I recently reviewed the QlearSoul One-Q all-in-one turntable and was largely impressed besides the lack of anti-skate and so-so tonearm. The company took my feedback onboard, but mentioned that their SoulBox S1 model did have anti-skate and a superior tonearm. I asked for a review sample and a short while later a large package arrived containing the aforementioned turntable, which promises to be a convenient, stylish entry level audio system for the music lover. Let’s dive in.
The SoulBox S1 (hereafter the S1) is an all-in-one design though unlike the One-Q is a more traditional form factor with a pair of external bookshelf stereo speakers, powered by amplification contained within a modern-looking turntable plinth. The uprated tonearm is immediately obvious, an almost 10 inch S-shaped design with metal bearing assembly, damped lifter and anti-skate control. The arm tube is a one-piece design with integral headshell on which is pre-mounted an Audio-Technica AT3600 cartridge, more on which later.
The drive system is a departure from anything I’ve seen in similarly priced turntables of Chinese origin. A large subplatter is driven by a DC motor via a flat belt. Atop it you fit a chunky, 1.2KG cast steel platter and provided slip mat with QlearSoul logo on one side. Being cast in steel the platter is magnetic which is quite unusual. The last steel platter I remember seeing was the subplatjer of a 1960s era Thorens TD-124, and a Sony from a similar era that was derived from a Lenco design. It’s not a concern here as it is highly unlikely any S1 buyer would see fit to install a moving coil cartridge, nor be invested in the nonsense idea that vinyl records must be ‘demagnetised’ before playback.
The heavy platter has a good flywheel effect and gets up to speed quickly, running in near silence. The motor is a brushed DC unit, but appears to be of excellent quality and contributes negligible noise of its own. The subplatter itself is plastic but a thick moulding that is perfectly finished. The spindle, bearing assembly and motor pulley are all metal. There is no perceptible play in the bearing, and if you remove and reinstall the subplatter it gradually descends into place which shows that the bearing tolerances are high.
The plinth is 1 inch MDF, with minimal cutouts for the electronics and components. A thick MDF plinth is the de facto standard in entry level designs and some higher end ones too, as it is a relatively stiff structure with a core that is uniform in density and provides plenty of damping. My many experiments in turntable design have taught me that too much damping isn’t necessarily a good thing, but I’d always take a solid slab of MDF over the boxy, hollow plinths of the far-eastern entry level norm.
A pair of aluminium knobs control functions, switching between 33 and 45 RPM and the built-in Bluetooth. The second knob is a good old-fashioned analogue volume control. There is no remote control, sadly, but it’s a minor inconvenience. You get a status light to indicate the current mode and Bluetooth status, and the system will play short tones to indicate bluetooth pairing mode and pairing success. The most recently paired device is remembered even through a power loss, and should you switch away from the Bluetooth mode while content is playing it will pause automatically.
The turntable includes a hinged dust cover. The hinges are sturdy and have enough resistance to keep the cover open. The control knobs are beneath the cover when it’s closed, so changing the volume requires that you open the cover or keep it raised. Perhaps in a future revision, QlearSoul could shape the cover to remove the front right corner, clearing the knobs for external access but still surrounding the tonearm when it’s in the rest. Nevertheless, a dust cover is not a given these days much less a good quality one, and is certainly nice to have.
On the back are the power input for the included 15V, 2.4A power supply, a pair of RCA outputs and a ground connection. An accompanying switch allows you to disable the internal moving magnet preamp if you are sending the signal to an external amplifier which has a phono stage of its own. There is no analogue line input which is a bit of a shame. The addition of one would be nice, or perhaps a switch to configure the output as an input since it is not something many are likely to use.
On the back also are a set of spring clip speaker terminals and a hard power switch. The turntable enters a standby mode and switches off the amplifier when there is no audio playing in Bluetooth mode, or when either of the turntable speeds are selected and the arm is in the rest. It would be good to see the cutout time increased by a few seconds as in Bluetooth mode it can cut off the beginning of some tracks, if the gaps in the album or delays in connection are sufficient.
I’ve also noticed that if you leave the power switched on for a period of time, the turntable will shut down completely and switching modes, moving the arm or operating the volume will wake it up. The only way to power it back on is to toggle the rear power switch. I’m sure this is something that can be fixed in software. It’s a minor inconvenience, and at first quite disconcerting to find the unit is stuck in a standby mode from which you can’t wake it up.
There is a knockout plug on the back for what presumably will be a USB connection in a future version or upgraded model. This would be a welcome addition, as would a headphone socket and perhaps some tone controls.
The turntable is rounded out by rubber isolating feet which sadly cannot be adjusted for level, but do a fine job of isolating the turntable from external vibration, including from its own speakers if you cite them on the same shelf.
The speakers are a simple two-way design with a 3 inch (75 mm) fibreglass cone woofer and 0.75 inch (19 mm) silk dome tweeter. There was some initial confusion over driver size as official specifications suggest a 4 inch woofer and 50 mm tweeter. I discovered on enquiry that QlearSoul measure the driver size based on the external dimension of the basket flange, not the moving cone area. Driver sizing is not completely standardised, though most drivers are measured based on either the dimension of the cone itself, the outer dimension of the cone surround, or a centre point of the surround.
