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Q Acoustics Brand
What make a good beginners budget level speakers?
Is it versatility? Sound? Looks? Ease to Drive?
In my opinion the best answer is all of above.
Q Acoustics 3020i and 3030i are perfect examples of fantastic beginner speakers that will jump start your journey to fantastic world of HiFi.
Q Acoustics are brand that are well known for diverse catalog of speakers, ranging from cheap like 3010 to all the way expensive with concept 500;
But in all of the speakers they preserve the same philosophy of looks and sound signature.
Of course, the high end one will sound more mature, detailed open etc. But there is something to be said for companies that cares for all the products in their lineup.
Aesthetic and Technical Aspects
And Q Acoustics and its bigger brother looks almost the same, with that 3030i have bigger box, they looks very stylish - especially in this walnut color that I have.
Fine oblique lines and enough margins and separation among elements in design, with only Q logo on its front makes this speakers a wonder to look at home.
From technical point this is your typical two way speaker, with bass that coms from rear. With 88db sensitivity they should not be that hard to drive. The Inside of this speaker have been developed by using point to point bracing.
Bracing is fitted to interior areas of the cabinet susceptible to low-end frequency vibrations.
In theory it is supposed to make speaker low end vibration equally distributed in speaker cabinet creating less distortion.
Great traits of Budget Speakers and Versatility
Now lets return to my first point about budget speakers.
Budget speakers should be built to accommodate different range of new people that show interest into dipping their toes in this vast ocean of audiophile magic.
And in such they should have few traits, that to me, best budget speaker should have.
And one of those is that they should be easy to accommodate in any room.
They are a rear firing speaker, so it is definitely not recommended to have it close to its walls.
But even if they sit at bookshelf, they are not that punishing in their bass response.
Even in small rooms. Just give them a little space to breath, and they will be grateful, and expose to you all its charm they have.
One thing to add, is they are exceptionally deep, for speakers in this range, so you have to be careful about what stands you put them on.
Secondly, I think is versatility. You have to understand that with budget speaker you will not get all the flavors and technicality aspects of more expensive speakers.
But it needs good versatility of HIFI traits to expose you to what HIFI is, and what can you expect by swimming more in that ocean.
Sound Quality
Sound of Q Acoustic is balanced, with more emphasis on punchy dynamic sound.
To me greatest plus of this speaker is that it is a jack of all trades, and master of none.
It has this nice warm and rich sound, that helps with neutralizing, or just having lessening the response of harshness in treble.
Which is good that the speakers, are able to cover up sometimes for bad production, or just bad sources when they reproduce sound which is again a great trait for beginners speakers.
Voice have a presence in mix, they are a bit airy but the imaging is quite okay and They come across lush and clear.
But because they have good lower response male vocals have a bit weight and presence.
Listening to David Sylvian, a great English art rock maestro and his masterpiece Secrets of Beehive, his voice was so pleasing and in command it had authority across entire range of sonics and emotions.
While listing the music loud or just through much more expensive amps, I notices levels of detorsion in treble and in highs. But this should work very well
Bass is the biggest Star
Bass is the biggest star of Q Acoustics.
It has fullness to it, which is incredible that is coming from small boxes like this.
There is certain whip and attack that goes through the layers of mids and drives the song.
I love how confident it is, and with bigger box of elder brother it become more pronounced, open and agile.
Give it a good injection of beat with run the jewels, or good snare and drum of tool or magic precisions and drive of Rush it can deliver, as long as it is given room.
Still this is not subwoofer free, bookshelf speakers, to get that real punch, texture and openness that tower speakers provide you will need subwoofer.
Now is this my recommendation for great budget speaker for beginners, yes But there is two more options to compere with this speakers.
Dali Spector 2
The first is Dali Spector 2. They are in the same price as Q Acoustics. I think the best comparison is that Dali is more musical than Acoustics, in sense that they are more expressive, with better timing and and clarity. They play it more to touch the soul rather than brain of every composition. They are a great budget speaker to listen in this price range. What Acoustic does better is low end, it is stronger and punchier.
And Q Acoustics will offer more in details for those who want to have more analytical listening. Both of this are good option and needs to be listen in showroom to decide which one is better for you.
Focal Chora 806
The other recommendation is my favorite upper budget option, maybe even my fav of all time speaker. And that is Focal Chora 806. I love Focal I think that this speaker is the best value speaker if you live in Europe, because you can find great deals here.
While Q Acoustic can go toe to toe with Focal when dynamics and punch is compared, and bass is a tad more impressive In Q Acoustics. But just transparency and opens of soundstage of Focal eclipse Q Acoustics, and it has very beautiful central imaging. I will not speak more about Focal because probably I will eventually review it.
But for 100 to 150 euros more you get more opens and lushness and 3 dimensionality of sound.
Conclusion
Is Q Acoustics the right speaker for you, well that will be for you to decide.
But if you are on tight budget, looking for dynamics in your entry speaker you just can not go wrong with Q Acoustics 3020 and its taller brother 3030.
They are as I said earlier jack of all trades and it offers tremendous value for beginners, which is a safe and great options for anyone looking at this speakers.
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