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The Mark Levinson-recorded Petrof CD—a collection of beautifully produced piano and violin pieces played by very young and gifted Russian prodigies—revealed a wealth of harmonic richness whilst accurately placing the performers in a massive soundscape stretching in all directions. Levinson superbly captured the spirit of the live performance and if your system is up to revealing all the subtleties and live cues, the Quiessence cables will not influence with any form of coloration or impediment. You’ll simply wallow in the eventness of this outstanding recording.
From the album Covered by Friend'n’Fellow, the rendition of the Door’s "Light My Fire" is highlighted by some tremendous strumming and close-miked vocals. Any stray from total neutrality and you’ll hear some serious sibilance. The ETIs were controlled and stepped out of the way to allow my components to display their own capabilities. And that was as it should be on all cable matters.
The complex and dense mixes of King Crimson’s The Deception of the Thrush live album are scalpel cut and exposed while the sometimes profound impact and snare snap of Bill Bruford’s kick drum sounds almost - well, live though it never will be totally. Robert Fripp’s guitar acrobatics cut through the mix, project forward and soar dynamically skyward.
Conclusion. I believe ETI has gone through some corporate readjustments over the last few months from which it may emerge a stronger more viable entity. The company is consolidating its cable lines and expanding its range of accessories with for example a resonance control device that has garnered extensive attention in a local audio forum to result in many units sold prior to the first formal production run. So interesting times are ahead.
But make no mistake, the Quiessence range of cables and of course in particular the Reference range topper are mature designs from a company with the heritage of a renowned designer with a strong track record. The cables are well built, feature interesting design aspects and perform extremely well in a neutral and transparent fashion.
That Eichmann or Woodland may not be involved creatively (could they perhaps be among the "number of collaborators"?) may present a future challenge to ETI but the legacy is there to build on and progressively bear fruit. With the Quiessence Reference cables the march going forward is inspired by tunes of potential future fame and glory.
Quality of packing: Strong cardboard boxes with foam-lined internals. £ Reusability of packing: Indefinitely. Ease of unpacking/repacking: Easy. Condition of component received: As new. Completeness of delivery: All as should be. Quality of owner's manual: A minimal connecting instruction tag is attached to the cables. Website comments: Well designed with adequate product information. Warranty: 12 months. Human interactions: My original contact changed role within the company and subsequent overall email communications became very poor and seriously slow. Final comments & suggestions: Company restructure slowed down the review process.
