You can’t pick up an audio magazine or read an online audio review without someone lavishing the highest praise for Q Acoustic’s speakers.
All the articles I’ve read – and they come from right across the planet – hone in precisely on Q Acoustics’ winning formula. For those that don’t know the brand, it is a nicely judge blend of fresh styling, superb sound, great build quality and unbeatable value for money.
It’s a formula that has music lovers queuing up to snare Q Acoustics speakers for their audio or home cinema systems – or both!
Either way, as hi-fi, surround sound or audio computer speakers, the point is that Q Acoustics have a decent range to choose from.
One model that keeps on churning big numbers just happens to be the brand’s much-loved 2020i, priced at a smile-inducing $399 for the graphite/walnut finish, and $499 for gloss black or gloss white finishes.
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| 2020i |
2020i
A compact, two-driver model, the 2020i is a redesign of the best-selling original model called the 2020, with the new ‘i’ model designating the updated, new model.
Q Acoustics haven’t just lightly tweaked the new ‘i’ version, but instead have given it a proper working over, with a new tweeter, and new cone materials for the bass-midrange driver which now has an ultra-light, rigid carbon fibre/coated paper cone, replacing the previous mica and paper composition of the original cone material.
Add in a new crossover and a clever way to shock absorb the tweeter from cabinet vibrations, and the resultant 2020i is one ‘pacey’ sounding, musically satisfying and refined speaker.
Pay a little more, and you get what could potentially be a game-changing model called the C20, or Concept 20. Priced affordably at $659 plus $489 for the matching C20S stands, the stands match the speaker styling and are specially designed to deliver the best sound out of the Concept 20 speakers.
C20 speakers are special because they incorporate the revolutionary ‘Gelcore Construction’. This means that, for the very first time, music lovers can enjoy genuine ‘high end’ sonic performance at a very affordable price.
Paired with the C20 speaker stands that boast a Gelcore layer in its top plate to seriously optimise performance, the result isn’t just visually striking but is also resonance-free to wow you with its sonic performance.
Unsurprisingly, Q Acoustics describe the C20 as ‘special’, and even a cursory listen elicits the musical neutrality, the immense detail, the vivacity and the knowledge that hearing is believing.
For those that have large rooms but want all the quality provided by the C20, Q Acoustics has added a floor stander called the C40, or Concept 40.
Priced at $1899, it’s available in gloss black or white, just like the C20.
As with the smaller bookshelf, the flood stander delivers an enviable level of sound quality thanks to some cleverly astute engineering. This includes the previously mentioned anti-resonance Gelcore cabinet material, a patented new cabinet adhesive, pedigree drive units and a very sophisticated crossover network.
Adding a big sound to a big plasma or LCD widescreen TV is also within the Q Acoustics mandate – but it’s not just any solution that is being offered. Typical of Q Acoustics quality is the QA 7000i 5.1 speaker pack with its own matching sub-woofer.
It’s predictably big on sound quality but low on price at $1798, with speaker standard for the QA 7000 satellite speakers costing just $249.
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| 7000i |
QA 7000i
Available in the modern decor-friendly colours of gloss black or white, the QA 7000i comprises of five superbly styled satellite speakers augmented by a powered subwoofer. Power handling is 15-100 watts, with each satellite using two 3-inch drivers. The satellites can be stand or wall-mounted.
The powerful subwoofer generates both trouser flapping and skirt raising amounts of bass, with a 10-inch driver powered by a built-in 150-watt amplifier.
If you don’t have room or a preference for six speakers in your TV viewing room, but still desire a Q Acoustics value-for-money setup, then don’t panic, as there is a solution!
The answer is the QA M4 2.1 channel Bluetooth soundbar that costs $799.
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| M4 Soundbar |
QA M4
Designed to fit in a TV rack or to be wall-mounted, the QA M4 is a high-fidelity soundbar with a built-in high-performance subwoofer. It links to any TV using a single cable.
In addition, it is capable of Bluetooth aptX lossless wireless audio reception, so music from smartphones, tablets or other Bluetooth devices can be effortlessly streamed to the QA M4.
With both analogue and optical inputs, it also suits CD, Blu-ray and portable music players for the ultimate in connected versatility.
Q Acoustics: it really does mean quality assured!
