Performance sits in the middle of the QED cable range, above Connect and below Reference and Signature, and it is the series QED recommends to most people building a good system. Performance Optical is the TOSLINK cable in that line-up, introduced with the redesigned Performance range on 1 October 2026 to carry digital audio between a television, streamer, CD player or games console and an amplifier, AV receiver or DAC.
Construction
The cable is built around a low-loss PMMA optical fibre of 1 x 1.00 mm, with a fluorinated polymer cladding. The fibre uses a stepped refractive index design, which helps minimise signal dispersion as light travels through the cable and so reduces the opportunity for timing errors that can affect digital performance. The fibre ends are carefully polished before termination, the aim being to pass as much of the original signal as possible from one component to the next.
Connectors
Both ends are fitted with precision-engineered, precision-polished full-size TOSLINK connectors, finished in the silver-grey livery shared across the new Performance range. An optical connection transfers information as pulses of light rather than as an electrical signal, which is an advantage when it comes to avoiding electrical interference. The cable supports digital audio signals up to 24-bit/192kHz.
Installation
A flexible TPE outer jacket, 6 mm in outside diameter and finished in stone grey, protects the fibre while keeping the cable easy to route around furniture and into the tight spaces behind a television unit or cabinet. QED offers Performance Optical in three lengths: 0.75m, 1.5m and 3m.
Applications
QED lists Performance Optical as suitable for connecting televisions to amplifiers and AV receivers, streamers and network audio players, CD players and digital transports, games consoles and media players, soundbars and active speaker systems, and any equipment fitted with a TOSLINK optical connection.
