Alternative to Q Acoustics 3020 (better bass)

gasolin

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I like my Q Acoustics 3020 open, clear, wide, dynamic sound and lots power with my Marantz PM8005 so i can easily play loud if i want (i only play medium loud).

According to a german review the bass starts to roll off already at 120 hz, so it's no surprise to me that i sometimes feel they lack a bit bass (someting around 80hz would have been better) http://www.pic-upload.de/view-27537819/AUDIO_QAcoustics-3020-Seite-1u2.jpg.html

A subwoofer is out of the question, i have had a few subwoofer with the speakers i used with my pc (one of them was the Dali Zensor 1) i have never couldn't adjust a subwoofer where i have the space for it next to my pc, so it sounded harmonic with the speakers i used

The speakers in denmark where i live costs just under 300€ with shipping and is an okay price

Im not the type who raises the bass when needed and than lower it if i listen to edm with alot of bass, also my amp sounds a bit better in direct (source) mode

Is there any alternative to the q acoustics 3020 just with better bass, before it rolls off (i don't like a bright fattigue sound) for the same money (new) or something i could get used cheaper ?

I don't have space for big speakers
 

drummerman

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Kef Q300 or Q100. Reportedly quite a warm sound and both currently discounted.

Either one likely to be a big step up on the QAcoustic.
 

George

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Could it be your amp that is not giving enough bass? I remember when I first got my Marantz PM6004 the bass was very lacking compared to my previous amp. With the Marantz I have to have the bass nearly full with loudness button on to achieve the bass to my liking. I have done a little reading online and read comments saying that the PM8005 lacks bass compared to the PM6005 ?
 

gasolin

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George said:
Could it be your amp that is not giving enough bass? I remember when I first got my Marantz PM6004 the bass was very lacking compared to my previous amp. With the Marantz I have to have the bass nearly full with loudness button on to achieve the bass to my liking. I have done a little reading online and read comments saying that the PM8005 lacks bass compared to the PM6005 ?

I don't think so, have had a pair of dynaudios that had more than enough bass
 
D

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George said:
Could it be your amp that is not giving enough bass? I remember when I first got my Marantz PM6004 the bass was very lacking compared to my previous amp. With the Marantz I have to have the bass nearly full with loudness button on to achieve the bass to my liking. I have done a little reading online and read comments saying that the PM8005 lacks bass compared to the PM6005 ?

Sorry George, but if you need to apply that much bass boost then there is either something wrong with your system, or your ears...
 

muljao

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You mentioned in a different post that the 2000 series seem better with regards to bass. I have 2020i and 3020, they are very close, but possibly you are correct that the 2000 have a little more.

You can go down a very expensive road here very easily. Why don't you try to get a pair of 2020i that are 99 pounds in England at the moment. It's not a great deal of money, you'd sell them at a small loss if they don't work out.

If you are happy, keep them, sell the 3020, if not get rid of the 3020 and 2020 and start a new search
 

George

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muljao said:
You mentioned in a different post that the 2000 series seem better with regards to bass. I have 2020i and 3020, they are very close, but possibly you are correct that the 2000 have a little more.

You can go down a very expensive road here very easily. Why don't you try to get a pair of 2020i that are 99 pounds in England at the moment. It's not a great deal of money, you'd sell them at a small loss if they don't work out.

If you are happy, keep them, sell the 3020, if not get rid of the 3020 and 2020 and start a new search

Yes, then put the 3020's on top of the 2020's and run both pairs at the same time together from your Marantz amp if you have the space and your amp can handle it. Seriously it's worth a try I did this with my Marantz PM6004 , 2020's and 3020's and it sounds fab with very good bass more than the sum of it's parts.
 

muljao

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This works for you but I can imagine the majority of people don't want a speaker on a speaker situation or their amp running 2 pairs of speakers. (I think)Most want one good pair doing the job properly
 

drummerman

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George said:
muljao said:
You mentioned in a different post that the 2000 series seem better with regards to bass. I have 2020i and 3020, they are very close, but possibly you are correct that the 2000 have a little more.

