Qualio IQ Review

Superchunk

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This is a thorough review of the new Qualio IQ speakers by the cube audio team. Since there's no user reviews on the internet I decided to do a full review even though I'm not really experienced or knowledgeable enough to usually write a review. But, I'm getting the first pair so I thought it would be valuable for others to have some thoughts about them to read.

For professional reviews, Srajan has a very thorough review up that really helped me make my decision to try them.

Context:

I definitely think it's valuable to have context for a review, so a little about me and what I'm looking for and what I listen to.

I've been using Harbeth shl5 with lab12 pre1 and suono (25wpc class A single ended kt150) for many years. The Lab12 isn't the most detailed but it is extremely pleasant, flowing...musical. Combined with the harbeth the mid range and particularly vocals were truly amazing. Friends would have goosebumps and hair on back of the neck stand up.

Despite these very strong strengths, I grew a bit bored eventually. I tried a Dartzeel lhc 208 to see if more power would wake up the harbeth but it didn't entirely do it for me.

I decided to try some Reference 3A Grand Veena. They did bring more excitement, dynamics and more sparkling highs, as well as tighter bass. But...while very good they didn't entirely move me. So I kept shopping.

What am I looking for:
- dynamics
- wide deep soundstage
- fun, sparkly highs
- excellent midrange, if not as good as harbeth
- fun. Toe tapping, engrossing and engaging

What I care less about:
- bass. Im just not picky with it really. Obviously it matters it's just not something I focus on
- perfect tonality. Again, obviously it matters but I'm focused more on the overall presentation right now

Musical tastes:
I listen to a wide variety and almost none of it is audiophile. I'm 45 and grew up on indie rock, hip hop and punk.

A bit of a cross section if certainly not comprehensive to the variety I like:
Dinosaur Jr
Andrew Bird
Superchunk
Low
Television
Alabama 3
Air
Decemberists
Weakerthans
Smog
Blake Mills
The Halluci-nation
Sampa the Great
Jim White
Jimbo Mathus

Feel free to listen to any of those to get an idea. Again, it's not audiophile music which is probably why perfect tonality doesn't matter as much to me as it would to some.

So why the Qualio? Well, I think the open baffle mid and high will give me the open, free presentation that wraps me up and engrossed me. I think the woofer will give the bass I need to fill in the body. I think the amt will give me that sparkle I find fun. I think the Cube team knows good midrange and will deliver on that. Overall, I think it's going to give the general presentation that I need.

I almost bought the Wolf Von Langa Son. These cost a fair bit less than half as much and I think will offer much of the same, and I'm hoping for better.

Qualio is direct to consumer in an attempt to keep costs low. Communication with Grzegorz was fantastic, he's a great guy. They are certainly very busy with two audio companies, one brand new, shows to do etc...but I was happy with the whole process. I got in on the first run and was told mine were the first to ship. Took about 6 weeks from order to shipping which is very fair considering this is the very first run, you can't expect everything to go perfectly.

Equipment I'll be using:
Kuzma Stabi/stogi s
My sonic labs eminent ex cartridge
Sutherland Little Loco current mode phono stage

Amplifier options in the house:
Dartzeel lhc 208
Vinnie Rossi lio DHT with amp and dac2
Lab 12 Pre1
Lab12 Suono
VTL S200

I will be trying them all and mix and matching the two preamps (vr and Pre1) with the two power amps along with the two integrated (dart and vr).

I will also be home auditioning Angela Gilbert Yeung c318 and a120, which I dealer demo's and really liked.

So we will see who ends up staying and who goes. It's a nice variety of ss, tube, high watt and low for both.

Thus ends part 1: the leadup
The speakers are scheduled to arrive Monday (hopefully). I will post part 2: unboxing and setup shortly after.
 
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djbnh

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Looking forward to reading your early, and evolving, impressions; thanks for taking the time to do this. :)
 

gryphongryph

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Looking forward to this review, although tone is very important to me.
I am running Graham Audio LS 5/9 and a pair of Amphion Xenon which I am interested to upgrade.
 

Superchunk

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I'm cutting and pasting from my thread on Canuck audio mart. There are a few pics there...

