June 2024

World Premiere Review!
Acora Acoustics QRC 2 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review
First-class sound quality in a luxurious form factor.
Review By Rick Becker

  Val Cora must have spotted my press pass when I first encountered their SRB two-way stand-mounted monitor at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest show back in 2019. He encouraged me to take a closer look and listen as I didn't seem particularly interested. It was my subconscious fear of tipping over heavy stone or aluminum speakers that I later traced back to a childhood trauma incident.

Fast forward to 2023 and I've become one of Acora Acoustics' biggest fans, typically including them among the Best Rooms awards in my show reports. Not so much because I like them as because they're so damn good. Val has been a master of setting up rigs in a wide variety of rooms supported by a diverse selection of amplification and front ends. That he consistently features different top-level turntables and phono cartridges has been a particular delight, though he also showcases digital front ends. I fear that since he recently acquired Audio Research, his presentations may become more restricted to their products. So far, that fear is unfounded. Diversity, after all, is the spice of life.  Yet while smaller manufacturers have relied on Acora speakers at shows in recent years, no one does it as well as Val.

Fast forward again to last August when a freight truck unloaded a palate with a pair of the QRC 2 speakers in cardboard boxes for me to review. I had been hedging on reviewing Acora speakers because they are so heavy they would be difficult to move around, and they are so good I would be tempted to buy them. My Kharma Ceramique speakers, at a bit over 100 pounds, are tough enough to scooch across the carpet. Moving speakers, from time to time, comes with the territory when you're a reviewer. It wasn't until I finished the Toronto AudioFest 2023 report and was well into the Capital Audiofest 2023 Chronicles that Val finally came down to Rochester to set them up for me. At over 185 lbs each, I couldn't handle them alone.

We strapped each one to my refrigerator hand truck and bumped it up several steps to get into the house and then down one step into the sunken living room that serves as my dedicated listening room. The wooden floor is double-joisted and I have 4x4 posts in the basement directly below where I place the Kharma. Un-boxing the speakers was relatively straightforward, once I figured out how to release the plastic locks that secured the outer box to the inner one. It was also helpful to have two people lift the outer box – not that it is difficult or heavy, but pulling up on all four corners simultaneously keeps one box from binding on the other.

The packaging is extraordinarily well-designed. Once unboxed, you can slide a metal hand truck under the front edge of the speaker, safely lift it, and wheel it to its approximate position. The speaker ships with sliders on the feet to facilitate moving it about on carpet or hardwood floors. I quickly overcame my fear of accidentally tipping them over. The speakers taper like a pyramid, somewhat, and the center of gravity is a lot closer to the floor than you might think. A football player would have to make a serious attempt to tackle them and would likely retire to the trauma tent afterward. No one is going to knock them over at a listening party with friends casually milling around or dancing. They come with floor protectors for the spike feet, as well as a nice cloth sleeve if you wish to keep them covered when not in use.

We chose to spread the Acora QRC 2 speakers a little further apart and move them a little closer to the front wall, just sighting them by eye and checking the distance with a tape measure. My initial listening impressions were twofold. First, the Acora was a significant step up from my 20-year-old Kharma Ceramique. Second, I could tell my room was noticeably more damped than the rooms at shows where I've heard Acora QRC 2 speakers over the years. But Val wasn't done yet. He returned to his pickup truck for his laser-measuring tools.

I've heard of experts like Peter McGrath at Wilson Audio who go to extreme efforts to get speaker alignment absolutely perfect for a given listening position. In fact, I've sat in that perfect position at Peter's request on several occasions years ago when the Montreal show was one of only a handful in North America. But until you've heard the 'before' and 'after' results of such fine-tuning, you have no idea how beneficial it can be. The experience was humbling.

