QLN Prestige 3

I have heard the QLNs twice and they are probably the most fatigue free speakers I have heard.  Unfortunately to my ears they were significantly low on clarity, detail, presence and energy.  

Completely opposite from the Borresen X2 and Focal Sopra which for me swing too far in the other direction.  

Consider auditioning something from the Spendor D Series if you can.  Much more present and dynamic than the QLNs without the surgical detail of the latter.  

Not perfect circumstances, but I heard the QLN top of the line and Borreson’s at AXPONA. I fell in love with the QLN’s and want to demo a pair, thought I think I could only handle the 1’s in my space. My impression of the Borreson speakers was similar to @avanti1960 , way too tight. I am sure that could be dialed down with the right gear, but not my cup of tea. 

Thanks for the input. As I mentioned in another thread...I bought these four month old Borresen X2's from an owner who had ordered big Wilson speakers and wanted something in the interim and was curious about the Borresen brand. He always intended to sell the X2's and the Wilsons came in earlier than promised so the X2's only had about 20-30 hours. I've put 20-25 hours on them. The maker suggests 50-100 hours for break-in though I've heard higher numbers from some owners. I am going to take several more weeks burning them in before making a final judgment whether to sell them or the Focal Sopra 2's. For whatever reason, my Boulder 866 integrated with DAC and Auralic Aries G2.2 plus Audience Front Row loom lead to zero fatigue or tweeter irritation...none. The detail on the X2's is very appealing, better than the Focals, but I am getting a little fatigue from the X2 tweeter when the volume is up on some music.

I forgot to add, the bass on the X2's is far more dynamic, fast, present than I would ever expect for such a small speaker. Anything positive you hear about bass on these X models I think you can take it as true. I am waiting on REL S510's to pair with it...

OP is your room treated? I’ve found that when you find a speaker fatiguing, it’s not always the speaker. Sometimes more detailed speakers are simply shining a light on your room deficiencies. If your room is well treated, feel free to ignore my post :)

QLN and fatiguing in the same sentence, this is a first. Would agree on the room treatments. Synergy is key and the Boulder may not be a good fit (I am shocked) 

I will have to give Borreson another chance, in a better setting, and with my music. 

I have 5 Stillpoint Aperture 2’s and a few bass traps. 

To many Apertures ,how big is you’re room?

I have been working with Paul at Stillpoints…I have asked for input by QLN Prestige owners…thanks

QLN and fatiguing in the same sentence, this is a first.

@tkrtrb125 Nobody here said anything about QLN being fatiguing — quite the opposite actually so not sure where you’re coming from here.

@soix  So, so, so, sorry. Misread a post, please do not hurt me. ​​​​​​

I am reluctant to post anything here about QLN 3's. And I really don't want to have a dialectic about the QLN speakers in comparison to any speaker I have not heard or listened to for an extended period of time.  And I have no idea why I respond to this thread; other than I am somewhat challenged hearing wise and I have no mind of my own and I had two glasses of great Brochelle Zinfandel. BUT given my handicaps and lack of self regulation,  I will say that the QLN"s are just wonderful, three dimensional speakers and the tonality and soundstage are phenomenal.

Check out other OLN'3 reviews on this forum. You will hopefully rush to your local hifi dealer and buy a pair... And please I am kinda just funnin with my response....however the 3's are a wonderful speaker..

Blessings

Carlitos

@bolivarjoy - I’ve had the QLN Prestige 3 speakers for a couple of years now. I drive them with a Conrad Johnson classic 120 tube, Linear Tube Audio preamp, and Merason Dac1. I also have Dynaudio Heritage Specials which I drive with a Gryphon Diablo 120 integrated…

The QLN Prestige 3 speakers are balanced and incredibly musical. The general presentation is relaxed which makes for extended listening sessions. For my tastes, they are just wonderful speakers. Feel free to let me know if you’d like more details, etc. 

My Borresen X3's took 500 hours to settle in.....They are fantastic and non fatiguing but quick, snappy and detailed. You'd like them.

mbmi...I am pulling for my X2's as there is much to love about them. The bass is just uncanny in its presence and accuracy and the details it reveals in the music make my Sopra 2's sound muddled. However, and I'm not going to make a decision for another couple of weeks, but at the moment the X2's give off tweeter fatigue to my 65-year old ears and especially at higher volumes. Also, the soundstage, which is okay in width, is not near the Sopra 2's in depth and height. If these speakers were chairs the Sopra 2 is a well worn patina leather chair I sink in and the X2 is an excellently designed modernist chair but not the one you want to sit in for hours reading on a rainy day. 

Now, I will be curious as to what happens when my pair of REL S510's arrive on Tuesday. No need for anyone to respond about not needing subs...I am way past the line where I firmly believe a pair of subs create music that can't be matched without....I'm pulling for the X2's for if the tweeter settles or softens just a bit I will keep them for a long time. 

And, yes, I know others believe the extra hours are doing nothing for the speakers but only allowing my/our ears to adjust and become normalized. I'm going to take the word of the manufacturer and a dealer I spoke to who said the X's sound better past 100 hours and Borresen speakers further up the price line sound better after 200...

Long time QLN P3 owner, let me know if you have questions. I’ve listened to the Borresens, very wow factor speaker but I wasn’t my vibe. 

@poketacez - I’m another QLN P3 owner and fan. I’m curious about your system. What are you using when your QLN speakers? Would welcome knowing your streamer, Dac, preamp, amp and cables. 

@bluethinker you are curious?  I have been waiting to see a photo of your pretty setup for how long now...?

@grislybutter 

How about a pic of your system?

