Ed Selley
Hi-Fi Editor
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But WHAT were they thinking with that hideous, Poundland chrome-plastic base.
Look like speakers that Marantz used to demonstrate their expensive new PM-10 amplifier & SA-10 spinner Would like to see a review of the Class D amplifier that uses Ncore 500 modules.
Not plastic at all...it's heavy die cast. I know, because I had one dropping on my foot :-(
Best regards
Karl-heinz
This is pretty serious money and wonder if looks wise it stands out enough. In this price range your looking at more than just sonic performance and build, it needs to bring a bit special to the table.
I was being a little facetious sir. My bad.
It's still a hell of an eyesore. I'd bet it won't last long on the design.
I don't think it has a problem to stand out.....I have it sitting here since more than a year .
But of course now everybody might like the modern approach and prefers the more traditional wooden box like the ATC. In my living room, the C500 works really well, but I use USM and BoConcept and no wooden furniture at all.
I agree I find the appearance unacceptable.These would go on my short list if they weren't so shiny! Like, seriously dust/finger print magnet much?
My family home would ruin them =/
crabby
41Hz -6 db not so amazing bassI'd love to hear a pair of these. Owned the Concept 40 and 20 previously and thought they were great. Reading that the 500 has amazing bass (that for me the 20 and 40 slightly lacked) is making me drool a bit lol
This bass alignment was chosen on purpose and these are real figures, not marketing dreams. It's not complicated to make a speaker that goes down to 20Hz. But first of all, that would ruin the sensitivity and it would also sound horrible. We have chosen a relatively flat earlier roll-off to deal with the extra gain a listening room adds below 50Hz. So 40Hz with flat roll-off in a standard room gives you more than enough bottom end. OK, if you are sitting in an anechoic room of a big size, you might be right. But in a real world room, you will have more than enough.41Hz -6 db not so amazing bass
Nice review. I'd imagine no matter how good they are, most would pick other brands just because they are "Q acoustics". I notice a good lot of hifi people on forum dismiss them quite regularly
These would go on my short list if they weren't so shiny! Like, seriously dust/finger print magnet much?
My family home would ruin them =/
crabby
A large floor stander speaker if properly designed should not require a sub-woofer.They have a heart-attack price tag, but if the other Q Acoustic speakers are any indication, these should sound stunning. I auditioned the 3020 and the Concept 20 and was very impress. They both had crisp detail without being bright. If fact, while they had crisp detail, there were very smooth with very low fatigue listening.
Audio Affair - Q Acoustics Concept 500 Speakers (Pair)
True the bass is not as deep as a person might desire, but in floorstanding speakers, you either need them to go 30hz and below, or 40hz and above. If the speaker are 40hz at -6db, that means they are about 45hz to 48hz at -3db, and that means they would blend very well with a Subwoofer in a Stereo system.
The Q Acoustic 3050 with similar low end specs, had very good perceived bass. Likely that was a bass bump in the response, but the bass, while slightly exaggerated, remained controlled and free of artificial thump or drone. Very good, very well balanced speakers.
Given the price, I would have to expect them to have raised their game significantly. I would love to hear a pair, but the price ...like I said... heart-attack expensive (£3600/pr from one source I checked).
I do like the outriggers; that is, the side extension for stability. I think I like that better than the simple rear extension of the 3050. It looks cool, and I suspect it makes the speakers very stable.
Steve/bluewizard
As previous users have mentioned, there's more to bass than the figures. If it was that easy we'd all just get a cheap flat to 20hz subwoofer solution (like svs etc) and call it a day. I've owned a pair of huge flagship floorstander speakers that were -2db at 21hz but still preferred the bass of other speakers that rolled off much before that for the styles of music I listen to (classical, orchestral soundtracks)41Hz -6 db not so amazing bass
As previous users have mentioned, there's more to bass than the figures. If it was that easy we'd all just get a cheap flat to 20hz subwoofer solution (like svs etc) and call it a day. I've owned a pair of huge flagship floorstander speakers that were -2db at 21hz but still preferred the bass of other speakers that rolled off much before that for the styles of music I listen to (classical, orchestral soundtracks)
A large floor stander speaker if properly designed should not require a sub-woofer.