Are the Q-Acoustics Concept 40s a step up from…

[Bromiley]

I was at my local dealer the other day asking about turntables and noticed he was playing some music with the Concept 40s. They sounded pretty good to me. They seemed to fill the room very well and that got me thinking.
Here’s my current setup: – B&W 685S2– Quad Vena Amp– Pro-Ject CD Box DS CD player– QED XT40 speaker cable– MacBook Pro via USB-B to the Vena occasionally I like the neutral sound from the Vena with the B&W 685S2’s. To me they seem to balance nicely, but I am no expert. I briefly had a Cambridge CXA 80 and this was too ‘bright’ for me and my speakers. My room is 5m x 7m. The speakers are on the longest wall. The music I like listening to includes Joni Mitchell, Eva Cassidy, Miles Davis right through to Dire Straits and Queen to name a few. My question to you all: – Would I be moving up a step from the B&W 685S2’s with the Concept 40s? If so, how? – Will the Concept 40s match my amp? I’ve read that the Concept 40s can ‘go to sleep’ without the right amp. It would be great to hear from you all about my question.

 

[drummerman]

Why don't you take your amp to the local dealer?

It's not exactly big.

Just an idea

 

[Native_bon]

Hello Bromiley. I have got the Quad Vena in a second room, at the front of it, Q acousitcs 3050's & sounds really good. Now I listened to the Concept 40's & actually prefered the 3050's. Now this is just my preference. I found the Concept 40's just a tad bit clinical for my liking. Think you should go with drummerman's advice and have a demo at a shop. I would say demo as many speakers as you can, you never know what you may end up liking with the Quad Vena amp.

 

[bluedroog]

They'll certainly sound different, I'd expect marginally better. I personally like to make my upgrades few and far between but with very clear steps up in quality, I can't help think you' d be spending money for small gains (unless of course you really favour their presentation).

Personally I'd live with what you have, wait a year and take a leap forward.

Q-Acoustics are quite fussy with amps, not neccisarily a bad thing, another way to look at it is they will appreciate a good amp but I've never been impressed with them unless given ample power when they do come to life.

 

[damodollard]

Totally agree with bluedroog about amp selection for these speakers tried running them myself with Marantz pm7004, with no great luck, as this amp sounded great with q acoustics 2050i.

Is it the amp or the speakers are the ones to keep if looking for an upgrage, is the question to ask yourself?