[Tomy2Tone]

I was not on the tour for either the Breathe S/Quiescence S or the Breathe C the last few months but have been reading on everyone's impression who have heard them. With the price of the Breathe C  being very reasonable my curiosity peaked enough to want to try the latest creation from AC's own Jason of Hapa Audio. I've had several different ic cables over the years from ZenWave Dave's original D4's to the liquid metal cables from Teo Audio to some diy stuff I've dabbled in with Duelund and helix configured cables. My system has changed to what I believe is the most natural and live sound I have had in any personal space.

Digital streaming from Tidal and Qobuz
Sonore UltraRendu> Lampizator Atlantic plus> Truth preamp> Audio Note el84 amp > Klipsch ki-396-sma ii


While the Breathe C's were very nice with a spacious soundstage I had never quite heard before I was hoping for just a bit more nuance and maybe some detail but was afraid of going to the all silver offering of the Breathe S/QS. I've had silver in cables before but they were always blended with gold or copper so having all silver I just wasn't too sure but reading from some recent posts it sounds like Hapa's silver options are quite nice. So I asked Jason if he was considering making a copper version of the Quiescence line and sure enough he was so I jumped at the opportunity and sent my Breathe C's in for the upgrade.

Both Breathe C's and now QC's have had the Absolute Harmony plug upgrade so that has been a constant when hearing these Hapa cables. The first thing I noticed when I immediately placed the cables in my system was an increase in what I perceived as clarity and naturalness to tone and body. Jason says the shielding on the Quiescence line of cables offer a drop in the noise floor so maybe that's what I was experiencing but whatever the case things seem to pop out a little more.

As time went on I began experimenting with some cable lifter slash emi/rfi reducing type of products from A/V Roomservice. I have had some nice improvement with other cables using these and figured I would get the same with the QC's. I was wrong. It seemed if I added one too many of these devices the sound began to soften and lose detail so it made me wonder if the shielding on the cabling was canceling out what the emi/rfi reducer product from the A/V stuff was doing. But if I just use one of them under the QC's as a lifter of sort, as my components are on the floor on short platforms, things sounded to be just right.

After figuring that out I began to really enjoy what the QC's were bringing to the table and the last couple of nights have had me saying wow a few times. Songs and tracks that I have heard a million times are being played from beginning to end and I'm hearing things in a way that is so natural and real that it had me feeling the emotion of the artist. I'm not really good at explaining what I hear or experiencing but the most endearing quality of the QC's seem to be they have such a natural, dare I say organic, way of delivering the music that I stop nit picking any differences or quit looking for this or that subtle quality to get excited about. For the first time in quite a while I was really just enjoying the music and getting lost in the performance. They really do have a what I call an " in the room" feel to them but not at the expense of any hyper detail or exaggerated tone. I was hoping the QC upgrade from the Breathe would give a little more detail and nuance but I wasn't expecting this emotional response I was getting last night.

I'm not going to say I'm off the cable merry go round as I always like to experiment and try new things, especially if Jason ever gets the QGS back in stock. But for now I can say I'm very pleased with what the QC brings to my system and am glad I took a chance on Hapa Audio.

Here's a pic of the beautiful Quiescence Copper cables...

[genjamon]

I was able to hear these same set of two pair of QC's just prior to Tom's time with them.  Thought I would add my thoughts, building on my two prior reviews of the other cables in the Hapa line:

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=173888.msg1844603#msg1844603

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=174850.msg1848540#msg1848540

First, while the cables had about 72 hours on the cable burner at Jason's place before sending to me, this might not have been enough to be fully burned in.  The wire itself had plenty of time, since they were repurposed from demo Breathe cables, but with the Quiescence treatment as well as Absolute Harmony connectors added.  So, we're talking about burn in effects with the new connectors and solder, primarily. 

As for impressions, I thought the QC shared the general house sound I have found with the rest of the Hapa line.  They have a really nice, smooth sound, and a very coherent and deep soundstage.  I also found the QC to be more detailed than the Breathe C had been, and potentially more than the Breathe S, too, but that's a bit hard to say given the time that has passed since I heard the Breathe S.  But I didn't detect much of a veil in details in comparison with my Zenwave D3 IC's, whereas I had found a veil with both of the Breathe cables previously. 

That said, the QC did not rise to the level of the holographic level of detail that had impressed me so much with the Quiescence S and GS cables in the first review.  I did still have the demo Zenwave D4 and DSR IC's still in the house while listening to the QC, and can definitely say that the Zenwave D4/DSR combo exceeds the detail and refinement level of the QC (and of course of my Zenwave D3's as well).  But the Hapa QS and QGS had impressively exceeded the holographic detail beyond these top shelf Zenwave IC's.  So, the QC are not quite at that level of detail and soundstage effects.