We picked the center divider of the large bay window as the center point on the front wall and from there, Val positioned the speakers equidistant from that point, perfectly aligned, facing straight forward. Then he installed the spike feet and perfectly leveled the speakers, not just to the floor, but to each other. All of this was done with a pair of laser tools and a hand tool to raise or lower the spikes a quarter of a turn at a time. My front wall, it seems, was slightly out of square, and floors are known to bow or not be level whether they are joisted or poured concrete.

When Val Cora was done I took another listen and silently whispered "Wow" with my lips. Beyond that, we simply moved the listening chair about a foot closer to the plane of the speakers to get it out of a null point for the bass. Despite all the pinpoint measurements, I never felt obliged to keep my head in a 'vice', though I habitually center myself between the arms of the recliner. The additional damping my room seemed to impose became the new normal. I wasn't about to rip out the carpet and pull the large paintings from my walls.

Aesthetics And Functionality
The Acora Acoustics QRC series is identical to the SRC series, aside from using quartz rather than Black African Granite, though one source indicates the quartz version is slightly lighter. Both stones are fully polished and 3cm thick. The bottom five inches of the column seemed to be solid stone when I peeked inside with a flashlight and poked around. That would explain why the speaker seems so bottom-heavy. The metal plates at the bottom are T6 aluminum and do not flex – even when tipping the speakers to the side to place or install aftermarket footers. Special CNC machining allows precise fitting of the stone slabs that are bonded with a special epoxy. The edges reveal no seams and are smooth to the touch.

From a post on Audiogon on 3/12/24 I learned more about the African black granite. Jallan wrote:

"African black granite is not granite but instead fine-grained gabbro. It's denser than granite, as different minerals make it up. No quartz, and denser, more calcic plagioclase feldspar, and relatively dense, iron-rich pyroxene. I am retired now, but I was a volcano guy and used to analyze igneous rocks. Catchy trade name, though. I agree that this material really works for loudspeakers, as all the Acora Acoustics loudspeakers I have heard are really special. And the owner is a truly nice guy...".

While the highly polished gloss finish of the two materials is the same, the visual appearance is not. The African black granite has a more pronounced grain and a fine 'metal-flake' look that is more reflective than the very fine grain of the quartz material which exhibits tiny metal-flake reflections only under a spotlight. Aesthetically, the granite leans slightly towards bling and formality, while the quartz is cosmetically neutral. The quartz models are offered in a medium gray finish (Nardo Quartz) and a white (Thasos Quartz.) Since I like to listen in the dark and not be distracted by the sight of the speaker, I requested the gray, which has a more neutral, less eye-catching presence in the room. At night, with only a reading light aimed at the record jacket in my lap, the speaker completely disappears. It's just you and the music. Beautiful – visually, emotionally, and aurally.

The shape of the speaker has minimal presence also. At the top, it is wider than it is deep from front to back. I hardly notice it when entering the room from the side and even from the front it has minimal impact on the décor. I marvel at the 92.5dB/W/m efficiency of a speaker that appears to have such a small internal volume when you consider the thickness of the stone. With the walls being 3cm thick, the drivers appear to be tightly fitted at the top of the speaker.

While it is a couple of inches taller than my piano gloss black Kharma speakers, the slender Acora in the subdued gray finish seems much smaller than the Kharma. If you want to make more of a visual splash, choose the white quartz finish, or spend another $10,000 or more for the African black granite SRC model, which now also comes in a few special order colors and some limited rare upgraded stone. An SRB monitor from the new, exclusive Gem Series was shown at Axpona in a stunning  Amethyst with internal lighting that was bedazzling... but the price jumped to $55,000, or $85,000 with the accompanying subwoofer on which it rested. As with many things in life, you can take it to the next level if you are willing and able to spend for it.

The seven pieces of stone, plus the steel bottom plate form a unique, refined shape with flared sides that minimize diffraction. With the tapered shape, there are no parallel sides to the enclosure, and no internal bracing or baffling material is used. The steel plate extends out at the corners to create a firmer stance in addition to easy access to adjust the footers. Floor protectors are supplied should you need them. A tasteful logo is affixed at the bottom of the front baffle, requiring those who do not recognize the signature shape of Acora speakers to get down on their knees. From the front, the shape tapers away from you as it rises from the floor making it unlikely that you will casually bump into it.