A simple capacitor serves as the first-order, 6dB/octave crossover and there is no internal damping material, but the cabinets and even the grilles are made of MDF and covered in a wood effect vinyl which looks very smart. The grilles are covered in an acoustically transparent clock with a metal QlearSoul badge and are removable should you prefer the naked look. Connection is by a pair of spring terminals on the back, and a pair of speaker cables with pre-stripped and tinned ends are included in the box.
The speakers are rear-ported. There is no internal damping material, which leads to some low-frequency resonance at around 200Hz. It’s noticeable in some tracks with heavy sustained bass notes, but it’s not a glaring issue. There are definite dips in response too, particularly through the midband. But you aren’t buying this system for its neutrality. It seems tuned to achieve deep bass and crisp highs from compact inexpensive speakers, and it achieves both admirably. The midband isn’t unpleasant either, with plenty of punch to keep the system from sounding tinny or shrill. I would like to see QlearSoul add some polyester wadding to line the cabinet internally. If they did so, the speakers could be sold independently and would be a competitor to the Edifier P12.
Setup is simple requiring that you install the belt, tonearm counterweight and platter, and wire up the speakers using the included cables. Fitting the counterweight is a simple matter of setting the arm to float horizontally, adjusting the calibrated dial to 0 and then setting the tracking force to 3.5 grams for the included cartridge. The anti-skate is adjusted to the same figure. The dial calibration is accurate to within about 0.3 grams. Best results are achieved using an inexpensive stylus tracking force scale.
I had an issue with the anti-skate on the review sample whereby the dial would spring back to 0 when I attempted to set it. In the unlikely event that this happens to you I would always encourage that you have the unit repaired or replaced under warranty. The standard warranty is 24 months, and QlearSoul offer a 36 month warranty upon registration. In this case I removed the bottom panel and found that the screw securing the anti-skate dial was loose. Once it was tightened the anti-skate adjustment worked as it should. It is a somewhat over-complicated mechanism that could, I’m sure, be simplified to increase reliability.
The AT3600 is a ubiquitous cartridge found on numerous turntables. Descended from the AT91, it shares the same generator and body but has a lower compliance stylus to suit tonearms with a higher effective mass. Thus the tracking force increases to 3.5 grams over the 2 grams of a standard AT91. The AT3600 is a fine cartridge in its own right, shipped on many a turntable by Pioneer, Sony, Aiwa, Bush, Ariston, Thorens, Kenwood, Dual, Lenco and of course Audio-Technica themselves. It’s also rebadged and sold as the Rega Carbon, and with various stylus upgrades by companies such as LP Gear. Audio-Technica recently released an official Elliptical stylus upgrade for this cartridge which will work well on the S1.
Simon and Gary of IPT sell a stylus upgrade for this cartridge. The Extended Contact (XTC) stylus goes beyond the elliptical options and provides a more exotic profile to take the cartridge about as far as the generator will allow. I conducted some of my testing with an XTC stylus fitted. As the counterweight here is adjustable and the arm low to medium mass, I used the XTC 2G option which is based on the stylus of the AT91, and thus tracks nominally at 2 grams.
The turntable is a very pleasant listen. The AT3600 is not a neutral-sounding cartridge, but sits comfortably in the ‘warm’ category. It’s a tad bass light, though not excessively so, has a lot of midband presence and a slightly rolled-off top end. Rolling off the top end masks some detail, but also hides the inner-groove distortion inherent to the most basic conical styli. I’d far rather this than a bright, sizzling presentation. It’s like a cosy winter evening in front of a log fire, with the crackle of the burning timber blending just perfectly with the crackle of a slightly worn out 45. Incidentally the AT3600 in stock form is tremendous for playing old styrene 45s.
Switching to an xTc stylus shows just how competent the S1 is as a system. The top end opens out to reveal plenty of additional detail. The overall presentation is still on the warmer side of neutral, with a lot of presence in the midband that bring vocals and acoustic instruments to the forefront, but you get better stereo imaging, more top-end detail and no sibilance especially on louder pressings.
Listening via Bluetooth is much the same. It is more neutral in tone with less midband presence, though the resonance in the speakers does bring the midband forward slightly. There’s plenty of bass too, a surprising amount given the small speakers. I’m sure there is some DSP trickery going on here, if not a tweaked preamplifier for enhanced bass output or an unusually low cabinet tuning. Nevertheless it’s a fun, and relatively articulate listen that gets plenty loud. Minimal specifications are given for power output vs impedance, but the S1 does fill a larger room with ease and can make a lot of noise if you want it to. As all-in-one amplifiers go, and even compared to some budget standalone models, the amount of power on tap here is impressive. Some of that will be down to speaker matching of course.
The SoulBox S1 from QlearSoul is a stylish package that’s well-built and offers a lot of performance for the price. It’s a great first step into vinyl and a good choice for those who want an integrated system to fit a smaller space. I would encourage QlearSoul to offer a high-compliance, 2 gram stylus from the AT91 as an option or as standard, as it will be kinder to records and better suit the arm. Additionally, adding some dating to the speakers and fixing the standby bug would be beneficial. Overall, the S1 delivers a lot for your money as a convenient, space-saving, and stylish all-in-one system.
You can purchase the S1 via Amazon or visit the QlearSoul website to find a retailer or shop direct.
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