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The Quiessence cables come nicely presented in thick cardboard boxes with foam-lined interiors and the cables themselves are beautifully constructed. The concepts behind the designs are evolutions or refinements of previous Eichmann ideologies on the configuration of the passive ground conductor and the famous Eichmann ratio. The hand-wound 99.99% solid silver ground conductor uses what ETI calls ‘Ground Nulling Circuitry’ (GnC) which is basically a zero-voltage ground conductor configured to have the least possible influence on the signal conductors and to reduce static, EMI, RF, and EMF. The signal conductors themselves are high-purity mil-spec 99.99% OFHC Tellurium copper mined in Australia’s Mt. Isa region of Queensland. The Quiessence cables are fully manufactured in Brisbane, Queensland.

A woven glossy outer jacket provides a sense of cable elegance if there is such a thing and both interconnects and speaker cables are wonderfully flexible, something this reviewer is beginning to appreciate more and more in direct relation to his general reviewing workload (more flexibility equals faster equipment reconfigurations and easier routing). Of course the interconnects come with Eichmann’s top hybrid bullet plug and the speaker cables with, interestingly, a silver spade on the negative and a gold one for the positive rum. Before splitting into plus and minus legs, the speaker cable terminates in a small plastic box that bears the ETI logo at the speaker end and a ‘Q’ for Quiessence on the amp side. Also curious is that in both the ICs and speaker cables the diameter varies along their lengths. They become considerably thicker and marginally less flexible in the last 150mm or so at both connector ends. So I asked about this and other matters:

The reason the ends are thicker is due to the ground nulling circuitry at each end attached to the ground conductor of the Quiessence cables. Passive Ground Nulling Circuitry (GnC™) is employed to reduce and control the effects of the ground on the signal conductor and to simultaneously use the ground to protect from external interferences such as EFI, EMF, RF, and static charges. Keith Eichmann’s research has produced a proprietary Ground Nulling Circuit (GnC™) which actively works to maintain a quiescent zero voltage state across the ground, protecting the signal conductor from ground-induced capacitance and inductance. This facilitates smooth uninterrupted signal flow from one component to another, effectively isolates them and allows them to perform their tasks without interference. GnC™ is a passive circuit comprised of hand-wound conductors—no electronic components—implemented in the ground side of the cable. It requires precise calculation, hours of hand fabrication and several days of run-in on a professional cable burner. With each higher model in the range, the GnC™ grows in size, complexity and sophistication.

Are there other unique or different design concepts involved in the Quiessence Reference and what are your theories regarding the speaker cable's different spade lug materials on the positive and negative legs?
 

Aside from the GnC used in the Q100-reference, the use of hybrid technology is involved in the speaker and interconnects in which the negative or ground contact is of higher conductivity than the signal or positive contact. Thus the Hybrid Bullet was born, which utilizes a Tellurium copper positive contact or signal pin accompanied by a silver negative contact or return pin. With the Quiessence Series ETI introduces the first and only cables to use hybrid connector technology* designs in which the signal conductors are high purity Tellurium Copper, and the returns 99.99% solid Silver. There is an unmistakable parallel between GnC as implemented in the cables and the hybrid approach taken in the connectors. There is a sympathy that manifests itself in shockingly better performance – better than silver/silver or copper/copper with Quiessence cables and interconnects.
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* This claim for uniqueness isn't factual. I've come across at least three other cable makes who split their use of copper and silver for the hot/ground legs and/or terminations – Ed.