The right speaker in my setup was partially in front of my equipment rack and only 18" in front of it, yet I never felt cramped or restricted by its presence. Rather, I had even more room than with the boxy shape of the Kharma that also leaned to the rear. Front loudspeaker grills are available, though never felt I needed them. The black surrounds of the drivers are mounted flush with the baffle and the black metal meets the gray quartz without any distracting bling. Most of the mounting screw heads are covered with black felt dots – a nice detail offering a subtle element to the very clean design. Overall, it is elegant, but reserved. If you need something with more visual "pop" the white QRC with black drivers might work for you.

As to wife-acceptance-factor, as the music sings "Don't worry, be happy." My wife said she liked it the first time she saw it, as did a couple of her lady friends. And she has dropped several appreciative comments in recent months. Physically, it is not a big speaker. If your ego needs it to be a big speaker, simply turn up the volume. While it is a two-way speaker with a beryllium tweeter and an extra midbass driver, the drivers have been modified by Acora Acoustics, and the speaker will play loud, easily getting over 100dB at the listening position with appropriate amplification. And as witnessed at shows, it will fill rooms many times the size of mine with glorious music.

The Listening
One of the features that attracted me to the Acora, aside from its outstanding sound quality, was its specified efficiency of 92.5dB/W/m. I'm a tube guy at heart and my Eddie Wong monoblocks with 18 Watts per channel from parallel 300B tubes have been with me for well over a decade. I was lucky they were able to drive the Kharma with 89dB/W/m efficiency and its benign 8 Ohm impedance curve – as long as I didn't get into head-banging territory. The Acora Acoustics QRC is only a 4 Ohm load though so there was still some uncertainty as tube amps typically like to see higher resistance.

The 3+ dB jump in efficiency was immediately perceivable. Hitting 'Go' on the CD transport produced a noticeable jump in volume – not that I had to dive for the Pause button, but reassuringly louder, which translated into more comfortable headroom and more relaxed listening. Could I have gotten away with 8 watts from a single 300B tube? That was an interesting question. I didn't have a pair of Coincident M300B Frankenstein MK IV monoblocks on hand, but I did have my Coincident Dynamo 34SE MKII which also puts out 8 Wpc from EL34 tubes.

While it may seem unlikely, if not ludicrous to drive a $37,000 loudspeaker with a $1500 8 Wpc amplifier, I'm here to tell you it worked! Granted, it might not sound as suave as the new Coincident Frankenstein Stereo SET 300-B Amplifier ($2500 without output power tubes), but as long as I kept the volume reasonable, it was doable – even in my large listening room in an open floor plan. With an enclosed room of modest dimensions, it might perform even better. Need even more sonic purity? There are more expensive 300B tube amps that could likely outperform either of these modestly priced Coincident amps.

Thinking I should try a muscle amp, I wheeled out my Coincident Turbo 845 SE integrated amp with 28 SET Wpc from 845 tubes driven by a pair of 300B tubes. It's on a wheeled amp stand because it weighs 100 lbs. But it is a muscle amp because of the way it drives even difficult speakers. It had no trouble whatsoever driving the Acora to levels I don't dare listen to for any extended period. The only shortcoming was the difference between the stereo configuration of the Coincident amp when compared to the monoblock configuration of Eddy Wong's amps. Basically, the soundstage was wider and the positioning of musicians was a little further forward with the monoblocks, as you would expect.