Part 2:

Speakers arrived late Tuesday and I've been breaking them in since then. I thought I would talk a little about the final part of the ordering process.

I paid taxes online and there was no duties charge. Brokerage was around $10. So total cost Canadian, with the extra resistors package (around $400cdn I think) was $8500. So around $8k for a stock order with no extras. Your mileage will vary depending on exchange rate. It was fairly poor when I ordered.

Packaging was excellent. They come in large reinforced wood crates. No boxes inside which I like as it's less to store. I can store other stuff in the crates.

Inside the crates the top plexiglass section with he midrange and tweeter are kept detached from the woofer section for safety. Installing them is as easy as screwing in 4 screws and attaching the connector.

Everything about the fit and finish is good. At this price point you aren't getting hand selected on-site cured pure walnut cabinets. What you do get is well made and thoughtfully designed. I think they look fantastic too in a somewhat unconventional way.

Inside you get two boxes (at least I did with the extra resistors) where you will have resistors, nice cones with cups, instructions and even a microfiber cloth to get ur dirty fingerprints off after setting them up.

All in all the ordering, shipping, delivery and setup went very smoothly. Grzegorz is an absolutely great guy to deal with.
Ordering direct can give some people pause, I'm sure, vs a dealer but in my experience it was smooth as butter. Again, this isn't a new company, they know what they are doing.

I am going to refrain from making any comments on the sound yet. I want to give them some time to break in, for me to adjust, give them some time with each amplifier etc..

Part 3: the actual review coming soon, as well as some hopefully decent pics.
 

Superchunk

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orough, ON, CA
Part 3: First Impressions

I'm going to put a huge caveat here: I have an ear injury on my right side that creates a loud sympathetic buzzing for women's voices and higher. It makes listening tough. Doctor said ,3-6 months but should fully heal. I have good days and bad and have been able to listen to the speakers, but not in the thorough way I would like yet.

That said, there are some first impressions that I can give that aren't particularly effected by defect.

So far I have not gotten into positioning. I basically plopped them where my speakers usually sit, because and despite my guess that careful positioning and room tweaks will make a big difference. I haven't had time to delve as deep as I will.

I did toe them in fairly drastically and I like that better than straight on. But again I haven't played, just did it once and left it.

It is my impression so far the speakers are not picky or difficult. They already impress very much without any tweaking, and in my opinion careful positioning is absolutely vital. So I expect improvements. I guess how much improvement o see will suggest how picky they are. But they sound good right now.

Break in: they need it. And your ears do too if you're used to box speakers. Again I have to remind of the caveat that my right ear makes everything sound harsh and bright. Everything. So I can only comment in a way that discounts that and is to be taken with a grain of salt. (For now)

For me I'm used to boxy sounding speakers. Nice speakers that give a good sense of warmth and texture, but sound like sound from a box.

These are so open, so clear and so detailed that to start with they came off rather bright. Part of that was the break in, part was going from a decade of soft dome tweeters to amt tweeters, part of it is that these speakers, imo, do lean towards bright, but not in a way that is sterile or clinical. It's entirely grain free so that bright detailed sound isn't harsh, it isn't overly crisp in a way that sounds false, it is instead how music sounds live to me. The sounds, the vocals, the instruments aren't being "processed" through the box and so they sound...real.

Edit: I just did a bit of speaker positioning, again just random not following any principles, and everything I was hearing as brightness went away. So... remember these are initial impressions. I'm getting more richness than brightness now, but still with great clarity.

It's all very impressive. Personally, because of my predilection towards warm and lush I will have to carefully pair my amplifier. But I don't think I'll ever get seriously lush and warm with these speakers. And I'm fine with that because I'm already adjusting my enjoyment to appreciating the more real sound. And to me, space and air around notes (what I mean by holographic) with excellent soundstage is really a huge key to enjoyment and these speakers and deliver that in spades.

Texture js also very important to me and the jury is still out on that. With my beloved lab12 Suono 25wpc the texture is mostly there. But the power isn't.

If I was to give a few words to describe these speakers it would be:
Dynamic
Open
Clear

What you expect to have from open baffle, you have.