You can go down a very expensive road here very easily. Why don't you try to get a pair of 2020i that are 99 pounds in England at the moment. It's not a great deal of money, you'd sell them at a small loss if they don't work out.

If you are happy, keep them, sell the 3020, if not get rid of the 3020 and 2020 and start a new search

Yes, then put the 3020's on top of the 2020's and run both pairs at the same time together from your Marantz amp if you have the space and your amp can handle it. Seriously it's worth a try I did this with my Marantz PM6004 , 2020's and 3020's and it sounds fab with very good bass more than the sum of it's parts.

:)

C'mon.

It's a tiny speaker with cheap drivers at average sensitivity, made so to sound OK with the average entry level amplifiers it is likely to be used with.

You need a bigger box if you want more bass or go with something that trades sensitivity for more bass.

Honestly, what do folks expect?

Also forget about this 'speaker on speaker' thing. Stupid.

I am not knocking the QAcoustics, they are good and have been used on more than one occasion in good systems effectively but it doesn't change the size of the things.

Like I said, you can get a pair of Q100 for under 200 quid. It will give more bass in a still tiny box.

The driver is vastly better. The Xover is where Kef saved money.
 

gasolin

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muljao said:
You mentioned in a different post that the 2000 series seem better with regards to bass. I have 2020i and 3020, they are very close, but possibly you are correct that the 2000 have a little more.

You can go down a very expensive road here very easily. Why don't you try to get a pair of 2020i that are 99 pounds in England at the moment. It's not a great deal of money, you'd sell them at a small loss if they don't work out.

If you are happy, keep them, sell the 3020, if not get rid of the 3020 and 2020 and start a new search

Live in denmark, the 2020i's cost 139£ in denmark (graphite), problems with the 2020i is that i can use them with my isoacoustis stands, i need to raise them other wise the don't have the right height (more money), the 2020i has 2 pair of binding post and im the type of person who almost have ocd if i don't bi wire speaker i can bi wire (more money)

Don't know if the difference would be big enough, i do feel if i bought the 2020i i would miss alot not have bought the concept 20 instead of the 2020i's, 100% more heavy and expensive (compared to 3020 graphite and the regular colored 2020i not graphite which is alot cheaper than the other colors ) should make a difference, i mean even when it's the lower 2000 unit's the cabinets are just so much more heavy that it should makes a bigger difference than just going from 3020 to 2020i (then again more money,ALOT more)

My amp has an eq at 50hz 10+ db i would rather have it more flat down to mabye 80hz than rasing it at 50hz up to 10 db
 

Frank Harvey

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There's only so much a small speaker can do, and when budget is limited, a small speaker is designed not to try and deal with frequencies that it can't properly handle. Better bass response or output is possible from a similar size speaker, but this requires better quality drivers, and along with it, more capable amplification to allow the better drivers to do what they've been designed to do. Squeezing something out of something that shouldn't really be capable of it will always come with a compromise somewhere along the line.

As Drummerman has stated, you'd be better going with a larger speaker that has the cabinet volume and a larger driver that can naturally reproduce deeper/more bass. Just make sure you don't go too far up the quality chain otherwise you may find your amp struggling to allow the speakers to do what they're designed to do - stick with similar ranges, like KEF Q, Monitor Audio Bronze, Dali Zensor, and equivalent Missions/Wharfedales etc. The next ranges up will improve things further, but many of these ranges tend to become more demanding on the amplifier, so again, it is best sticking with the easier load ones, like the Monitor Audio Silver.
 

gasolin

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drummerman said:
George said:
muljao said:
You mentioned in a different post that the 2000 series seem better with regards to bass. I have 2020i and 3020, they are very close, but possibly you are correct that the 2000 have a little more.

You can go down a very expensive road here very easily. Why don't you try to get a pair of 2020i that are 99 pounds in England at the moment. It's not a great deal of money, you'd sell them at a small loss if they don't work out.

