These comparisons are based on running the QB10 ‘flat’ – without engaging any of the internal or external options. Next step is to look at the tuning opportunities the QB10 offers in each different context…
Adding an external, parallel ground
You’d need to have been an audio hermit for at least the last ten-years to have failed to notice the rise and rise of parallel grounding solutions. Pretty much everybody seems to have got in on the act and Nordost are no exception. Like the QB8, the QB10 offers a grounding post for attaching it to a separate, clean ground, the obvious choice being one of the various QKore units. With QK1, 3 and 6 units available, I’ve used the QB10 with each of them in a variety of different situations. In a single ground point scenario, where you will be using the QKore solely on the QB10 (presumably with a secondary solution for the rest of the system grounding requirements), then the QK1 does an excellent job. Connect it to the QB10’s ground terminal and the noise floor drops, the focus, transparency and dimensionality all improve still further, while the dynamic discrimination reaches a whole new level, heard in the shaping of notes, the subtleties of diction and the ease with which you can appreciate a musician’s technique, the work he puts onto his or her performance.
No great surprise there, for anybody who has played with parallel grounding in the past. The surprise here is the extent of the improvement. Move up to a QK6 and start connecting the signal/chassis grounds in the rest of the system and you’ll move the performance even further along the continuum towards natural immediacy and expressive intimacy. Nordost’s QRT components have always been a modular and configurable approach to the issue of AC supply and system grounding. By offering a superior foundation or reference ‘plane’ for the AC supply the QB10 underlines that approach, magnifying the impact of the associated components. The addition of a QK unit to the QB10 is significant enough to make it an essential step – either on purchase or as an upgrade.
Of course, if you already have a QKore attached to a QB8, then attaching it to the QB10 will just amplify its benefits. But just to be clear, as impressive as the QKore units are, the QB10 is perfectly happy to play with the other grounding options I use. I’ve used Chord, Telos and CAD components with it to achieve equal (albeit different) benefits. I’ve always found that mixing and matching different parallel grounding units with different system components and functions (depending on whether you are working with the signal or chassis grounds) delivers the optimum results. The QB10 just makes the benefits and differences that much more obvious. There may be exceptions, but I suspect that if you are already travelling the Shunyata or Entreq path, you’ll probably be looking at their matching AC distribution anyway. If you are taking the opportunity of adding a QB10 to dip your toe into the whole question of system grounding as well as AC, the QK6 is a great place and probably the most cost-effective place to start. If you already have a well-sorted ground topology for your system, my experience is that the addition of the QB10 will only make its benefits more apparent. I currently use the QB10 variously, with QKore, CAD GC1 and GC-R units, the Telos Grounding Monster and GNR as well as Chord Ground and PowerArays. It’s a case of opening the window wider: the QB10 just shows the different views more clearly.
QWave, QSine, both or neither?
As described earlier, each half of the QB10 has its own dedicated QWave and QSine components, controlled by the two round switches on the front panel. Press once and the LED ring turns blue, indicating that you’ve activated the QW circuit. Press again and it goes red, indicating that the QS circuit is active. One more press and it goes green, showing that both QW and QS are operating. Once more and they both switch off. Each button allows you to control the QW/QS circuits for one half of the QB10’s sockets, allowing you to differentially tune the AC feed for different elements in the system. All of which is great, as long as you know what QW and QS actually do – a subject on which the company is rather vague. In theory, QW is an active waveform correction technology, whereas QS is more about combatting RFI interference. You’ll note that both aspects of system performance are situationally/environmentally variable. You’ll also note that this doesn’t really tell you what to expect from the company’s proprietary technologies.
