Question Small speakers - Q Acoustics, MA MR1 or Dali Pico?

[Crazeenick]

I need a pair of small stereo speakers to go with my Marantz CR502DAB CD/Receiver for my bedroom. Only got room for speakers which are about 15cm width each.

Looking at Q Acoustics 3010 for £125 which get great reviews. But have found the older Q Acoustics 2010i (exactly same size) for only £80 a pair.

Has anyone compared 3010 with 2010i? Is there much difference? Is the 3010 worth the extra money?

Thanks folks !

 

[Crazeenick]

A shop has told me over the phone that either of the following two pairs of small speakers would be better than either of the Q Acoustics models:

Monitor Audio MR1
Dali Zensor Pico
(both similar size to the Q Acoustics ones)

Does anyone have any comments on these speakers?

BTW - I am thinking of adding a cheap subwoofer to provide some extra bass (whichever main speakers I choose). Anyone got any recos for a cheap, smallish subwoofer?

Cheers!

 

[Member 729553]

Hi Crazeenick

Firstly, thank you for considering Q Acoustics loudspeakers.

Secondly, we don't know but we suspect the shop you spoke to on the phone may make a bigger profit on alternative brands.☺

Thirdly, the 3010 is clearly better than the 2010i, and you would never regret spending that little bit extra. However, a pair of 2010i for only £80 is unbelievable value.

Lastly, please try either the 3010 or 2010i at home before you decide to add a subwoofer, because they'll both surprise you with the amount of bass they deliver.

Regards

 

[Crazeenick]

QAcoustics - thanks for the input. Food for thought.

I was still hoping that independent forum members who have heard these speakers could offer some opinions?

 

[twitchor]

I have just brought Zensor Pico's, and even though they have only had about 30 hours use. I am very pleased, and would recommend them.

Not had any of the other you have listed, except did have Q Acoustics 1010i's for a while, though and old version the Picos win hands down.

With such a tiny foot print and built in wall brackets you can't go wrong.

 

[AwesomeDawson]

I just picked up some 2010i's secondhand but unused for £50, and they sound great.

 

[Member 729553]

I just picked up some 2010i's secondhand but unused for £50, and they sound great.

This is heartbreaking - how could anyone own a pair of brilliant little speakers such as Q Acoustics 2010i and not play them?

 

[Demon]

I was just demoing the Q3010's and Dali Zensor Pico's this afternoon in Richer Sounds!

I was interested in near field listening as I intended to upgrade my PC audio to something a little more HiFi than the usual PC speakers!.

The bottom line is that both sounded good in isolation, so I doubt you'd be be disappointed with either, however, whilst I wasn't honestly expecting to hear any significant differences, I was pleasantly surprised and have to say that the Q3010's sounded noticeably thinner in the midrange and had a much more 'closed' in soundstage compared to the Dali's which sounded excellent to my ears. That was through a Marantz PM6005 (I believe) and a matching Marantz CD Player.

The other surprise was the Teac A-H01, a small DAC/AMP that is currently down to £150 from £350 (it's being discontinued), despite it's size it gave an identical performance to the larger marantz and I think it slightly caught the sales guy out a little, he wasn't expecting it to pair so well with the Dali's, he was already setting me up for the Teac sounding worse, and was fun to see him back peddling and admitting that occasionally these things surprise you as they can test every amp with every set of speakers which seems entirely reasonable to me!

I've also demo'd the NAD D 3020 with the Monitor Audio BX1 and Bronze 1's in another store, and the Bronze 1's sounded noticeably better with far more seperation and clarity than the BX1s, but I do remember they still had a smallish soundstage so I imagine the MR1 being closer to the BX1 would definitely sound worse than the Q3010/Dali's..

I'd also recommend demo'ing them, Richer sounds have a few Monitor Audio/QAcoustics and DALI's in stock, so getting meaningful back to back demo's should be easy..

Of course I bought the Teac DAC/AMP and Dalis, although I had to order the speakers as I prefer the Walnut finish, so I can't try them out just yet!

 

[Crazeenick]

Thanks for the comments guys!

 

[AwesomeDawson]

I use mine 2010i's as PC speakers, with a battery powered Beresford Caiman MKII DAC, and Amptastic Mini-1. They sound amazing!!