PDA

View Full Version : Identifying old QED interconnects



sluggish
22-06-2010, 04:07
Hi everyone. I have old pair of QED interconnects that I pulled out of a drawer a while back, and I like the way they sound enough to want another pair, but the problem is that I don't know what model they are. What I do know is this: I bought them about 20 years ago when the store I worked at sold them as the cheap alternative to the Linn stuff that was our premier line; they are covered in a black vinyl-like jacket, cheap looking with tight fitting but flimsy connectors with no real stress reliefs, they appear to be directional in that hey have little directional triangular pointy things printed on them, and they look like something I would have made before I learned how to solder. I bet they're called QED "Black," or something equally inspired. But they sound pretty good, at least to me, with a dark and full tonal balance and strong sense of funk and groove (as opposed to simple tick-tock timing). Sound familiar to anyone?

The Grand Wazoo
22-06-2010, 06:35
QED Incon?

DSJR
22-06-2010, 07:28
Now known as Qnex 2, which was very good. Only a slight "dirtiness" prevented this interconnect reaching the very top..

The Vinyl Adventure
22-06-2010, 08:22
Qnex 2 were pearl White sleeved ...at least all the ones I had were...

Spectral Morn
22-06-2010, 09:43
QED PI Gold £25 1 m stereo pair.

There was a shielded and unsheilded version available if I remember right.


Regards D S D L

The Grand Wazoo
22-06-2010, 17:39
From Hi-Fi Answers October 1987

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/1956/qedinconhifianswersoct8.jpg (http://img51.imageshack.us/i/qedinconhifianswersoct8.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

sluggish
22-06-2010, 18:29
Chris, yes, that's it! Thanks! They were a tough sell here because they looked so cheesy compared to practically everything else, but in the context of my system (CD63, Cambridge A3i, Spendor SP2) they fit right in. We did sell quite a bit of 79 strand, though, which I recall as being decent enough. Anybody have any thoughts as to how 79 strand, which I see is still in production, would compare in my system to the Linn K20 I'm currently using?

Also, does anybody know much about sonic link cables? Somewhere I picked up a pair pink sonic link interconnects (pink link?). They seem nicely made and have a bright, clear sound that, while I'm not all that keen on them for music, I find works well for video. And man are they pink!

DSJR
22-06-2010, 18:35
I have to watch what I say, but I used K20 for a few years and found it rather "muted" in sound at the time.

QED 79 strand is ok in shortish runs, but these days, I think that better is available cheaper online - Van Damme 2.5mm for example, or a good automotive/instrument cable (two needed for a speaker cable).

The Grand Wazoo
22-06-2010, 18:45
Chris, yes, that's it! Thanks!

Thought so!
I didn't have time this morning to find and scan the ad, so I did it when I got home from work.

sluggish
22-06-2010, 19:06
Thanks again for the effort, Chris! Were the incons popular at the time? We didn't sell many here in the midwest, but sold tons of this really cool looking stuff with fancy brass connectors and clear PVC jackets covering shiny braided shielding (sounded like flat death, though).

Thanks for the info, Dave. Can you expand on what a good automotive/instrument cable would be?

technobear
25-06-2010, 20:11
Another vote for Qunex 2. It's fine. Good value.