As for tone/timbre, I have to confess the QC just weren't where I wanted them to be.  The Zenwave IC's were better balanced and had clearer and more natural tone.  That said, I think this is an area where the limited break-in could have impacted my impressions.  Tom's initial comments to me when he first received them were consistent with my impressions, but he seems to have come around to the sound in a big way after having them in the system for a little over a week.  At some point, I'll probably try to bribe Tom to let me audition them again, since now they should be totally broken in.     

[Pez]

I want to thank Tom and Ben who were the two who really pushed for this product.  I really wasn't sure I wanted to release a Quiescence version of the Breathe C. In the end, I'm really glad I did, really smooth sounding and as they stated, it definitely brings the cable to a new level!

Like I said before, QC has been the worst kept secret so far. I've already had several orders on it even though it's technical launch will be later today!

Folks who are interested in upgrading their Breathe C cables to QC, it is something I can accommodate, all you need to do is send me your cables and I perform the upgrade! Shoot me a PM and I'll give you the details on how to do that. I'll have more info to share once the product goes live!

[Wig]

That's great to hear and those KLE Absolutes will sound much better after running 24/7 for 10 days; I have owned my cable cooker for 7+ years and it takes the cable sometime to settle after dielectric exercising...

Wig 

I was not on the tour for either the Breathe S/Quiescence S or the Breathe C the last few months but have been reading on everyone's impression who have heard them. With the price of the Breathe C  being very reasonable my curiosity peaked enough to want to try the latest creation from AC's own Jason of Hapa Audio. I've had several different ic cables over the years from ZenWave Dave's original D4's to the liquid metal cables from Teo Audio to some diy stuff I've dabbled in with Duelund and helix configured cables. My system has changed to what I believe is the most natural and live sound I have had in any personal space.

Digital streaming from Tidal and Qobuz
Sonore UltraRendu> Lampizator Atlantic plus> Truth preamp> Audio Note el84 amp > Klipsch ki-396-sma ii


While the Breathe C's were very nice with a spacious soundstage I had never quite heard before I was hoping for just a bit more nuance and maybe some detail but was afraid of going to the all silver offering of the Breathe S/QS. I've had silver in cables before but they were always blended with gold or copper so having all silver I just wasn't too sure but reading from some recent posts it sounds like Hapa's silver options are quite nice. So I asked Jason if he was considering making a copper version of the Quiescence line and sure enough he was so I jumped at the opportunity and sent my Breathe C's in for the upgrade.

Both Breathe C's and now QC's have had the Absolute Harmony plug upgrade so that has been a constant when hearing these Hapa cables. The first thing I noticed when I immediately placed the cables in my system was an increase in what I perceived as clarity and naturalness to tone and body. Jason says the shielding on the Quiescence line of cables offer a drop in the noise floor so maybe that's what I was experiencing but whatever the case things seem to pop out a little more.

As time went on I began experimenting with some cable lifter slash emi/rfi reducing type of products from A/V Roomservice. I have had some nice improvement with other cables using these and figured I would get the same with the QC's. I was wrong. It seemed if I added one too many of these devices the sound began to soften and lose detail so it made me wonder if the shielding on the cabling was canceling out what the emi/rfi reducer product from the A/V stuff was doing. But if I just use one of them under the QC's as a lifter of sort, as my components are on the floor on short platforms, things sounded to be just right.

After figuring that out I began to really enjoy what the QC's were bringing to the table and the last couple of nights have had me saying wow a few times. Songs and tracks that I have heard a million times are being played from beginning to end and I'm hearing things in a way that is so natural and real that it had me feeling the emotion of the artist. I'm not really good at explaining what I hear or experiencing but the most endearing quality of the QC's seem to be they have such a natural, dare I say organic, way of delivering the music that I stop nit picking any differences or quit looking for this or that subtle quality to get excited about. For the first time in quite a while I was really just enjoying the music and getting lost in the performance. They really do have a what I call an " in the room" feel to them but not at the expense of any hyper detail or exaggerated tone. I was hoping the QC upgrade from the Breathe would give a little more detail and nuance but I wasn't expecting this emotional response I was getting last night.

I'm not going to say I'm off the cable merry go round as I always like to experiment and try new things, especially if Jason ever gets the QGS back in stock. But for now I can say I'm very pleased with what the QC brings to my system and am glad I took a chance on Hapa Audio.

Here's a pic of the beautiful Quiescence Copper cables...