Hi-Fi Speakers

adrian522

Hi,

I'm looking for a pair of speakers. 

Can you let me know your thoughts on the following:

Q-Acoustics 3020i/Concept 20

Are the concept 20 worth the step up in price from the 3020i? Is there much sound improvement?
The room is medium sized I would say, not huge.

How does Dali Spektor 2/Zensor 3 compare to the two mentioned above?

Adrian.

Richersounds.ie: John

adrian522 wrote: »

Hi,

I'm looking for a pair of speakers. 

Can you let me know your thoughts on the following:

Q-Acoustics 3020i/Concept 20

Are the concept 20 worth the step up in price from the 3020i? Is there much sound improvement?
The room is medium sized I would say, not huge.

How does Dali Spektor 2/Zensor 3 compare to the two mentioned above?

Adrian.

Hi Adrian,

thanks for the post and apologies for the delay getting back to you.

There are some really different sounding speakers here  and they are all pretty good - however it is quite a difficult question to answer unless we know what you are listening to and what sources you are using - but broadly the Concept 20 are a better speaker than the 3020i but they really require careful matching and if they are not well matched they can sound really harsh or 'toppy' - whilst they are reasonably efficient from our experience they work best if the amp has ample power and can handle large musical transients.

The 3020i on the other hand are really forgiving and in this regard they compare well with the Spektor 2 - the Zensor 3 again can be a little fussy but generally sound good - but of course they are now pretty much finished ( we have our final display pair just about to be released today at just £179)  .

You may be missing a few speakers that I think should be on your list tho' - if you are working to a budget don't forget the original Q Acoustics 3020 which are now exclusive to us and still sound fantastic at a really silly £119 / €149:
https://www.whathifi.com/q-acoustics/3020/review

https://www.richersounds.ie/p-201179-q-acoustics-3020-graphite-matte-graphite-speakers-per-pair.aspx

If you were to buy these and spend a reasonable amount on a decent matching speaker cable such as the QED Silver Anniversary or the QED 40 these could sound better than the 3020i with a budget cable and you would have spends to spare!

Next I would also look at the Fyne Audio F301 - these are the baby siblings of the F302 which have received rave reviews and they sound pretty special at £249 / €299:
https://www.richersounds.ie/p-13442-fyne-audio-f301-black-black-ash-speakers-per-pair.aspx

The components, engineering and build of the F301 leaves most other sub £300 speakers quaking and if you like an efficient, forward sounding speaker WITH great bass you have got to listen to the F301 - but again given your line up - its really hard to ignore the value / quality balance of the standard QA3020 partnered with decent cable!

Thanks again - great query and if you would like to post what sources you have and what you enjoy listening to I can probably cut the ramblings down a little and make a more focused recommendation.

ATVB,

John Mc & Crew

adrian522

Hi, Thanks for your response. I picked up the Rega turntable from you guys (The RSD special) so that would be the primary source. I'd also be doing some streaming but the turntable is the main one.

Music wise it would be a mix of kind of rock/guitar music and also some electronic music and some ambient music too, so quite a range.

Richersounds.ie: John

Hi Adrian,

nice turntable  - given your choice of sounds I would not change my recommendation - if it was me I'd go for the original QA 3020's and some decent speaker cables .. an alternative if you stretched the budget and has space for floorstanders is the QA 3050's - again these are now exclusive to RS and they are great value at £299 / €379:
https://www.richersounds.ie/p-201184-q-acoustics-3050-graphite-matte-graphite-speakers-per-pair.aspx

The 3050 will give you all the qualities of the 3020, but bundles more deep tight bass  :D ( and you wont have to buy speaker stands!)

Keep us posted,

ATVB,

John Mc & Crew

adrian522

Richersounds.ie: John wrote: »

Hi Adrian,

nice turntable  - given your choice of sounds I would not change my recommendation - if it was me I'd go for the original QA 3020's and some decent speaker cables .. an alternative if you stretched the budget and has space for floorstanders is the QA 3050's - again these are now exclusive to RS and they are great value at £299 / €379:
https://www.richersounds.ie/p-201184-q-acoustics-3050-graphite-matte-graphite-speakers-per-pair.aspx

The 3050 will give you all the qualities of the 3020, but bundles more deep tight bass  :D ( and you wont have to buy speaker stands!)

Keep us posted,

ATVB,

John Mc & Crew

Hi, Thanks for your reply. Can you let me know why you would recommend the 3020 over some of the others? Particularly the 3020i and Spektor 2? Is it just value for money given the price difference?

I'd probably need a recommendation for stands and cables as well.

Thanks for everything!

Richersounds.ie: John

Hi Ardian,

yep, right in one - the QA 3010 and 3020 are just too good a deal to pass over - the QA 3020i are a better more evolved speaker but the difference is not radical - the 3020i's are better braced and the cabinet is slightly larger so they do sound more controlled and the bass goes a little lower - but they are almost twice the price..

If it was me I would probably go for the original 3020 and get a really decent pair of stands such as the Soundstyle Z2 and get decent matching QED Speaker cable - for instance:

Q Acoustics 3020 - £119
Soundstyle Z2 stands
QED XT40 speaker cable * 4 mtrs

The retail price on those products is £238 / €288 - we can do a bundle deal on it at £219 which actually works out less expensive than the 3020i's on their own and it will sound damn fantastic - the 3020i with their dedicated 3000FSI matching stands look like this:

QA 3020i
QA 3000Fsi
QED XT40 speaker cable * 4 mtrs

The retail price on those products is £394/ €438- we can do a bundle deal on it at £329 / €379 and it will 100% sound better - but then the next issue you have is - why not buy a pair of QA 3050 floorstanders instead at just £299 / €379 and get a really extended bass, no stand issues and save yourself £30?..