@ozzy62 

I am not sure what your point is, bluethinker has promised me a picture way back when. I posted several pictures in my posts about my "system" so I was teasing him. What I have is so humble and low-fi, it doesn't belong here. 

Doesn't matter how humble you think it is. If it sounds good and makes you happy, you should share it.

@ozzy62 fair point. I am planning to switch my amp but I may just post the 
"before" picture.

Late to the party, but I also own the QLN P3 and love them.  HOWEVER, I found them difficult to position in my room.  E.g., when I had them firing down the long axis of the room, they sounded like what one of the folks in this forum stated: lacking clarity, boring etc.. BUT, when I have  them firing across the short axis of the room, and especially when I have them at least 10 feet apart, they became absolutely magical.  Adding Gaia footers was also a significant upgrade.  Be well and happy listening.

I will be picking up a pair of new to me QLN 3’s next weekend. They will be competing against a pair of Raidho D-2.1’s that I bought used in April. The Raidho’s were designed by Borreson, though reports say they are more relaxed than the Borreson line. The 2.1’s are pretty magical in their soundstage, it will be an interesting comparison.

@zlone - Congrats on the QLN acquisition. How is the speaker shootout going? 

Would love to hear your impressions. 

@bluethinker I have been enjoying them, but my audition so far has been marred by some equipment issues, unrelated to the QLN's, but also related. Their sound quality made me more aware of a channel issue than the other speakers I am auditioning and I finally nailed it down and am working on a resolution. More to come once I get back on track. Thanks for asking.

@bluethinker  I have now had a pair of QLN 3's in my system for a couple of months and feel that I can comment. I conducted a comparison between the QLN's and my original KEF Reference 1's, and a pair of Raidho D-2.1's. ALL of these speakers sound great and have their merits. However, in the end the QLN speakers won me over.

These days I primarily listen to jazz, and almost always at low levels, 65-75dB, but also toss in some rock and the occasional Dead show. Any speaker I own has to play this variety well at low levels, and of course support the occasional outburst. I am also a soundstage nut, and really get into big picture sound. Lastly, I prefer the sound be neutral to slightly warm.

The KEF's meet all this criteria and are the closest to neutral of this bunch. The Raidho's are next in line with a more laid back presentation than the KEF's. The QLN's are the warmest of the bunch, but not overly so.

All of the speakers presented a very good soundstage, but this is an area where the QLN's excelled, they paint a beautiful picture of the performance and disappear completely in my room. Add to that a bit more warmth and musicality and they become addictive and make me want to listen, nay, need to listen, more.

The QLN's are very responsive to system changes, in my case cabling. I have been trying different interconnects, and soon speaker cables, to try to fine tune the sound. Each change has been easily discernible, and makes the process manageable rather than an overwhelming, anxiety ridden splitting of hairs. 

In addition to the wonderful sound characteristics, the QLN's are the most attractive of the bunch for my room, and I had several compliments to that effect. The matte finish walnut veneer is exceptional with no apparent seams anywhere on the speaker. Having done quite a bit of wood working myself, I am impressed.

I did have to replace one of the speaker terminals that had been damaged somewhere along the line, these were used. I inquired with QLN about what to buy to get an exact replacement and Mats Anderson replied quickly with the necessary info. Removing the back plate to replace the terminal I was able to see the internal wiring, as detailed on their site, nice stuff, there is quality on the inside too.

Just like all the other reviews of QLN, highly recommended, they play the music.

Unfortunately, this puts me in a bit of a quandary, as I am wondering how good the QLN 5's might sound, though they might be a bit much for my modest space. I need to get some gear sold off before I can contemplate that move. 

Late to the party, but had to comment. I have a pair of P3s and this comment caught my eye:  

"Unfortunately to my ears they were significantly low on clarity, detail, presence and energy"

I heard this too, but I then put a LOT of time and energy with position/placement. In my 45 years in the hobby I have never heard a speaker, in my room with, my gear, that was so sensitive to placement. At times I wanted to give up.  Glad I did not: in the end, the sound went from, frankly,  bad to the best I have ever obtained. I am truly smitten, these things can make pure magic.  Tip:  they love to be spread apart, further than my other speakers over the years, and in my room the HAD to be placed along the long wall, firing across the short wall - the other way sound TERRIBLE.  If you try these and have issues  be patient, my gosh they can pay off.    

Opps, I see I made a 'late to the party comment back in May!  Just came out of a cardiac procedure and killing time while I recover - so I blame the drugs.  Sorry to be redundant.

@edchapman Thanks for posting, much appreciated. I am at that stage right now where I need to start tweaking the position, I can tell it is not optimal. I agree they do well far apart. I typically don’t toe my speakers too much, what have you found to be optimal with yours?

@edchapman @zlone - 

I also agree the magic comes from getting the QLN’s further apart. It also seems like it might be very room specific. I have an odd sized space, so I’ve found I sometimes get the best results having them both toed in, facing the same direction, while also pulling them as far apart as possible. That’s partly because of the super large rectangular room (think living room, kitchen, dining room) in one large space with high ceilings. 
 

But for optimal listening I pull them apart (when my wife is out of the house otherwise I’m afraid she’s going to bump into them), and toe them in the opposite direction. That’s when I hear the full sound they’re capable of, but I can only do it when my wife is out of the house. 
 

Thnx, good to know you both had similar experiences.

I have them only slightly toed-in.  I am surprised that they - so far - have not needed more toe-in as I widened them apart, but that might just mean I had them too toed-in at the start.  I think I can get more out of them; I still have a ways to go.

Regarding the high frequencies, I did have to change the voicing of my rig a bit to open up the treble  … different tubes in my preamp, and upgrading the DAC chips in my Pavane, did the trick.  Now the highs are exactly where I want them : )