Gotta say I’m scratching my head over this one for a couple reasons — that the QLNs are lacking fullness at all and that the KEF Ref Ones sounded fuller?!? I assume you were using the same electronics/cables for both? I see a sub in your system pic but don’t see it listed in your equipment, so are you using one? My first thought, which you probably already tried, would be to move the speakers closer to the back wall but that would likely compromise your soundstage depth and possibly other things as well. My other suggestion would be if you love what you’re hearing otherwise try adding a couple subs that can do wonders across the spectrum, but past that I’m at a loss here. 🤷🏻♂️🤔
Considering Vandersteen Treo
My profile is out of date, but my current speakers are QLN 3's, which I very much enjoy. The soundstage is wonderful, and they play nice in my smallish room at 12.5x11. However, they seem to lack some fullness, and not just in the bass category, I can't quite put my finger on what is missing.
To date I have demo'ed Spendor D series, Wilson Sabrina, Audiovector R3 Arrete, Sonus Faber Olympica Nova II and the Vandersteen Treo. Each of them had their merits, but the Treo was the standout among these choices.
Along with good sound, my requirements, and concerns, surround:
- How well they play in smaller rooms without overpowering the room.
- How well they play at lower listening levels, 65-75 dB. I am not a believer that this is entirely a function of speaker sensitivity. Some speakers 'wake up' at certain levels, and can be quite dull at low volume.
- Soundstage, and the ability to disappear. I like a broad soundstage and phase aligned speakers. All of the speakers did pretty well in this category, but the Treo's were better, presumable due to their phase aligned design.
- One concern and actually an annoyance with the Treo's is the speaker connections. I have significant investment in time and money finding speaker cables and I would not be able to use them on the antiquated screw terminal connections forced on owners of these speakers. Anyway...
Just tossing this out there to solicit opinions from those who have heard or own Treo's or QLN's. Let me know your thoughts.
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I know, it does not make sense, probably the wrong words. There is nothing wrong with the QLN's, I would recommend them to anyone, but something is missing that I can't define. My only thought is that a two way is just not covering all the bases, and a three way, or in the case of the Treo four way, might solve the problem. |
Yeah it might, and I’m a big Vandy fan so not surprised at all that you liked the Treos so much. If it was me and especially with your sized room I’d buy a couple SVS SB1000 Pro subs (currently $1149 for a pair) and see what happens. My guess is not only will you get the additional fullness you’re looking for but your soundstage will expand significantly and you’ll get honest bass down to 20Hz (-3dB) that you can tailor to your room (much tougher to do with more full range towers) with their included software. If they don’t change your world you can return them after 45 days completely risk free, which is obviously not the case if you experiment with used floorstanders. That’s definitely what I’d explore first all things considered if you can physically manage two small subs in your room. FWIW. |
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