Q Acoustics 3000 series good choice for Marantz SR7010?

Homemovielover

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Hi all, after some advice on which 7 speakers to choose to be be driven by an SR7010 in a 7.2.2 configuration. I have an approx budget of £1000 for the 7 units. The room will be of brick construction and measure approx 4.5m by 4m internally. I do realise that I should probably spend more given the AV receiver is a £1000-£1200 unit but going by the reviews at least, the 3000 series seem to punch very much above their price range.

I was thinking of the following speakers:

3090C centre
3050 main front l/r
3010 surrounds
3010 rears

What would be your opinions on this combination of speakers driven by an SR 7010?
 
The general advice is you can spend 2 to 3 times the price of the AVR on a 5.1 speaker package to get the best from the receiver. You are looking to spend less than the receiver on more speakers which I would say is not a sensible way to go.
Either spend less on the AVR so you have more for the speakers or buy less speakers at the moment and then buy the other ones as funds allow.
I feel the 7010 deserves much better speakers than the QAs (no matter how good they are in their price range) to really get the best from it and make it worth spending so much on the AVR.
If you only have limited budget then ignore Atmos etc. and focus on getting the best 5.1 system you can and then build from there.
Bear in mind there is not that much 7.1 or Atmos content out there at the moment (who knows if Atmos will take off or not, look at how 7.1 has not really taken off that much). Hence most of your viewing will be 5.1 at best and maybe even stereo. So get this bit right first.
 
Thanks. My concern with spending more on the speakers in this case was simply down to reviewers saying such gems as 'sound quality rivals speakers costing twice as much' etc. My interpretation of that was that it was then a waste of money increasing the speaker budget further as id essentially be getting no better sound for double the money. Maybe in taking the review comments too literally? What speakers would you recommend to work well with the SR7010? On top of the above I was going to allow a £6-700 budget for the sub as the Q Acoustics 3000 series sub seems to be its weak link. The system will be used for movies (via a 100cm screen and Benq 1080ST projector).
 
They really do! :)
Ah, but you would say that! ;) I guess im always attracted to the bang per buck option, not the cheapest, not the most expensive but the one that offers the best value - this is where the Q Acoustic gear seems to really deliver. I guess I need to sort out a demo in the near future to see if it is worth spending more. I've settled on the Marantz as I love Marantz kit in general and I want to take advantage of 7.2.2 facilities which id loose if I went cheaper on the A/V. What I was hoping to get an idea of was; does the Marantz sound signature suit the Q Acoustic 3000 series? :)
 
Also, if im spending out on a decent sub and mainly using the system for movies - should I be using 3050's as the front main pair in the first place or stick with another pair of 3010's instead?
 
The QA speakers are fairly neutral so work well with most amps to be honest so they will work with your Marantz.
If the system is being used for movies then no need for floorstanders since you will be setting the speakers to small with something around a 80Hz crossover. Also bear in mind movies are mastered with a sub/satellite speaker system in mind anyway.
@Q Acoustics : So are you saying the 3000i series sounds better than the concepts? Since the concepts are less than double the price of the 3000i?
I would take the reviews with a pinch of salt. Of course there will be speakers costing more than the QAs that will sound no better (plenty of underperforming products out there) but there will also be products that cost twice as much as the QAs but are better as well. You are right to go demo and listen for your self. QA make some good products and I often recommend them but for the AVR you are looking at I do not think they are the answer. XTZ could be worth a look as they make some excellent speakers from what I have heard on hear and offer good value for money. You could justify spending over £3k (so tripling your current budget) on a 5.1 set of speakers so even if the QAs do beat every speaker up to double the cost then you are still somewhat short especially since you want to buy 7 speakers and not 5.
I would not sacrifice speaker quality to take 'advantage' of 7.2.2 since you are robbing Peter to pay Paul in my opinion so will have a lesser system just to get the latest potential 'fad'.
 
Firstly, as with any first class speakers, the Q Acoustics 3000 Series will simply sound better, the better signal they receive. The Marantz is excellent and therefore, from a sonic presentation perspective, they are are a beautiful match.

Secondly, we are of course deeply hurt by any inference that our subwoofers are anything but wonderful :) and feel obliged to point out that the review on this very forum states categorically: "the 3070 is the best sub £300 we know."

However - and this may come as a surprise to some people - we do concede there are even better subwoofers available :) - but they're likely to cost quite a bit more.

As to using 3050 (rather than 3010) speakers at the front? That rather depends on how much 'music only' listening you do. If the system really is mainly for TV/home cinema, then there's very little advantage in having the larger 3050 speakers, because just about all the dialogue and bass attack is going to be directed to the centre channel and subwoofer respectively.

Best regards
 
As to using 3050 (rather than 3010) speakers at the front? That rather depends on how much 'music only' listening you do. If the system really is mainly for TV/home cinema, then there's very little advantage in having the larger 3050 speakers, because just about all the dialogue and bass attack is going to be directed to the centre channel and subwoofer respectively.

Not one for your marketing material, I'm sure, but I've gone for 3050s front and rear rather than smaller speakers because... Large dog chases small cat from time to time. Something substantial and not on stands tends not to go crashing to the floor so often ;)

(BTW, if your partner company ever develops dog proof speaker cable and interconnects I'll be purchasing lots. I've lost count of the number of cables I've replaced in the last 18 months!)
 
In my experience floorstanders are no more stable than a standmount on a decent stand. In fact standmounts can be more stable as can get a wider and heavier base on some. Also floorstanders are really too low for surrounds.
 
Cats can't "hide" under floor standing speakers or run through them with dog in pursuit.
 
If you get the right stands they can be a 'solid' in the body as a floorstander so again cats can not get around them anymore easily than a floorstander.
 
It's difficult to work within a small set budget and you have to look around and get the best 'bang for buck' if you like. I started off with a pre HDMI receiver and a set of KEF 1005 speakers. That was simply all I could afford at the time. First upgrade was a better receiver but the craving to get better speakers soon came with it and I was able to get the KEF 3005se system, which is probably in the same ball park as the Q 3000s. At least now I have been able to keep the 3005s as rear speakers (they really are good looking wall mounted) and been able to upgrade the more important front three.

Everyone on a budget has to start somewhere. At least now I can gradually upgrade when I can afford to do so. Next will come a Denon AVR x4200w and a pair of KEF R50 Atmos speakers. Other than that I'd have to move house to accommodate all that I dream about. Oh and win the lottery.
 

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