If you are happy, keep them, sell the 3020, if not get rid of the 3020 and 2020 and start a new search

Yes, then put the 3020's on top of the 2020's and run both pairs at the same time together from your Marantz amp if you have the space and your amp can handle it. Seriously it's worth a try I did this with my Marantz PM6004 , 2020's and 3020's and it sounds fab with very good bass more than the sum of it's parts.

:)

C'mon.

It's a tiny speaker with cheap drivers at average sensitivity, made so to sound OK with the average entry level amplifiers it is likely to be used with.

You need a bigger box if you want more bass or go with something that trades sensitivity for more bass.

Honestly, what do folks expect?

Also forget about this 'speaker on speaker' thing. Stupid.

I am not knocking the QAcoustics, they are good and have been used on more than one occasion in good systems effectively but it doesn't change the size of the things.

Like I said, you can get a pair of Q100 for under 200 quid. It will give more bass in a still tiny box.

The driver is vastly better. The Xover is where Kef saved money.

Cheapest Kef Q100 i could find on ebay was 300£ http://www.ebay.com/itm/KEF-Q100-Stereo-Home-Cinema-Speakers-Loudspeakers-Uni-Q-White-/272523214171?hash=item3f73a63d5b:g:G4cAAOSwLnBXXWWC
 

drummerman

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gasolin said:
drummerman said:
George said:
muljao said:
You mentioned in a different post that the 2000 series seem better with regards to bass. I have 2020i and 3020, they are very close, but possibly you are correct that the 2000 have a little more.

You can go down a very expensive road here very easily. Why don't you try to get a pair of 2020i that are 99 pounds in England at the moment. It's not a great deal of money, you'd sell them at a small loss if they don't work out.

If you are happy, keep them, sell the 3020, if not get rid of the 3020 and 2020 and start a new search

Yes, then put the 3020's on top of the 2020's and run both pairs at the same time together from your Marantz amp if you have the space and your amp can handle it. Seriously it's worth a try I did this with my Marantz PM6004 , 2020's and 3020's and it sounds fab with very good bass more than the sum of it's parts.

:)

C'mon.

It's a tiny speaker with cheap drivers at average sensitivity, made so to sound OK with the average entry level amplifiers it is likely to be used with.

You need a bigger box if you want more bass or go with something that trades sensitivity for more bass.

Honestly, what do folks expect?

Also forget about this 'speaker on speaker' thing. Stupid.

I am not knocking the QAcoustics, they are good and have been used on more than one occasion in good systems effectively but it doesn't change the size of the things.

Like I said, you can get a pair of Q100 for under 200 quid. It will give more bass in a still tiny box.

The driver is vastly better. The Xover is where Kef saved money.

Cheapest Kef Q100 i could find on ebay was 300£ http://www.ebay.com/itm/KEF-Q100-Stereo-Home-Cinema-Speakers-Loudspeakers-Uni-Q-White-/272523214171?hash=item3f73a63d5b:g:G4cAAOSwLnBXXWWC

In the UK they are £199 from a few sources.
 

gasolin

Well-known member
davidf said:
There's only so much a small speaker can do, and when budget is limited, a small speaker is designed not to try and deal with frequencies that it can't properly handle. Better bass response or output is possible from a similar size speaker, but this requires better quality drivers, and along with it, more capable amplification to allow the better drivers to do what they've been designed to do. Squeezing something out of something that shouldn't really be capable of it will always come with a compromise somewhere along the line.

As Drummerman has stated, you'd be better going with a larger speaker that has the cabinet volume and a larger driver that can naturally reproduce deeper/more bass. Just make sure you don't go too far up the quality chain otherwise you may find your amp struggling to allow the speakers to do what they're designed to do - stick with similar ranges, like KEF Q, Monitor Audio Bronze, Dali Zensor, and equivalent Missions/Wharfedales etc. The next ranges up will improve things further, but many of these ranges tend to become more demanding on the amplifier, so again, it is best sticking with the easier load ones, like the Monitor Audio Silver.

