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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
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
1,075 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.

soix
9,943 posts
 

Yeah, QLN is one of the very few brands where there’s just nothing but glowing reviews and one of the very few speakers I’d buy confidently without even listening.   The others are Joseph Audio, ProAc, Vandy, Usher, and Verity Audio, but I’d be hard pressed to hear you’re any less than thrilled with QLN.  I think, even before break-in, you’re gonna hear an expansive 3D soundstage that makes the Harbeth sound relatively constrictive.  I think you’ve made a great choice and would love to hear your feedback as QLN doesn’t get near enough exposure here in the US IMHO (along with Usher) so your thoughts would be extremely valuable!

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