More caveat:
The day my speakers came in my 20amp line and new breaker panel came in. Also my new used phono stage. I used new used speaker cables. I used an un-broken-in power conditioner. Essentially I did everything you wouldn't do if you were focused on reviewing:)

I've also played with 4 different amps and have now sold them all. None were exactly what I wanted with these speakers. I'm now shopping for a full tube setup around 100wpc or a tube sounding hybrid (preferably 6992 front). Recommendations are welcome.

I'll leave it at that, but will describe what I find with positioning and room adjustment, further break in, further amp experiences and hopefully an improving right ear.
 

Superchunk

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Full review still incoming. I'll put this in here for now.

I mentioned brightness previously. They aren't, not in any negative way. It's my opinion these speakers will be whatever you want them to be depending on what you pair them with.

Until I get to the full review I'll say that I'm very, very, very happy.

Currently have an Angela Gilbert Yeung separates in for demo. I listened for 5 minutes and am now letting them warm up but initial impression with these amps it's fantastic tone and timbre, which is what I was missing a bit with the Vinnie Rossi I've been using.
 
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QualioAudio

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I wish that you find that best matching amp very soon. Did the amp warmed up a bit ?
 

Superchunk

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So, time for an actual review, as my system is fully rebuilt and I'm very happy with it.

Final setup:
Kuzma stabi/stogi s
My Sonic Labs Eminent EX
Mastersound evolution 845
Allnic h3000
Qualio IQ with isoacoustics Gaia

Since I've changed everything but my source, this has to be a review of the system and not just the speakers as it's all new to me. That said, I believe the speakers need to be able to portray what's in front of them.

The Qualio are in my usual location, which is 15' apart and 13' from my listening position with a slight toe in.

They really aren't that picky with positioning but are sensitive to it. Which is to say, they sound good everywhere I put them but do respond to changes in position...there will be a best and worst.

I'm not going to try and copy reviewers reviews but I'll talk about what matters to me.

Bass:

I'll reiterate I'm not that picky with bass. I can't speak to it the same way I can with mid range where I'm somewhat obsessed.

This is the most balanced lows I've ever heard. I was curious if they would blend well based on the design and I can say they absolutely do. The bass never draws attention to itself and to my ears perfectly portrays the intentions of the recording. I've heard faster, punchier bass and I thought I really liked it at the time...but it sounded punchy and fast. It was a neat presentation but it also felt like something my stereo was doing, not the musicians. I've had deeper bass using JL audio subs, but again, while impressive it sounded like an addition.

With the Qualio IQ it just feels right. When I put in the Sleaford Mods, which is hard driving bass+vocal post punk, the bass energizes the room beautifully. It hits hard, but it hits like music, not like a fist. I believe if you want more output it's because you want the effect, not the reproduction. And nothing wrong with that.

Highs

I'm very sensitive to treble. If theres one thing that turns me right off it's any sense of hardness or a piercing quality in the highs. Unfortunately this rules out a lot of speakers for me as I find it very common. So moving from silk/soft dome tweeters to the amt was a bit of an adjustment to me. I never found the tweeters unpleasant, but more pronounced than I'm used to and so for me I had to play around with different resistors ...I got the 5 pack because I know my predilection for being picky with treble...and I need to pair and adjust to get things where I like them.

Fortunately I did, and it wasn't too hard. I think the amt tweeters used is a very good one, and as with the rest of the speakers, you can fine tune it to where you like. Once dialed in I find the highest frequencies just beautiful. Extremely clean, no hardness, and like the bass, they feel 'as intended' with no extra attention shone on them.

I listen to a lot of music that is intended to have effects as opposed to a perfect recreation of, say, a small jazz ensemble playing in your living room, and the holographic open-backededness, combined with the ability of the amt to deliver a delicate shimmer with crystal clear clarity creates corporeal contentment continuously. Sorry. Thought I was writing for blue moon for a second there.

One of the things I was looking for when moving away from my salt of the earth harbeth was more of this quality of ethereal highs, which I find help create the kind of engrossing soundscapes that envelope me. I found exactly what I was looking for in the Qualio IQ.

