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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
gryphongryph
372 posts
 

Give them time, if I wasn’t so happy with my Graham Audio speakers, I would definitely buy me some QLN, had the old signature speakers for many years, lovely sound.

kingofgix OP
11 posts
 

Thanks.  I have been playing the QLN even when I am not in the room and the hours do seem to be improving the sound.  They are good speakers, but I am going to try the Zu as well.  Can’t hurt, and they have a 60 day full refund policy.  I will keep the QLN for another week so I can do some side by side compare.  I expect they will be very different, so should be fun.  
I will report back again.

kingofgix OP
11 posts
 

Gryphon and soix,

You are both correct.  The QLN are really improving with time.  The “laid back” sound and lack of detail that I perceived earlier are dramatically reduced now.  Detail and image have both improved.  They are going to be hard to beat, and I would be happy with them long term.  Will still be trying the Zu, though, because they have already shipped.  

gryphongryph
372 posts
 

Speakers are the one combo to get really right in a system, my

experience is that speakers that wow you from the get go

seldom satisfy for long term.

Also speakers take time to get right, maybe you need to place them

a bit differently than the pair you had before and maybe a different amp

would be interesting to try with the speakers just to see if

the tone would change.

Just take your time and enjoy 😉

msreddy999
3 posts
 

I have QLN Prestige 5 driven by LTA ultralinear integrated. My amp is only 20W but it drives Prestige 5s without any problem. My room is reasonably big (20x20x18) and opens to the kitchen. I never had volume go above 50%. These speakers like good room between them the back wall, so make sure your space can accommodate it. Overall, I love these speakers, best I have heard

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