High End 2023 • Hot Product

The Nordost room was filled with its usual assortment of AC-line treatment devices, most of which were already announced at earlier shows. The company did provide a sneak peak of the QBase Reference ($18,000), which is scheduled for release in the US in the third quarter of 2023.

The QBase Reference is a ten-outlet AC-distribution device housing five of Nordost’s other products. Inside the box are two QSine AC Enhancers and two QWave Line Harmonizers. In addition, the Reference incorporates a QPoint Synchronizer -- Nordost’s external grounding device. In normal operation, it works off a wall-wart power supply, so here it is modified for AC operation. If used independently, the QWaves and QSines, which plug into the sockets on your distribution unit, would consume a sizable percentage of your available outlets, making it impossible in many systems to pack as many devices as desired into your distribution hub without running out of outlets.

The QBase Reference also allows you to switch QSines and QWaves in and out of the system via a remote control, and Nordost demonstrated the effect, which always went in favor of leaving everything in circuit. The differences were not subtle and favored the treatments.