The Absolute Sound Reviews the QBASE Reference

Our QBASE Reference has grabbed the attention of the press again! The most recent QB10 review comes from Jacob Heilbrunn of The Absolute Sound. After years of enjoying our QB8, Jacob was blown away by the QBASE Reference, particularly how the QB10 could achieve so much while remaining “invisible” in his system.

He noted, “With the insertion of the new QBase Reference, I heard an audible and immediate improvement in clarity, scale, bass extension, and detail.”

Beyond that, Jacob was also shocked by the extension in soundstage the QBASE Reference delivered–something that, in his opintion, no other device had come close to achieving.  

You can now read Jacob’s review of the QBASE Reference in its entirety here:

Nordost QBASE Reference AC Distribution Unit: The Hippocratic Oath

The Absolute Sound Reviews the QSINE and QWAVE

We are happy to share another great review from The Absolute Sound, this time of our QSINE and QWAVE. After reviewing the QBASE Mark III, Neil Gader was introduced to our newer generation of QRT Plug-Ins and included them in an in-depth Equipment Report. From the start, he was impressed with how the QSINE and QWAVE worked together, citing “greater image stability and an increase in the clarity, detail, and pacing of musical instruments.” Neil also praised how these products enhanced the performance of the QBASE, further elevating overall listening experiences. 

You can now read the excerpt of Neil’s Equipment Report that focuses on Nordost’s plug-ins here: Short Takes: Nordost QSINE AC Enhancer & QWAVE AC Line Harmonizer

Nordost Awards 2024 

As 2024 draws to a close, we’re excited to reflect on another incredible year for Nordost. It’s been a year of growth, innovation, and recognition, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the continued support of our community. Over the past 12 months, we’ve been honored to receive accolades from some of the most respected publications in the hi-fi industry, with awards across categories like Best Products, Editors’ Choice, Applause and more! 


At Nordost, our mission has always been to help audiophiles unlock the full potential of their systems, bringing music to life in a way that’s true to the artist’s original intent. We’re deeply proud of the cables, power products, and audio enhancers we’ve created, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see our efforts acknowledged by reviewers, industry experts, and leading publications. As we celebrate this success, we invite you to join us in looking back on a remarkable year!


Nordost Odin 2 – hi-fi+ Editor’s Choice Award Winner

“A system using Nordost Odin 2 reproduces music with speed, honesty, and integrity, capturing the recording’s emotion and ‘feel’. Almost 10 years after its launch, Nordost’s Odin 2 remains one of the best cable systems available, setting the highest possible standards for accuracy and detail retrieval.

” – hi-fi+


Nordost QNET Network Switch – StereoNET Applause Award Winner

“Soundstage size, depth and definition are areas where the QNET never failed to impress, yielding greater focus as the layers of haze were removed.” – StereoNET 


Nordost Leif Red Dawn 3 and Blue Heaven Cables – Audiograde Editor’s Pick Award Winner

“[Red Dawn Lief 3 cables are a] long term investment for those demanding the best for their hifi to ensure they’re hearing it as it should sound. Try if you dare, as you may not want to go back after hearing the Leif range in full flight.” – Audiograde


Nordost QBASE Reference – Audio LAB Recommended High-End Audio Accessories of the Year 2023-2024

“We commend Nordost for their unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of sonic excellence. We eagerly anticipate their future creations and extend our gratitude for enriching the lives of music enthusiasts like us.” – Audio LAB


But it doesn’t stop there…
Nordost AWARDS for 2025! 


Nordost QBASE Mark III / Purple Flare / Heimdall 2 USB – The Absolute Sound Editors’ Choice Award Winners

“The sonic results make themselves known immediately and consistently.” – The Absolute Sound


Nordost QBASE Reference (QB10) – hi-fi+ Awards 2025 Winner

“Nordost has always been about correctly establishing a system’s foundations, and the QBASE Reference is a cornerstone in that regard. This is your next upgrade for those already in audio’s First-Class lounge…Nordost’s QBASE Reference is that important to the sound of your system.” – hi-fi+


Nordost QBASE8 Mark III AC Distribution Unit – The Absolute Sound Product of the Year Award Winner

“[The QBASE Mark III] is restorative, bringing to light low-level details and mirco-dynamic shifts that have been obscured. The sonic results make themselves known immediately and consistently.” – The Absolute Sound

Gy8 Reviews the QBASE Reference

We are thrilled to share another fantastic, in-depth review of our QBASE Reference

Roy Gregory, a longstanding audio reviewer in the hifi industry, has appreciated and championed Nordost’s foundational approach to audio. Throughout his article, Roy recognizes the QB10 as the pinnacle of our QRT products, saying that it may be “the single biggest step”, and praises the way we’ve combined and refined our modular approach into a single, meticulously engineered unit. 

In his review, Roy highlights the remarkable improvements that the QBASE Reference delivers over the QB8 Mark III, specifically in dynamics, rhythmic coherence, and musical focus. He describes how the QB10 brings new life to your favorite music, offering, “a lower noise floor, which offered a far greater sense of the placement of notes and the spaces between them.” 

You can read Roy’s entire QBASE Reference review HERE

Audiograde Reviews Red Dawn 3

We are happy to share the first review of our Leif 3 cable line, recently published on Audiograde. After evaluating our new Red Dawn 3 cables, reviewer Andrew Simpson summed up the benefits they brought to his system with two words: “detail” and “depth“.  

