QED Cables
Where most good systems begin. Award-winning at prices that do not need a long think, and unusually open about publishing the research behind each design.
About QED Cables
Quick Access
QED and the research behind the cables
QED have been making cables in Britain since 1973, when Bob Abraham and Ian Vine launched the 79 Strand, generally reckoned the first speaker cable sold as a specialist product rather than as wire. Their reputation rests on something unusual in this industry: they publish. The Genesis Report set out their findings on loudspeaker cable design, and The Sound of Science collected decades of that work into a single white paper. Whatever your view on cable claims generally, QED put their reasoning somewhere it can be argued with.
Three of their own developments run through the range. X-Tube places the conductor around a hollow insulating rod rather than filling the centre, which addresses the skin effect that pushes current toward the outside of a conductor as frequency rises. Aircore tackles the proximity effect, where conductors running alongside each other disturb one another's current distribution, and the two are combined on the higher speaker cables. Airloc cold-forms the connector onto the conductor under pressure, removing solder from the signal path.
The other thing worth saying is that the entry ranges are well engineered rather than priced to a shelf position. A QED Connect cable is a proper cable, not a placeholder, and that is why it gets recommended so widely by people with no commercial interest in doing so.
For most systems the honest answer is that the middle of the QED range is enough and the money is better spent elsewhere.
Shop by Range
QED use one naming ladder for most cable types, and separate naming for speaker cable. XT is the modern speaker range, including XT25 and XT40i, two of the most widely specified speaker cables in Britain. Classic covers the long-running multi-strand cables like 42 Strand.
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NEW£9.00Inc. VATQED Performance Speaker Cable connects amplifier to loudspeaker through large 2.5mm² conductors of 99.999% oxygen-free copper, giving a low loop resistance of 0.017Ω/m. QED's X-Tube Plus Technology keeps the current more evenly spread from bass to treble, and factory-fitted Airloc banana plugs are cold-welded for a lasting, oxidation-free connection. Pre-terminated in 2m, 3m and 5m lengths. -
NEW£99.00Inc. VATQED Performance Bi-Wire Links replace the metal bridging plates supplied with bi-wire compatible loudspeakers. They're made from the same 2.5mm² 99.999% OFC, X-Tube Plus cable as Performance Speaker Cable, with a gold-plated Airloc banana plug at one end and a spade at the other, cold-welded for a lasting connection. Two pairs, enough for a pair of speakers.
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NEWFrom£40.83Ex. VATThe QED Performance Audio is a stereo RCA interconnect for connecting CD players, DACs, tuners and other analogue sources to an amplifier. Each channel has two isolated solid-core 99.999% OFC conductors of different diameters, shielded by a dual electrostatic screen and an overall Zn/Mn ferrite jacket, and finished with gold-plated QED phono plugs. Available in 0.75m, 1.5m and 3.0m.
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NEWFrom£29.00Inc. VATThe QED Performance Ethernet is a CAT6 FTP network cable designed for connecting a music streamer to a router or network switch. It uses large 24AWG twisted pairs of 99.999% OFC with asymmetric twist rates and a full HDPE spacer to reduce skew and crosstalk, with shielded, gold-plated RJ45 plugs. QED rate it for hi-res streaming up to 24/192 and DSD1024. Available in 0.75m to 6.0m. -
NEWFrom£39.00Inc. VATThe QED Performance Digital is a 75 ohm coaxial S/PDIF cable for connecting a digital source to a DAC. A single solid-core 99.999% OFC conductor in a low-loss foamed polyethylene dielectric keeps insertion loss and jitter low, and a braid plus aluminium Mylar foil gives a 100% coverage, dual-layer screen. Supports hi-res audio up to 24/192. Available in 0.75m, 1.5m and 3.0m. -
NEWFrom£40.83Ex. VATThe QED Performance Optical is a Toslink digital audio cable for connecting TVs, games consoles, streamers and CD players to soundbars, AV receivers and DACs. Its low-loss PMMA fibre has a stepped refractive index core, and the fibre ends are precision polished for a clean, secure light path. Supports 24-bit/192kHz hi-res audio. Available in 0.75m, 1.5m and 3.0m. -
NEWFrom£29.00Inc. VATThe QED Performance USB C to C is a USB-IF certified High Speed audio cable for connecting a USB-C phone, tablet or laptop to a DAC, dongle DAC or portable DAC/amp with a USB-C input. A separately screened 99.999% OFC data lane is kept apart from large isolated power conductors in a triple-screened design. Suitable for hi-res audio up to 24/192 and DSD512. Available in 0.6m and 1.2m. -
NEWFrom£24.17Ex. VATThe QED Performance USB A to C is a USB-IF certified High Speed audio cable for connecting a computer or streamer's USB-A port to a DAC, dongle DAC or portable DAC/amp with a USB-C input. A separately screened 99.999% OFC data lane is kept apart from large isolated power conductors in a triple-screened design. Suitable for hi-res audio up to 24/192 and DSD512. Available in 0.6m and 1.2m. -
NEWFrom£29.00Inc. VATThe QED Performance USB C to B is a USB-IF certified High Speed audio cable for connecting a USB-C laptop, tablet or phone directly to the USB-B input of a hi-fi DAC, with no adapter needed. A separately screened 99.999% OFC data lane is kept apart from large isolated power conductors in a triple-screened design. Suitable for hi-res audio up to 24/192 and DSD512. Available in 0.6m and 1.2m. -
NEWFrom£24.17Ex. VATThe QED Performance USB A to B is a USB-IF certified High Speed audio cable for connecting a computer, streamer or music server to the USB-B input of a DAC. A separately screened 99.999% OFC data lane is kept apart from large isolated power conductors in a triple-screened design. Suitable for hi-res audio up to 24/192 and DSD512. Available in 0.75m, 1.5m and 3.0m. -
NEWFrom£39.00Inc. VATThe QED Performance J2P connects a 3.5mm stereo output, such as a phone, tablet, laptop or TV headphone socket, to the RCA inputs of a hi-fi amplifier. Each channel has its own screened 99.999% OFC conductor, the return path has six times the copper of a signal conductor, and the stepped 3.5mm plug fits through most phone cases. Available in 1.5m and 3.0m. -
NEWFrom£39.00Inc. VATThe QED Performance J2J is a 3.5mm to 3.5mm stereo jack cable for connecting a phone, tablet, laptop or other portable source to a hi-fi or powered speaker. Each channel has its own screened 99.999% OFC conductor, the return path has six times the copper of a signal conductor, and the gold-plated plugs have a stepped design that fits through most phone cases. Available in 1.5m and 3.0m.
