slim01
Established Member
Hi guys, I got some q550's a while back to replace some age old and quite boomy 1990's KEF q55.2's. Wasn't initially impressed at first but the aim was:
a) sharper treble. After reducing the brightness a little (grilles on / got a warmer Marantz amp / EQ adjustments) some improvement.
b) tighter bass, and louder midrange. Big improvement here, but did need to add a sub B&W asw608 (8") sub.
c) Aesthetics... and the q550 are gorgeous.
however....
Not bassy enough +finding it easy to find the bass limits of the Q550.
I don't play them very loud often but when I do, there's the odd track where the bass can't go any louder and distorts (the speaker 'farts' as i call it). Volume comes down so I don't damage them.
(crossover is set to 80hz. As much as I love the B&W sub I don't want it to cover 100hz+, it just doesn't sound punchy enough which is important for Techno/House/Dance).
-Are the q550 5.25" drivers just too small? Perhaps I should trade up for the considerably larger Q750 (6.5" drivers)?
-What about R500: Same size drivers (+a smaller midrange) but better constructed enclosure/supports? or better still the larger drivers of the R700? Are larger speakers and/or the R series really capable to go louder?
BUT...
-Are ported speakers really better for bass junkies? If the tightness of the bass I like is due to the q550 being sealed... I could go backwards.
-Maybe some tried & tested but potentially not as well performing (in treble/accuracy) Monitor Audios? but worried that ported bass boom will be back... I was blown away by the mid range/punch of some Bronze RX6 with triple 6.5" drivers that I demo'd but couldn't justify the price over the Q55.2 at the time. Oops. I can see some Monitor audio Silver 6, or RX6 (dual 6") on the bay. Maybe silver even better than the Bronze 6?
-A switch to Q Acoustics 3050i would be free... but only a 2.0 way, is midrange any good?
I'm open to suggestions but must be white (would love gloss white).
-all the newer MA stuff is a bit too ugly for me... Same with Mission.
Thanks
----------
Usage:
Only concerned for music.
Room:
Small V roofed (attic conversion) room for now, but will likely have a more medium (and square) sized living room soon.
Current 7.1 system as below:
KEF Q550, Q6c, Eggs, Q1 Compact, B&W asw608, DMP-UB450, Philips 55OLED706, Marantz SR6012.
HTPC: 5800x, x570-p, 32GB 3600mhz, rtx3080, 3.5tb SSD
a) sharper treble. After reducing the brightness a little (grilles on / got a warmer Marantz amp / EQ adjustments) some improvement.
b) tighter bass, and louder midrange. Big improvement here, but did need to add a sub B&W asw608 (8") sub.
c) Aesthetics... and the q550 are gorgeous.
however....
Not bassy enough +finding it easy to find the bass limits of the Q550.
I don't play them very loud often but when I do, there's the odd track where the bass can't go any louder and distorts (the speaker 'farts' as i call it). Volume comes down so I don't damage them.
(crossover is set to 80hz. As much as I love the B&W sub I don't want it to cover 100hz+, it just doesn't sound punchy enough which is important for Techno/House/Dance).
-Are the q550 5.25" drivers just too small? Perhaps I should trade up for the considerably larger Q750 (6.5" drivers)?
-What about R500: Same size drivers (+a smaller midrange) but better constructed enclosure/supports? or better still the larger drivers of the R700? Are larger speakers and/or the R series really capable to go louder?
BUT...
-Are ported speakers really better for bass junkies? If the tightness of the bass I like is due to the q550 being sealed... I could go backwards.
-Maybe some tried & tested but potentially not as well performing (in treble/accuracy) Monitor Audios? but worried that ported bass boom will be back... I was blown away by the mid range/punch of some Bronze RX6 with triple 6.5" drivers that I demo'd but couldn't justify the price over the Q55.2 at the time. Oops. I can see some Monitor audio Silver 6, or RX6 (dual 6") on the bay. Maybe silver even better than the Bronze 6?
-A switch to Q Acoustics 3050i would be free... but only a 2.0 way, is midrange any good?
I'm open to suggestions but must be white (would love gloss white).
-all the newer MA stuff is a bit too ugly for me... Same with Mission.
Thanks
----------
Usage:
Only concerned for music.
Room:
Small V roofed (attic conversion) room for now, but will likely have a more medium (and square) sized living room soon.
Current 7.1 system as below:
KEF Q550, Q6c, Eggs, Q1 Compact, B&W asw608, DMP-UB450, Philips 55OLED706, Marantz SR6012.
HTPC: 5800x, x570-p, 32GB 3600mhz, rtx3080, 3.5tb SSD