine for about 2-3 months. I leave the Qol engaged all the time too. My comments on this thread show how much I appreciate the Qol.
I have a very difficult time reading some of the negative comments, especially those from people who have never actually tried one. The comment about lack of transparency and clarity troubles me because I just don't know how anyone could state that, in my opinion it is just the opposite.
Now because the Qol improves the dynamics of the instruments, voices etc, it may seem at times that certain instruments, staging or voices overwhelm other instruments, staging or voices. Perhaps that is why some say there is a loss of clarity. But it sounds right to me, just like live music sounds.
I have only used my Qol with the balanced connections and I am using the same interconnects throughout my 2 channel system.
A good power cord is a plus, I'm using a Synergistic Research Tesla 2 because it was available and all my other power cables are Synergistic Research Tesla series. |
You guys should read a VERY well written review of the Qol by Wslam in the members review section.
Awesome |