Midrange

Here's where I get really picky, whether I can describe things adequately or not, the midrange is the key to me. If vocals can't make me verklempt I won't be able to live with the speakers. My wife judges basically on 'magic' and magic alone, and she's referring to that quality of a real person really singing in our room. For us, it's the single deal breaker. I think, so far in my life, there's been very few setups I've heard that have really done it for me. Likely not very few that could or would, but I haven't experienced them so far. For speakers I think just harbeth and Franco Serblin so far. And now the Qualio IQ.

That said, the Qualio IQ didn't do it for me out of the box instantly. I needed the right amp and phono stage to get exactly where I wanted to be, but again, I'm extremely picky about this point, so that's reasonable. Paired with the 845 tubes, and I think importantly for me personally, 17 tubes total, I got to the most emotionally engaging midrange space I've ever been, and frankly more than I really thought possible.

I'm at the point of midrange beauty that I find it hard to describe. It's gone beyond "this sounds good and there's nice texture here" ...there's a pace...a sense of corporeal existence that I think is a combination of many factors - the timing - the texture - the perfect balance top to bottom - for me the sound has become not about the sound but the emotion, the intention. I can feel when the vocalist has a particular emotional attachment to a particular song vs a song that means less to them personally - song by song, side by side, album by album. Talk about that feeling of wanting to just sit there and pour through all your various albums. You pull out albums that made you feel a certain something at a certain point in your life, maybe that you haven't listened to in a decade, you put it on and think...wow, yeah...that's exactly what he was feeling when he sang this...and that's exactly why it connected me. It was always there, and that's why I connected, but it's so fully on display now, it's so obvious and clear. It's deeper.

You with me here? The midrange is good.

I have more to say but I'm going to pause this, post it, and continue with more notes later. I'll include some thoughts from one record I recently listened to and was able to drag myself out to write a bit.

Fugazi first demo

Electric guitar has a driving forceful energy. Electric guitars in particular don't seem made to emanate from a box. The leading edge, the grinding texture comes through in a way that gives an energy and vitality I haven't heard before.

The driving bass lines have a depth and body that when layered with powerful electric guitars just sucks you in. There's a foundation you can feel in your gut while the thrash of the guitar comes from an entirely different space. It's not, to me, like a well layered or differentiated soundstage as I've heard before. It's distinct instruments that exist distinctly in space. I just don't get any mental clues that they are emanating from the same instrument (the speakers).
 

gryphongryph

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Great write up, can I ask if you have a large sweet spot when moving around ? Or do you have to sit in a tighter sweet spot?
 

Superchunk

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Great write up, can I ask if you have a large sweet spot when moving around ? Or do you have to sit in a tighter sweet spot?

I don't have a lot of data on that as my position is kinda wedged, there's one sweet spot to sit in. That said previously if I reclined all the way back or literally just moved my head I lost the perfect sweet spot. That's with a few different speakers. I don't get that with the Qualio. The sweet spot definitely isn't razor thin, I just can't really say how big it is.
 

gryphongryph

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Thanks, that helps, on my Graham Audio LS 5/9 the sweet spot is tight, while on my Amphion Xenon it is much larger, I am looking for the 5/9 midrange magic with a bit bigger sweet spot.
 

Superchunk

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Thanks, that helps, on my Graham Audio LS 5/9 the sweet spot is tight, while on my Amphion Xenon it is much larger, I am looking for the 5/9 midrange magic with a bit bigger sweet spot.

I think being open baffle gives a wide enjoyment area as the sound really fills the space. I have a 16' living room depth, then a doorway to dining room that's about 18 feet and then my kitchen. The first time I had it on while doing dishes I did a big double take, it sounded fantastic and very clear. Usually I can basically barely hear it. So sounds pretty darn good 35' away with speakers facing the opposite direction:)
 
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djbnh

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I think being open baffle gives a wide enjoyment area as the sound really fills the space. I have a 16' living room depth, then a doorway to dining room that's about 18 feet and then my kitchen. The first time I had it on while doing dishes I did a big double take, it sounded fantastic and very clear. Usually I can basically barely hear it. So sounds pretty darn good 35' away with speakers facing the opposite direction:)
Curious - which Isoacoustics Gaia Series are you using, the II (for speakers up to 121 lbs, or III (4 spkr up to 70 lbs)? The IQs spec at 32 kg / 70.5 lbs.
 

