Audiovector

QR-1 SE Standmount Loudspeaker

USD $1,725 /pair

It has been getting on for eight years since Audiovector – the company that will gladly inform you that all its loudspeakers are handmade in Denmark, and have been since 1979 – launched its QR range of loudspeakers. And to a lesser or greater extent, it's a range with plenty to recommend it – not least the QR-1 that Jay Garrett reviewed for StereoNET just over a year ago.

He found this to be doubly impressive in the context of the numerous well-regarded price rivals it lined up against. But Audiovector is not the sort of company to leave well enough alone, and so here's a Special Edition version of the QR-1 designed to take the fight even more aggressively to the massed ranks of alternative, similarly priced designs from the likes of Bowers & Wilkins, KEF, and PMC. So the question has to be, “Is this a QR code worth scanning?”

UP CLOSE

There's next-to-nothing about the QR-1 SE that differentiates itself from the QR-1 upon which it is closely based – at least not visually, anyway. There's a small gold badge between the bottom of the mid/bass driver and the top of the bass reflex slot that reads 'Special Edition', but that's the only readily apparent difference. This isn't automatically a bad thing, you understand, as the QR-1 has always been a handsome and distinctive looker, and this SE version duly benefits.

At 325x190x232mm [HxWxD], the cabinet is nicely proportioned and usefully compact. The standard of build and finish (which all happens by hand in Denmark, let's not forget) is very high, and the overall look with cloth grilles attached is understatedly upmarket no matter which of the finishes you choose – be it real walnut veneer, white silk or gloss black. The nicely curved edges of the high-density fibreboard cabinet add to the impression that careful designing has gone on here, too, which sets the QR-1 SE aside from quite a few of its nominal rivals.

Take the magnetically attached grilles off, and the driver array will be immediately familiar to anyone with experience of the original QR-1. The gold leaf AMT high-frequency unit is an in-house design and sits in a brushed, anodised aluminium plate that carries a modest brand logo and behind a rose gold mesh 'S-stop' filter. Below, there is a 153mm dual-magnet mid/bass driver in a surround featuring a far less modest company logo. According to Audiovector, it is a 'pure piston' design of two aluminium layers sandwiching a fibre-and-glue filling. The intention of this is to minimise high-frequency break-up behaviour, deliver clean and expansive sound, and hand over seamlessly to the high-frequency unit. The crossover, by the way, is the responsibility of a single-component-per-driver affair that operates at 3kHz. And below here is a discreet bass reflex slot that's been tuned for smooth airflow and minimal resonance, so says the manufacturer.

It is on the inside that the real upheaval has occurred. Audiovector has designed new capacitors in an effort to liberate greater high-frequency clarity and detail, specified metal-housed resistors to improve heat dissipation and reworked the bass reflex path. It has deployed a quantity of 'nanopore' damping material to deliver greater midrange fidelity and used cryogenically treated internal wiring in a drive for improved dynamic response. In short, then, there's more going on here than the appearance of that little gold badge suggests.

While not exactly troublesome, this loudspeaker is just a little more difficult to integrate into a system than some of its price rivals. Its low nominal impedance of 4 ohms tells its own story, while sensitivity of either 86dB or 87dB – depending on whether you believe the company's website or the back of the review sample, is just a little trickier than it might be. If you own a powerful solid-state amplifier with decent load-driving ability, then you won't have any trouble – but lower-powered Class A transistor or tube amps will struggle in larger listening rooms.

THE LISTENING

Do you like stew more than salad? Prefer a pitbull to a whippet? Admire a sprinter or a gymnast? Because the Audiovecxtor QR-1 SE has a sonic balance and attitude that puts it at fairly significant odds with quite a lot of its nominal competition. A listen to a vinyl copy of Hello Young Lovers by Sparks quickly makes my point. The QR-1 SE has greater low-frequency reach and impact than the QR-1 on which it's based, but despite this, it is still noticeably lean where bass is concerned. Indeed, it isn't as punchy as you might be expecting and sounds a little less prolific in the bass than some competing designs.

The bass presence that is generated is solid, well-controlled, detail-packed and nicely shaped, so rhythmic expression is extremely good as a consequence. Yet the fact remains that in terms of sheer impact, this Audiovector speaker is a middleweight surrounded by heavier hitters. If you like agility and manoeuvrability, you'll find it an easy trait to accommodate – but if you think the word 'wallop' has nothing but positive connotations, you probably won't.

Switch to a 24-bit/96kHz FLAC file of King Hannah's Big Swimmer, though, and the QR-1 SE comes steaming back into contention. It's a deft and accommodating listen, able to deliver the midrange (and voices in particular) with a spectacular degree of positivity and insight. You will never be in any doubt as to a vocalist's attitude, character or competence when heard via a pair of these loudspeakers. And at the top end, the relatively elaborate tweeter arrangement offers space, substance and lavish detail levels in more-or-less equal measure.

Overall tonality is nicely neutral, and integration throughout the frequency range is very smooth—an improvement on that of the QR-1, which betrayed its crossover point rather too readily for my liking. The balance of the sound is nicely judged, and the Audiovector's disinclination to stick its oar into the sound of a recording is most welcome.

Dynamic headroom is considerable, and the gleeful shifts between 'near-silence' and 'bug-eyed attack' that the Sparks recording indulges in are given what sounds very much like complete expression. Furthermore, the QR-1 SE is similarly adept when it comes to the harmonic variations apparent in the more minimalist passages of the King Hannah album; it is alert to small dynamic shifts in tone or timbre, even from note to note. It proves to be an engaging, entertaining and versatile performer.

THE VERDICT

It's not easy to find a modestly priced loudspeaker that's able to combine real refinement with genuine excitement, so for this reason alone, Audiovector's QR-1 SE is well worth a place on your 'must audition' shortlist. It is also very well built and finished, considering the price point, and attractively styled. Given these multiple talents, then, this is a Special Edition that's deserving of the word 'special'.

Visit Audiovector for more information