But I have gotten ahead of the story already. Val Cora and I had originally set up the QRC 2 with my AGD Audion Mk III monoblocks which put out 100 Watts into 8 Ohm speakers and 200 Watts into 4 Ohm speakers like the QRC. In addition to the louder output capability, the speed of the GaNFET power amp combined with the responsiveness of the speaker to produce outstanding dynamics that were further enhanced by greater transparency. It was also immediately clear that the QRC 2 had much better resolution than the Kharma and was stronger in the bass, though not as strong and deep as I recalled from my experiences at shows. They also lacked some air and sparkle in the treble which I attributed to the damping effect of my décor. Nonetheless, the QRC 2 had a very smooth frequency response and the improvement in cognitive recognition of difficult song lyrics was very relaxing and satisfying. Consistent toe-tapping was totally unconscious... until it wasn't.

The music completely escaped the speaker and was spread over a soundstage that was as wide and deep as the Kharma. The outer edges of that soundscape, particularly toward the front corners of the stage, were even more transparent than any speaker I've had in-house. I found my head turning to those extremes when a musician on either side broke into a solo. Overall, it was a very fine presentation but I still felt a gnawing sense of disappointment that they didn't sound as good as I heard them at the shows. Was it just the much more expensive rigs that achieved such greatness?

The Evolution To Greatness
In an ideal world, a reviewer plugs a new component into his well established reference system to evaluate a new component and is able to discern its character with all its strengths and weaknesses. But that's not how it really works – at least in my life. New gear pops up all the time. When something really piques my interest, I can't resist requesting a review sample. Consequently, reviews overlap. While some might scream "Heresy!", I ask "What if?" and the review shifts from an "evaluation" to an "opportunity for exploration."

In essence, this is what many audiophiles do on their own. They "buy this" and sell off "that," constantly evolving their system in search of musical bliss... or at least get as close to it as they can afford... depending on what they can slip into the house past their significant others. As modestly sized as these Acoras are, they are sufficiently unique and attractive that they will be noticed. And likely, admired.

But what about that bass that didn't seem to be as deep and as strong as I recalled from the show? Well, the LCH subwoofers I reviewed in the December issue were still here. I hooked up my vintage Musical Design SP 1 tube preamp to my buddy Tom's PS Audio S300 Class D power amp to drive the passive subs. I had more bass that blended reasonably well with the Acora and took it down lower. I loved that I could tailor the strength of the bass with volume control on the preamp, even if that meant getting out of the listening chair. The LCH has a very natural tone quality but I sensed they could have benefited from a more powerful amp to drive them. Still, it was an impressive improvement.

Another very impressive enhancement came from installing the new LessLoss BlackGround for Speakers that appeared in the April issue. This was a breakthrough product that siphoned off distortion at the output of the power amp, just before it reached the speakers. If you think of your power conditioner as being installed at the front door of your system, the BlackGround for Speakers serves a similar function, cleaning up the signal at the back door with its unique technology. With a blacker background and more inner detail, microdynamics, and tonal color, the BlackGround for Speakers took the Acora Acoustics QRC 2 speakers above the sound quality level I had experienced at shows, approaching the level of their flagship VRC speaker. I also heard the BlackGround for Speakers with my Kharma speakers and Tom's Wilson Audio Sabrina speakers with the same obvious positive results.

Realizing I had both the 10X monoblock (for the Acora) and 8X stereo versions of the BlackGround for Speakers, I hooked up the 8X stereo version to the subwoofers to reap the same benefits in the deep bass. I never considered myself to be a bass head, but I was clearly feeling the addictive properties of powerful deep bass. And it was readily available with the twist of a knob.

Next up were the loudspeaker footers. The tweeter is already positioned high on the SRC so I didn't want to raise them higher. My go-to footer in such a case is the very affordable Soundeck footers that I've reviewed and recommended over the years, most recently in the 2023 annual Gift Guide. I used a set of the larger 70mm square footers because of the heavy weight of the Acora, but the smaller 50mm round or square are effective with most gear. The improvement in resolution was way more than worth the modest price, especially in the context of a speaker as expensive as the Acora. Plus, it will protect your floor or carpet, though special floor protectors are included with the speaker, as I've said.