Once had the Krk Rookit Powered 5 g1 despite them being small (5 " woofer) and that they are bi amped, the had lot's of deep bass and at the same time they could play loud, they just hasn't a flat frequency response even when they are studio monitors

The speakers are also compact but have a punchy bass above there size https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWthAW4ulGQ&t=319s (couldn't find any new as well as used in denmark)
 

gasolin

Well-known member
drummerman said:
gasolin said:
drummerman said:
George said:
muljao said:
You mentioned in a different post that the 2000 series seem better with regards to bass. I have 2020i and 3020, they are very close, but possibly you are correct that the 2000 have a little more.

You can go down a very expensive road here very easily. Why don't you try to get a pair of 2020i that are 99 pounds in England at the moment. It's not a great deal of money, you'd sell them at a small loss if they don't work out.

If you are happy, keep them, sell the 3020, if not get rid of the 3020 and 2020 and start a new search

Yes, then put the 3020's on top of the 2020's and run both pairs at the same time together from your Marantz amp if you have the space and your amp can handle it. Seriously it's worth a try I did this with my Marantz PM6004 , 2020's and 3020's and it sounds fab with very good bass more than the sum of it's parts.

:)

C'mon.

It's a tiny speaker with cheap drivers at average sensitivity, made so to sound OK with the average entry level amplifiers it is likely to be used with.

You need a bigger box if you want more bass or go with something that trades sensitivity for more bass.

Honestly, what do folks expect?

Also forget about this 'speaker on speaker' thing. Stupid.

I am not knocking the QAcoustics, they are good and have been used on more than one occasion in good systems effectively but it doesn't change the size of the things.

Like I said, you can get a pair of Q100 for under 200 quid. It will give more bass in a still tiny box.

The driver is vastly better. The Xover is where Kef saved money.

Cheapest Kef Q100 i could find on ebay was 300£ http://www.ebay.com/itm/KEF-Q100-Stereo-Home-Cinema-Speakers-Loudspeakers-Uni-Q-White-/272523214171?hash=item3f73a63d5b:g:G4cAAOSwLnBXXWWC

In the UK they are £199 from a few sources.

I live in denmark (shipping)
 

insider9

Well-known member
George said:
But floorstanders are basically speaker on speaker, this may not be the solution for the OP but it works for me.

I don't think it's as simple as that. If that works for you great though. The point you may be missing is that for the money you spent on both pairs you could have a pair of speakers from a level above that (e.g. MA Bronze 2). The difference would rather be significant.

OP, surely Dali or maybe Dynaudio should be cheaper in Denmark than anywhere else.
 

muljao

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I dunno so.

I would do one or two things though in your place. I'd stop reading spec numbers, these don't always add up to real life expectations in electronics. I wouldn't allow my stands decide my speakers.

It seems you may need to go a little larger to get what you need. I'm not sure what model you need but the MA br2 seems like a model that might be worth an audition. The concept 20s are likely great, but even the glowing web reviews state that other similar priced models might be better options for people who like a lot of bass.

Oh, just because you can buy wire a speaker, doesn't mean that you have to. My 2020i are not bi wired and I have no intention of doing so, even still they sound every bit as good as the 3020, and maybe just maybe have a little more bass in their reserve
 

Frank Harvey

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The Q100s,, whilst being a step up in quality, and having certain benefits of its UniQ design, won't really give you much more than the 3020s. You'd have to be looking at least the Q300s.
 

gasolin

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davidf said:
The Q100s,, whilst being a step up in quality, and having certain benefits of its UniQ design, won't really give you much more than the 3020s. You'd have to be looking at least the Q300s.

As i already mentioned the Kef Q100 has a very good price, the Q300 would be a bit to big and would be to expensive (although i now also see the Q300 is for sale at a very good pris 249£) 557 and 673£ in denmark

What i want is NOT a difference as if i would use a subwoofer with my 3020's

It's more like the difference there might be between the 2010i's and concept20 a suttle but noticeable difference, i can't expect it to be as big as going from the 3020 to 3050 if i where to buy different speaker, im not looking for speaker above flat resonse but more a bass that is a bit lower before it rolls off
 

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