Superchunk

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Curious - which Isoacoustics Gaia Series are you using, the II (for speakers up to 121 lbs, or III (4 spkr up to 70 lbs)? The IQs spec at 32 kg / 70.5 lbs.
I already owned the ii so that's what I'm using. Part of me wants to try the 3 but it's not that cheap to do so and really, it's at the max of the specs but within spec so I'm sure it's dandy. I'm sure isoacoustics puts the range ending as performance starts to drop not after it's already dropped.
 
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gryphongryph

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Read the review mostly talking about amplified music, one thing my eyes caught was he mentioned that they were best played a bit loud!
Or that was the way I interpreted it.
I mostly play on low to moderate levels which make this speaker less desirable, that I also don’t hear much over 10 thousand makes the super tweeter a bit unnecessary!
Interesting what other future reviews will say.
 

djbnh

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Read the review mostly talking about amplified music, one thing my eyes caught was he mentioned that they were best played a bit loud!
Or that was the way I interpreted it.
I mostly play on low to moderate levels which make this speaker less desirable, that I also don’t hear much over 10 thousand makes the super tweeter a bit unnecessary!
Interesting what other future reviews will say.
Interesting take, not one that I took away yet interesting none the less.

I reread the review: "Upping the tempo a bit and playing a tune that I’m currently hammering when I’m DJing (sadly only in the house for the moment) I put on Disco Biscuit by Disco Biscuit from the early 90s and crank the volume up a bit. Bass is fast and rolling, vocals are panned both left and right and then central depending on where you are in the tune, and that nagging funky guitar sample is clear as a bell. Yep, these can throw a bit of a party when they have to too, but I’m pretty sure this kind of music wasn’t high on the list of priorities when the guys were voicing them."

He also wrote, "This is a fairly long room and about 5m wide, but the Qualios had absolutely no problem in filling it and being able to go to volumes that you’d not want to maintain for too long without distortion or the feeling that they were being pushed too hard. They do have a sweet spot with regards to volume and that is quite loud, but they also get across detail and nuance at lower levels should that be a must." Seemed to me the reviewer wrote that the IQs can play in both the loud and quieter lanes.

EDIT:
That being said, I remember Srajan's review contained, "I conclude that Mr. IQs is a bit of a - um, current cunt....It's in this equation of driver control that I suspect the IQ's appetite for low-? roots." I'm not sure how hifi pig's amp matched with the IQs (the Merril Thors reportedly can do 400W into 4?; however, there's only a single speaker tap.); however, not amps are created equal for creating current and at what volume the amp produces more current. For example, I run a McIntosh MAC7200, with separate 8/4/2? taps and McIntosh's legendary autoformers - the MAC7200 seemingly effortlessly can run anything, at low to high volumes with gobs of detail at each listening level (I don't listen at high, I'm more temperate re: "low to moderate levels" as you are. I also run a loom of Allnic PCs / SCs / XLRs / AES that are great at detail, depth, you name it - there fantastic so I'm sure that helps as well. YMMV. And happy listening!
 
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Superchunk

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Regarding the hifi pig review...I bought these speakers and am very happy with these speakers specifically because I'm not a soft jazz guy, and I know they intended them to be able to rock, rave, and rap. And they do, very much so.

Regarding volume levels, I think I agree, that there is a sweet spot and it's a bit louder. I care about volume as I listen to my music after my wife goes to bed most of the time, and her bedroom is right above. I need to keep it around 75db ..maybe 78. I found this was the case with my new amp more, but it does sound it's best when I get up into that 75-78db at the chair. It's not loud, but it's not quiet.

Regarding current...I ran it with a variety of amps as I put in my review. My guess is the 25wpc Vinnie rossie has the most current delivery.

They all sounded great. The 25wpc kt150 lab12 didn't have enough for the bass. But it wasn't that far off. Would depend on your music style. The 50wpc mastersound has no issues whatsoever
 
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