The Soundeck footers were so effective I took a risk and tried the much more expensive Stack Audio Auva 100 speaker isolators (~1560 USD) that were reviewed in the December 2023 issue. Rather than remove the spikes from the Acora to thread the Auva properly into the steel platform, I left out the 3/8-inch threaded stud, positioned the footer on the spike when it was raised in the air, then carefully lowered each corner in turn to the floor. The speaker sat higher than it would have if the Auva had been properly installed, but removing the spikes (and then reinstalling them) is a lengthy process. As thick as the large Auva footers are, they would not raise the speaker any higher than the spikes when properly installed. I learned instantly what I wanted to know. The resolution took a very substantial jump, well into the territory of electrostatic speakers.

I should mention that even with just the OEM spikes, sibilance was very well controlled, and it only became better as I moved up to the Soundeck and then, ultimately, the Stack Audio footers. At this point, even Paul Simon's "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" was sibilance-free.

I had asked Val about the use of spikes versus the increasingly popular vibration-absorbing footers included as standard OEM with some brands, as well as offered on the after-market. His experience led him to the conclusion that he didn't want the speaker wobbling back and forth on a pliable footer. Neither the Soundeck footer nor the Stack Audio Auvaare pliable. The Soundeck has a very thin layer of viscoelastic polymer between two sheets of metal. The Auva is a solid container with a special vibration-absorbing filler that acts much like a fist punching sand at a microscopic level. Both convert micro-vibrations to heat. And the weight of the speaker will keep them from dancing across the floor like the "sailing stones" of Death Valley.

Just when I thought I had max'ed out with performance-enhancing tweaks, the new Synergistic Research Pink fuses arrived, followed by the new PowerCell8 SX that was introduced at the Florida show. At the risk of revealing only the obvious while the review is still in progress, I'll simply say that they took the performance of Acora Acoustics speakers over the top. In particular, overall transparency improved, and improved resolution in the treble brought a greater sense of air and sparkle that brought the performance up to my recollection of the flagship VRC.

Also in my review cue was the new Backert Rhumba Extreme 1.4 tube preamp. What could I lose by adding that in place of the original Coincident Statement Line Stage? Nothing, as it turned out. Among the benefits gained were a deeper, tighter bass and a more finely resolved treble, both of which, along with the previous tweaks, brought the performance of the Acora Acoustics QRC 2 above the level I recall from numerous shows. Of course in my smaller room with a smaller listening triangle, it is not going to sound the same as in the cavernous rooms Val typically occupies.

This is not to say the VRC flagship speaker should feel threatened by its smaller brother. People will spend what they want to spend. But when you're going racing in the streets, pulling out all the stops is fair game. Those with lesser wealth can figure out ways to keep up with and even outperform more expensive components. Val Cora has a knack for pulling together expensive rigs at shows with superior components. And he's a master of set-up, so he comes away with very high accolades time after time. But he also shared with me, before the Quartz series was introduced, that he wanted to make a version of the Granite series at a more affordable price point for people with less-exotic systems.

He said it wouldn't perform at quite as high a level as the granite, but it would be very close. I don't have a pair of granite speakers for a side-by-side comparison, but I'd venture to say that I've been able to come better than "close". That said, there is no way my rig in my room is going to sound like my rig in a large room at a show. The room, after all, is your most significant component.

I also learned that your seating distance can be critical. I knew this from shows where I pulled my chair closer to the plane of the speakers than Val had arranged them. In a large room at a show, this can be merely a matter of preference, but in a smaller room at home with more prominent bass nodes it can be critical. Val and Sherre took the liberty of pulling my listening chair further forward than I usually sit to escape a bass null.

In further experimenting, I experienced an even stronger, more satisfying bass response by moving an additional 6" to 8" closer to the speakers. While my original angle between the speakers was about 60 degrees, I was now looking at an 80-degree angle and the treble did not suffer, even with the speakers pointed straight ahead. The soundstage was wider than ever. The bass was now strong enough that there was not enough gained from the addition of the subwoofers to justify the expense or the space they took up. But remember, I have my speakers aligned along the very long wall of the room, and your situation will likely be different. On a short wall, with speakers closer to the corners, you will likely experience more bass reinforcement from the room. And if your room is enclosed, rather than an extension of an open floor plan as mine is, you will certainly experience a strong bass.