Andrew found that our new Leif 3 cables allowed him to achieve a much purer performance from his system. In his own words, he explained, “These cables…improve and finesse what’s already there. It’s like pouring purer petrol into a performance car to simply enable it to perform as it should without restriction.” After such a positive experience with our cables in his system, it’s no surprise that Andrew recommends the Leif 3 cables as a “long term investment for those demanding the best for their hifi to ensure they’re hearing it as it should sound”.

To make it even better, our Red Dawn 3 cables were awarded Audiograde’s “Editor’s Pick” for “Uncompromising systems craving extra finesse in detail and depth”

You can read Andrew’s full Red Dawn 3 review HERE!

hi-fi+ Reviews the QBASE Mark III AC Distribution Unit

We’re excited to share our latest review, released last month in hi-fi+, featuring the QBASE Mark III AC distribution unit. Since reviewer Steve Dickinson does his listening in the UK, we provided him with our QB6, the six-outlet version of our QBASE. But for all music lovers located outside of the United Kingdom, its construction is identical to the QB8s available in the rest of the world! Once Steve was able to have some quality time with our QB6, he admitted that it would “be hard to get this much improvement for a similar outlay anywhere else.” He even got the chance to experiment with pairing his QBASE unit with our QRT Stand Mount, and Sort Kones, which proved to be a great upgrade. As he described, the combo “elevate[d] familiar recordings to the level of ‘newly-discovered’ all over again.”

“The Nordost QBASE QB6 Mark III builds on the considerable strengths of the units that went before it, bringing significant benefits to timing and the resolution of fine but musically important detail.” – Steve Dickinson, hi-fi+

You can read Steve’s QBASE Mark III review here: Nordost QBASE QB6 Mark III mains distribution block

The Absolute Sound Reviews the QBASE Mark III

Neil Gader has been a long-time supporter of our cables, so he was very interested in delving into the world of QRT with one of our new AC power distributors. In the most recent issue of The Absolute Sound, Neil Gader focused his attention on the QBASE Mark III. Throughout his listening sessions, he found the sonic results of the QBASE to be “immediate and consistent” when it comes to its revealing and resolving nature and was especially impressed by the timbral details and low-level information the QBASE provided.  

Neil dubbed the QBASE Mark III an easy recommendation, calling it “restorative, bringing to light low-level details and micro-dynamic shifts that have been obscured”. 

You can now see Neil’s QNET Review on the Reviews Page of the Nordost website or read it in its entirety here: Nordost QBASE Mark III AC Distribution Unit: The Incrementalist

StereoNET reviews the QNET Network Switch

Today we want to share an incredibly strong review of our QNET Network Switch in StereoNET, penned by Mark Gusew. In his review, Mark not only praised the QNET, remarking that he heard improvements in almost every area, but also made the argument that digital upgrades are an unquestionable necessity – a fact that needs more attention in the hifi world! 


Mark was incredibly impressed with our network switch, saying it was “the best product of its type that I’ve heard by a large margin”. So it’s no surprise that following his review, the QNET was awarded the StereoNET Applause Award! 

“With Nordost’s new QNET in place, everything sounds smoother and more fluid; it’s better balanced with less harshness…giving the system greater dynamic expression.” – Mark Gusew, StereoNET 


You can now see Mark’s QNET Review on the Reviews Page of the Nordost website, or read it in its entirety here: Nordost QNET Network Switch

hi-fi+ reviews the QBASE Reference

We are thrilled to share our first, official QBASE Reference review. As an auspicious bonus, this review can be found in the highly valued 25th Anniversary issue of hi-fi+!  

Unsurprisingly for all who have heard the QBASE Reference in their own systems since its launch, editor and reviewer, Alan Sircom was enthusiastically positive about our QBASE Reference, saying that the Audio Gods smiled favorably on Nordost with a device that “helps the system get out of the way of the music”. Alan has always been an advocate of our products, especially those that help with the all-important foundation of one’s system, and the QBASE Reference is a “cornerstone” of that concept.

 “For those already in audio’s First-Class lounge… this could be your first upgrade. Nordost’s QBASE Reference is that important to the sound of your system.” – Alan Sircom, hi-fi+

You can find Alan’s QBASE Reference Review on the Reviews Page of the Nordost website, or read it in its entirety here: Nordost QBASE Reference (QB10) AC Distribution System

VuMetre Reviews Heimdall 2 and the QBASE Mark III

We are excited to share a great new review that focuses on our QBASE Mark III and Heimdall 2 cables, published in VuMetre and written in both English and French, by reviewer Vincent Guillemin.  In it, Guillemin talks about the direct benefits that both Nordost’s power supply and cabling have had on his set-up, calling it, in a word, “impressive”. 

Guillemin says it’s “as if the speakers had changed color, in addition to having modified their drivers to better color the timbres.” 

You can read this review in its entirety here: 

In English – The true benefits of power treatment: Nordost Heimdall, QBASE 8 Mk III

In French – Les inestimable bienfaits du traitements secteur: Nordost Heimdall, QBASE 8 Mk III

For this, and many more fantastic Nordost reviews, visit the Reviews Page of the Nordost website.