Quadraspire Qplus first impressions review – Bristol Show 2018

quadraspire qplus reference and advancedThere were many products launched at Sound and Vision 2018. One of the smallest to debut comes from Quadraspire as they introduced their new Qplus acoustic interface.

Hallatrow-based Quadraspire are well known for their racks and isolation platforms. This year they chose The Bristol Show to unveil their Qplus feet.

These little feet may at first appear to be a departure from racks, stands and wall-brackets. However, for people to assume that everyone has room in their home for a full rack is quite silly.

There are those of us who will invest money in our systems but are hobbled by the fact that we lack the space for dedicated racks.

This is where the Qplus gracefully makes its entrance. Firstly, they allow you to transform whatever furniture you are using in to something that closely achieves the same performance as a dedicated rack. Secondly, they don’t require any additional space to be used.

Quadraspire Qplus

quadraspire qplusSo, how do you accommodate high performance isolation when you haven’t got the room for a rack?

There may be some of you out there rolling your eyes and muttering “if you haven’t got the space for ‘real’ Hi-Fi equipment, then don’t even start”. To those people I say:

https://youtu.be/cAy4zULKFDU

Thankfully, Quadraspire also agrees and have managed to develop a rather compact alternative to a full rack system.

Qplus design

quadraspire qplus referenceThere are three models available in the Qplus range; these are the Qplus, the Qplus Advanced and the Qplus Reference.

Naturally they all possess slightly different materials and performance. They also are at different price points too.

The Qplus is the smallest out of the three and only features a single grommet placed in the wooden centre. The other two are of the same dimensions as each other but feature different encasement materials. The grommets in these are of different materials on either side. These have differing isolating properties, according to the conversation I had during the demonstration.

Quadraspire Qplus first impressions

quadraspire qplus reference and Rega RP10During the demonstration, the skeletal Rega RP10 was placed directly on the unit. The unit was typical of those bought from a leading Scandinavian flat-pack vendor to be self-assembled at home.

As well as the RP10, Quadraspire were utilising a Devialet amplifier, just in case you were curious.

So, firstly a record was played on the RP10 with the turntable directly on the unit. All sounded OK. Nothing hideous, anyhow.

quadraspire qplus reference, rega RP10, deviate amplifierThen, the RP10 was carefully placed on a trio of Reference feet. The same record was then played.

There was a slight increase in definition and clarity. But, given the rooms at The Bristol Show and that the door was open to the hallway, it was difficult to discern any more than that.

In conclusion then, there did appear to be some improvement. However, I am looking forward to testing these clever little things in my own system in the quiet of my own little room.

Price and availability

Each Qplus is sold in sets of four, but the Advanced and Reference can be ordered in sets of three, where required.

  • Qplus – designed to mimic the performance of the Q4EVO rack
  • Advanced – designed to mimic the performance of the SVT
  • Reference – designed to mimic the performance of the Xreference

Due to the high levels of pre-orders already placed with Quadraspire, the earliest shipping date for orders placed in March will be the end of May.

For pricing and more information, head on over to Quadraspire’s website.