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QLN Speakers anyone

I am in the market for speakers and I just tried out a set of Harbeth 30’s and some NSMT Model 50’s.
The Harbeth have a wonderful midrange, but the soundstage was very narrow and the speakers struggled with complex music. They became jumbled sounding, little separation between instruments and lacked clarity except on uncomplex passages.

The NSMT have a wide soundstage, tight image, and lots of air. More bottom end as well. But the midrange sounded “thin”. It lacked warmth and fullness and definitely didn’t sound “real” to my ears. But darn good considering they are 1/3 the price of the Harbeth.
The audio dealer I purchased my Innuos streaming setup from, Choice Audio, recommended I give a pair of QLN Prestige One’s a try. He said the soundstage on them is very expansive and they have a very full and natural sound. They are bookshelf sized, similar in style and price to the Harbeth. He is shipping me a pair in a couple of days. Looking forward to giving them a try. Made in Sweden, so maybe they will matchup nicely with my Hegel H120…
Wondering if anyone has any experience with these? I had never heard of them before.

I will report back after I get them.

kingofgix
gdnrbob
4,444 posts
 

I heard the floorstander model at the NY Audio show two years ago, and was very impressed. I do recall they sounded a little bit held back, either by the equipment or cables

-or, they just sound that way. In which case, I would be disappointed.

I would expect the bookshelf version to have the same 'house sound'.

YMMV.

In any case, I would be interested in hearing your opinion of them.

Bob

jerryg123's avatar
jerryg123
3,429 posts
 

II have the QLN Sonora and the QLN Prestiege 5’s

The Sonora are in my main system (I know) powered by my Audio Hungary Qualiton X200 Integrated. The pairing is much better than when I had the 5’s in this system. Have no idea what @gdnrbob is talking about unless the amp driving the QLN at this NY Audio show was under-powered for an inefficient speaker like the 3 and 5’s.

My Prestige 5’s are in my 2nd floor system being driven by a Simaudio 700i V2 and the 700i did a much better job driving the 5’s that the X200.

I listen to all types of music and prefer Tubes over SS. Country of origin will have very little to do with how a speaker will pair with in amp. It is efficiency and horsepower,

With an H-120 no way I would pair that with the Prestige 1.

 

kingofgix OP
11 posts
 

Bob,

your description matches what my dealer said.   According to him the bookshelf has the same flavor as the floorstanders, and the sound is characterized by a wide, well defined soundstage, but is a bit laid back.  We’ll see, but I tend to like that.

pesky_wabbit's avatar
pesky_wabbit
1,183 posts
 

not that particular model, but the one thing I remember about the bookshelf speakers on offer was the expansive sound stage and the disappearing act they pulled off..

jackd
1,068 posts
 

@kingofgix 

 

The guys at Part Time Audiophile have reviewed the 1's, 3's and 5's so you might want to check out what they thought and what they drove them with.  Dave McNair comfortably drove the 3's with a Qualiton tube amp and the Van Alstine Control amp.

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