You think its easy this job  - ( sorry if I've confused you even further!) - all these will sound great but we do always try to give the best balance of quality and value, in an ideal world you would get the 3020i and the stands and it will sounds better - just depends on YOUR opinion but all the Q Acoustics really do sounds pretty amazing and at a reasonable budget level would be on my top 3 'go-to' speakers..

Keep us posted,

ATVB,

John Mc & Crew

adrian522

Thanks, for this. Just to Clarify, you have £329/€379 but then also £299/€379.



In terms of Euro should the £299 be lower than €379?



I also need to think about an amp for these but I'll make a decision on the speakers first


Adrian.

Richersounds.ie: John

3020i / 3000 FSi / XT40 * 4 metres = £329/ €379

3050 on their own are currently price at £299 / €379

In terms of currency - you can choose whichever currency you prefer on our site - we leave that choice up to you,

Again, as a source, your choice of Amp will have a large bearing on your final choice so I would recommend that you choose your system from the source to the speakers in that order - matching suitable components to get the correct sound balance for your choice of listening is the critical element - there is no point in getting a pair or brand of speakers that have a 'sound' that you don't like and trying to correct it with your choice of source or amp - far better to get a completely balanced system, every time we try to correct something we end up losing information.. 

ATVB,

John Mc & Crew 

adrian522

So do you have an amp recommendation?  

Main priority is to work well with the Rega Turntable, secondly streaming would be preferable but is not a must-have!

Thanks!

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

adrian522 wrote: »

So do you have an amp recommendation?  

Main priority is to work well with the Rega Turntable, secondly streaming would be preferable but is not a must-have!

Thanks!

Hi adrian522,

John is out of the office at the moment so I hope you don;t mind me replying on his behalf.

I would go with the Rega Brio amplifier. If you're looking for an amp that pairs well with the turntable and would drive the Q Acoustics the Rega would be my first choice.

It was What HiFis product of the year last year, we have one on demo and it pairs well with pretty much every speaker we've played through it. The only downside of the Rega is there are no digital inputs and no streaming, it's a purely analogue amplifier.

You could add a streamer to it or if you're looking for a streaming amplifier I would look at the Yamaha RN803D. It packs in a lot of features such as Bluetooth, Apple Airplay and DLNA streaming and sounds fantastic however the Brio would be the better sounding amp between the two, especially matched with the Planar 1.

Let me know what you think.

Kind regards

David

adrian522

Thanks David,

I'm probably not going to be spending £500 on the amp though. Maybe at some point in the future but for now I'd be looking for something a little bit cheaper.

Probably looking around £150-200

Richersounds.ie: DavidS

adrian522 wrote: »

Thanks David,

I'm probably not going to be spending £500 on the amp though. Maybe at some point in the future but for now I'd be looking for something a little bit cheaper.

Probably looking around £150-200

Hi Adrian522,

Around that budget, again purely for sound quality, I have to say the Onkyo A9010 would be my choice. It's another purely analogue amplifier but gives an impressive sound and pairs well with most speakers. There are no digital inputs but it's designed to give the best possible sound that other amps in that price bracket can't really compete with.

Let me know what you think.

Kind regards

David

adrian522

Yeah, its one I was considering anyway, I noticed the A9110 is the same price, would this be a better option?

Richersounds.ie: DavidS

adrian522 wrote: »

Yeah, its one I was considering anyway, I noticed the A9110 is the same price, would this be a better option?

Hi adrian522,

The A9110 is a great amp, the main difference is the new Bass boost which can boost the low end while minimising distortion and a new display but they are both built with the same components.

Let me know what you think.

Kind regards

David

adrian522

Can you give me a price on the following please:

Q Acoustics 3020
Soundstyle Z2 stands
QED XT40 speaker cable * 4 mtrs
Onkyo A9110

Thanks.

Richersounds.ie: DavidS

adrian522 wrote: »

Can you give me a price on the following please:

Q Acoustics 3020
Soundstyle Z2 stands
QED XT40 speaker cable * 4 mtrs
Onkyo A9110

Thanks.

No problem, I can do the following price:

Q Acoustics 3020
Soundstyle Z2
QED XT40 x 4m
Onkyo A9110

Total: £405 including shipping.

I can round that down to a nice even £400.

Let me know what you think.

Kind regards

David

adrian522

Hi, sounds good.

Can you send me an invoice or how would I put in the order?

adrian522

Also just for comparison, if I was to swap in the below package, what would that cost:

QA 3020i
QA 3000Fsi
QED XT40 speaker cable * 4 mtrs
Onkyo A9110


Thanks again.

Richersounds.ie: DavidS

adrian522 wrote: »

Also just for comparison, if I was to swap in the below package, what would that cost:

QA 3020i
QA 3000Fsi
QED XT40 speaker cable * 4 mtrs
Onkyo A9110


Thanks again.

Hi Adrian522,

I could do that bundle for £518 sterling  including shipping.

If you'd like to go with either of those simply drop me a PM with your contact number and I can call you to process!

let me know what you think.

Kind regards

David