Switching Back To The AGD Amplifiers
With the Backert preamp in the system, I then returned to using the AGD GaNFET amps. While the difference between the tube amps and the AGD amp was relatively small in my original reference system. before the addition of the Acora speakers, Synergistic Pink fuses, PowerCell8 SX, Auva footer, and the Backert preamp, each of these additional components increased the resolution of the system. Together, with the fast speed and high resolution of the AGD amp, the music crossed the line, becoming too analytical and almost piercing in the treble. This is not to fault the amp. I simply have to back off the resolution by removing some footers, changing a fuse, or even rolling tubes in the Backert preamp. That will be my personal adventure in the coming weeks. I'm sure it is doable and there is no need to take you down that trail in this review. That's the fun of fine-tuning that comes when you're this close to perfection.

I've already satisfied my curiosity that the Acora Acoustics QRC 2 loudspeaker is an extraordinary and revealing speaker – taking my system higher in sound quality than I expected it would go and overcoming my initial disappointment that it did not sound as good in my room as I recalled from shows. I won't be removing artwork from my walls or installing hardwood flooring to liven up the room. Upgrading the power conditioner, fuses, and preamp, as well as adjusting the listening position was a lot more fun, and seems like an easier, though more costly way to go.

The Load Out
Acora Acoustics' QRC 2 floorstanding loudspeaker was in a league above the rest of the components in my rig, much the same as the Kharma speaker was when I bought it twenty years ago. I spent that time wringing more performance out of the Kharma with every tweak and upgrade of the system, enjoying music more as I went along. With the handful of upgrades I've made since the QRC 2 arrived, I think Val would be impressed with the improvement. Right now, Acora Acoustics' QRC 2 feels like an end game, performing at the level of the best rooms I hear at shows, most often with far more expensive systems costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The tonal color (timbre, if you wish), resolution of inner detail, macro and micro dynamics, transparency, and the effortlessness it brings to the listening experience put the Acora QRC 2 solidly among world-class speakers.

If your rig is already comprised of top-shelf components and the Acora Acoustics QRC 2 floorstanding loudspeakers appeals to your size and efficiency requirements, as well as your aesthetic taste, it will likely drop right in, seamlessly. On the other hand, as in my case with less expensive components, the Acora QRC 2 may be a financial stretch that will delight you from the start, and continue to amaze you as you grow your system around it. Drive it with tubes; drive it with solid-state. It will reveal the best from whatever components you currently have, and guide you along an upgrade path for a long time to come. It will scale up if you acquire a larger listening room, and it will allow you to downsize later in life without sacrificing sound quality or musical enjoyment.

There are bigger, more impressively styled speakers available but if you're after first-class sound quality in a luxurious form factor that doesn't take over your room (or your life), Acora Acoustics QRC 2 loudspeakers (all of them, actually) are among the very best. I've been making that call at shows from the start and I'm grateful for the opportunity to back it up with this long-term review.

Specifications
Type: Two-way, three driver bass reflex
Frequency Response: 29 Hz to 30 kHz
Tweeter: 1" Beryllium Dome Tweeter
Midrange / Woofer: Two 7" Sandwich Paper Cone
Impedance: 4 Ohm
Sensitivity: 92.5dB/W/m
Finish: High polish quartz (3cm thickness)
Dimensions: 14" x 18" x 43" (WxDxH)
Weight: 185 lbs each
Price: $37,000 per pair

Manufacturer
Acora Acoustics
165 Milner Avenue
Scarborough, Ontario
Canada M1S 4G7

Voice: (647) 812-3933
E-mail: info@acoraacoustics.com 
Website: www.AcoraAcoustics.com