The Article

SUPREMUS ZR SPEAKER CABLES FROM QED

3rd July 2024

Top-of-the-range speaker cables for a top-of-the-range price but, asks Paul Rigby, are they worth it?

I’m not used to it, I have to say. Paying a lot of money for a set of cables from QED, that is. Normally, when I tackle QED speakers cables or interconnects or mains cables or whatever flavour they may be, they all have one thing in common. A low price.

So, there’s that. Apart from price, though, value for money has also, always been QED’s mantra but, of course, value doesn’t necessarily ally itself to low prices, exclusively. Even higher-priced HiFi products can scream value. And that’s what I wanted to hear from the Supremus Zr speaker cables.

Sure, they cost a lot in isolation but do they still offer value for their price point? Looking at the bigger picture, there are plenty of cables out there at a far loftier price tag than these new Supremus Zr cables. So a comparison with an expensive pair of competing cables might be in order here.

On the other hand, if you own a lower-cost pair of QED speaker cables or, for that matter, speaker cables from any other company, is it worth upgrading? What do you get for the extra cash?

THE BUILD

In the industry as a whole, there are a 1001 build variants when it comes to cables and, like much of the competition, the QED Supremus Zr runs its own path, using the company’s own Aircore technology, that includes polyester coated solid core conductors that, says the company, offers low impedance. It also boasts a low DC loop resistance, a feature I am not used to seeing in a cable company feature list. That’s partly down to the relatively large cross section. Apparently, that’s down to the cryogenically treated silver-plated 99.999% oxygen-free copper conductors.

The design of the Aircore approach also apparently reduces the skin effect that can damage higher frequencies plus the build up of eddy currents that can reportedly put a brake on current changes.

With the outer collar removed

In terms of the physicality of the cables? Well, I mentioned the cross section above (these speakers cables are the largest yet built by QED). They are large (for QED) yet (relatively) thin enough not to be unwieldy. That is, you can still manoeuvre them around your HiFi chain.

I was very impressed with the cold-welded, Rhodium-plated, Zirconia Airloc locking banana plugs. They offered a firm and secure connection while the collar tightening of the same prevented the cable accidentally dropping out of the rear of the component. Too often I struggle to not only fix plugs to my components in the first place (because of finicky locking mechanisms, for example) or I do fit them and then, seconds later, they fall out again (ditto).

QED has actually created a White Paper on the technology behind this cable that you can browse it over a cup of tea and a biccie if you fancy an afternoon’s browse. There is a link here, if you fancy checking it out.

SOUND QUALITY

As a source, here’s an album I don’t often hear about, The Alan Parson’s Project’s 1984 LP, Vulture Culture and the track Separate Lives. A reissue on the Music On Vinyl label from the Arista original, this is a mid-tempo rock outing with lead guitar, bass, drums, secondary percussion, synths and a male lead vocal plus harmony backing vocals.

For my first reference, I wanted to talk to QED owners and/or fans of the same and ask the question: if you have a pair of decent QED speakers cables, what do these top-of-the range samples bring to the party? Why should you even consider buying?

SUB £500 COMPARISON

So I grabbed a pair of 50^th Anniversary XT speakers that can be yours for just under £300 for a 3m pair. Rather cheaper then, than these new cables. If you have read my XT review, you will know there is a lot to like about the XTs. And why? When I reviewed them, last year, I learned that the XTs provided an effective bass response. But that was not all.

Both the percussion and the punchy synths provided a strong foundation for the song as a whole, giving a real hip swinger of a rhythm while the vocals was effectively separated and analysed by the cables. There was no blurring with the backing band, for example while the vocal itself provided plenty of emotive detail.

So then, replacing those with the new Supremus Zr cables, is there a difference? Yes. A large difference? Oh, yes.

To begin, there is a tremendous improvement in bass. Not so much the impact, but the tonal realism. The lowest-end of the bass is so low it is almost matt black in colour. It sounds like it’s hitting the train stoppers. As if there’s no further to go. That it, the bass stops here. It’s not so much big or massy. It just sounds final. End of. No arguments. That kind of bass. Higher up the frequency ladder but still in the bass region and around the drums, there is a lot more tonal variation. There are more interesting minor changes when each drum is hit. More shades in those upper bass areas.

For the mids and treble? There is so much information here but all of it firmly presented. Music, via the Supremus Zr cables, is presented to you with finality. As if the cables are saying, “This is it. This is all of it. There is no more. Hear it.” Music has a sense of control, discipline, focus and precision. There’s nothing flabby or woolly here. There are no frequencies out of place. Everything within the soundstage is fixed to the floor, in a space of their own, confidently presented and packed with detail.

LOOKING AT THE HIGH-END

I then switched to the similarly-priced, high-end Kingcobra cables from TCI and played Frank Sinatra’s Capitol original pressing of Come Fly With Me and the song of the same name and sat back with Francis fronting a full jazz orchestra. The Supremus Zr cables provided an excellent sense of imagery, placing different instruments around the soundstage. The drums on the left channel, trumpets on the right, saxes were smooth, while strings had a minor grandeur and romance, all of their own.

Sinatra, meanwhile floated over everything. You could almost sense his arms hovering and stretching widely as he made a lyrical point. The effort in his voice, the softening at times to reflect on the lady on the song. Meanwhile, the sense of the performance was tracked well by the Supremus Zr. That is, the staging of the event and this recording really did sound like an event and was converted well.

CONCLUSION

Expensive? Absolutely, you can’t get away from that but really? Adding these cables to a quality HiFi chain is tantamount to a component upgrade. For those with a good quality HiFi system, the QED Supremus Zr cables will actually corral it into shape. Suddenly, your system will make sense, adding order, an infusion of detail and information. In short the QED Supremus Zr speaker cables sound deeply, deeply impressive.

QED SUPREMUS ZR SPEAKER CABLES

Price: £1,799/€2,249/$2,700 for 3m pair

Website: www.qed.co.uk

GOOD: tonal realism, detail, disciplined frequencies, solid bass

BAD: nothing