One other advantage of the QB8’s narrow footprint is that it’s easy to locate two units side by side, making quick swaps for direct comparison easy, even if longer periods of settled power are also necessary for definitive judgement. In all cases, the QB8s were connected to a QK1 parallel ground box, via their ground terminal, making differences in grounding efficiency even more apparent. I used two systems for the listening, one an all CH Precision rig with a pair of A1.5 power amps and two QB8s, the other a Connoisseur/VTL S-400 pairing fed from a single distribution block. Although these are very different sounding set ups, the impact of the different QB8s was still consistent across them. Long-term listening with the new units came first, so by the time I got to direct comparisons I had a pretty good idea what to expect. Even so, I was surprised by just how accurately the quick swaps mirrored the longer term listening sessions. Neither approach left any room for confusion, with the Mk. III units demonstrating clear musical and sonic advantages. I used four different discs for the repeated direct comparisons and it’s the specific differences revealed by them that I’ll concentrate on describing.
Górecki’s 3rd Symphony, subtitled Symphony of sorrowful Songs, consists of three slow movements, built on stately bowed foundations, layered orchestration and slowly achieved but shatteringly intense crescendos. The Polski Radio live concert recording (PR SACD 2), conducted by the composer is hard to come by but well worth the search, with an atmospheric immediacy and power that is rare indeed. Switching from the Mk. II QB8 to the Mk. III brought increased presence from a crisper and more clearly defined sound-stage. The bowed bass figures that open the piece gained body location and texture, but also a more natural sense of flow and phrasing. As the orchestra slowly joins and builds the layering and instruments are more distinct and easily separated, the whole taking on a more natural sense of slowly building momentum and progression. This disc is a stern test of temporal integrity. Many systems let it lag and slow the tempo, but the QB8 Mk. III kept things firmly on point and pointed in the right direction, allowing the music to breathe and express the sheer depth of emotion it embodies. The first time I heard this piece live, Zofia Kilanowicz, the same soprano as on this recording, had to be ferried across Europe, from Poland to London by a relay of volunteer drivers, as all planes were grounded by the Icelandic eruption. Somehow, that struggle and the eventual triumph of her arrival seems strangely appropriate to the powerful mix of tragedy and hope embodied in this music, a dramatic and emotional core that the QB8 Mk. III makes all the more apparent.
Taking control…
In one sense, this increased dynamic range, focus and clarity are all consistent with improved grounding. What is more surprising is the increase in temporal precision and purpose: the placement and spacing of notes, the way a musician or orchestra leans into a phrase. This was always a strength of the QB8 (and one of the qualities that separated it from the smaller QB4), but with this third iteration, it’s almost as if a performance threshold has been passed. A bit like a modern jazz singer covering songs made famous by Ella, modern recordings of the Tallis Fantasia risk less than flattering comparisons with the definitive Barbirolli/New Philharmonia performance (English String Music, EMI ASD 521). John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London recently released a companion disc to their earlier, superb Chandos issue, English Music For Strings, this one featuring the Tallis, as well as works by Howells, Delius (the beautiful Late Swallows) and Elgar (Chandos CHSA 5291). When I first listened to it, I was unsurprised to discover a Tallis that lacked the tension and intensity of the Barbirolli. But revisiting the disc with the QB8 Mk. III feeding the system, I rediscovered this performance. No, it doesn’t match the sheer drama that Sir John conjures from the score, but it brings a rounded, more elegiac quality that made me look at the music from a new perspective, one I wouldn’t have seen if it weren’t for the new distribution block. Where phrases had rested on the body and tail of the notes, now they gained leading edge precision and attack, a more definite sense of purpose and pattern. The pizzicato bass notes that are such a defining factor in setting the musical scene, are more clearly placed, spaced and pitch distinct, losing the thuddy sameness that had dragged the music back when I first listened to it. The music’s swell and flow are more fulsome and natural and, for the first time you feel that the music is driving the system, rather than the other way round.
