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Drilling down. On the way to the NYC audio show a couple of Connecticut Audio Society buddies stopped by an hour before we car-pooled to the show. I gave them a progressive demo putting in the QBase, then Qx4, then Qx2 (leaving the Qv2 cylinders plugged in the entire time). I played the title cut from Willie Nelson’s Stardust [JC 35305]. When we inserted the Qx4, they noted that the bass improved but that Willie’s voice got a bit leaner and cleaner. When I plugged the Doshi preamp into the Qx2 using the commercial cord, then the Qx2 into the QBase using the Blue Heaven cord, neither one liked what happened. Their main complaint was that the dynamics dropped off too much.

I had subliminally felt that the dynamics were slightly subdued with the full QRT system but this sequential process now put the spotlight on a non-ideal interaction between my preamp and the Qx2. I replaced the commercial cord to the Qx2 with the Blue Heaven and Willie’s voice got a little smoother but it was less dynamic and informative though all in all it was no big difference. From this point forward I kept the Qx2 out of the system. I spent a lot of time listening this way and felt at times that the Qx4 was leaning out the midrange a smidgen but the benefits in tightening up the bass, cleaning up the background haze/noise and smoothing out the upper midrange were clearly very welcome.
Cymbals were particularly delicate and natural. clearly more so than with any of the other power conditioners I’d tried before. I realized that I had not asked Paul Ritchotte a few basic questions about the products, namely on warm-up and break-in. Paul said that my units had seen some prior use but that they really did not need break-in. Moreover no warm-up is needed beyond the 5 seconds required for the Qx4 and Qx2 modules to come up to full strength after turning them on. I left them on for the duration of the review.


Game changer! Most of my money is invested in my analog front end since I get most of my enjoyment from my LP collection. Still I needed to see what effect the Nordost QRT system would have on digital playback. My power cord setup had been a Shunyata Taipan Helix Alpha on my Vecteur transport and a stock cord (horrors!) on the Audio Note DAC, both plugged into the PS Audio P300. I tried both Blue Heaven and then two Shunyata Taipan on transport and DAC into the P300 and preferred the Shunyata. Thinking over what Paul Richotte had told me about the primary importance of the quality of the power cord between Qx4 and QBase, I decided to request that he send me a couple of their better cords. It made no sense to complete the review based on their entry-level Blue Heaven in this critical position. Paul agreed and a package arrived with their Heimdall 2 and Frey 2 cords. A seasoned audiophile friend was visiting the next day and I decided to wait to install them with him to share the fun.
We started with Chris Botti December [Columbia 82876] and the Heimdall. On "Ave Maria" we did not completely warm to the Heimdall 2. The Frey 2 was quite another story. It was simply revelatory! We were not prepared for the wholesale improvements wrought by it. It made a lot of diddling when the Blue Heaven had been in this position seem silly. I in fact discarded a lot of the notes on various experiments with it in that place. What did we hear? The improvements were large and across the board but what stood out the most was: 1/ bass seemed to extend another proverbial octave, 2/ vocals took on a perfect balance of presence, texture and warmth that was beyond reproach, 3/ dynamics improved to the point that my prior reservations about a slight decrease in dynamics were assuaged. Apparently the performance of the QRT system as a whole was greatly limited by the Blue Heaven between Qx4 and QBase. The slight leanness I heard when installing the Qx4 was largely due to that cord. No surprise perhaps given the $199 retail of the Blue Heaven cord versus $1599 for the Frey 2?


Now there was a marked purity and suaveness to the sound. I pulled out a few of my older CDs with challenging female vocals - Allison Kraus and Union Station Every Time You Say Goodbye [Rounder CD 0285], Diane Schuur In Tribute [GRD-2006], and Roseanne Cash The Wheel [Columbia CK 52729]. In all cases the vocals on these can sound pinched and/or hard in my system and many others I have tried. I often attributed this to my digital components but now the hardness was completely gone and I could listen through the entirety of each disc without any cringing. I don’t consider this a euphonic coloring as in each case the vocals sounded supremely natural and unprocessed. The Frey 2 power cord was a godsend. Going back to vinyl its benefits were easily heard again.


Since the Frey 2 power cord was such an improvement on the Qx4, for thoroughness I tried the Qx2 again with the Doshi preamp and Heimdall 2 between Qx2 and QBase. This time the dynamics were not diminished as they had been with the Blue Heaven. Plus there was better focus on background instruments and low-level information was better resolved. Still I preferred the tonal balance without the Qx2. As a last hurrah my friend decided to bring over his Audience one more time since he had it fully broken in now whilst I had sorted out the Nordost QRT configuration for maximum benefit.

Without going into more detail the two units moved closer in performance. The treble emphasis of the Audience was completely gone. The dynamics of the Nordost were better now with the Frey 2 cord but the Audience still won in that department. The Nordost outperformed the Audience in upper midrange smoothness and greater harmonic richness throughout. This made listening to a wider variety of recordings more pleasant. The Nordost had more midbass weight but the superior transients and slam of the Audience were exciting. The Audience also had an even more three-dimensional soundstage with greater transparency. Being a stickler for tone and natural vocals, I leaned toward the Nordost QRT system but I am not sure my conclusion would have been the same had the Frey 2 cord not substituted for the Blue Heaven. The combination of Nordost I ended up preferring in my system clocks in as follows:
QBase 8 outlet strip $1400
Qx4 power purifier unit $2700
(4) Qv2 AC line harmonizers $1400
(1) 4 meter Blue Heaven power cord: $400
(1) 2 meter Frey 2 power cord: $1900
Total cost: $7800


This is quite expensive as I see it but in the same neighborhood as many other competitors. The Audience at $6550 might seem more of a bargain even though we preferred it with four Nordost Qv2 units, bringing the combined cost to $7950, essentially a wash. The Qv2 line harmonizers would probably benefit any system regardless of power conditioner used.

The Nordost QRT power purification system provides all the benefits one would expect from an audiophile-quality power conditioner. Of course there are tradeoffs when compared against the toughest competition at this price level. What sets it apart is its perhaps unique ability to take your stereo system to an entirely new level of musicality. The specific aspects of AC line noise the Nordost engineers have targeted and the way they have gone about it allow for a superbly natural midrange and treble tonality. Even hard edgy female vocal CD recordings in my collection were transformed to completely enjoyable. Being able to treasure more of their music collection would be an enormous benefit to any audiophile. The value of this aspect alone cannot be understated. Highly recommended but with two caveats: 1/ using a very high quality power cord (e.g. Nordost Frey 2) between Qx4 and Qbase; and 2/ experimenting with an additional Qx2 for your preamp as you may or may not find it beneficial in your system.
Nordost website