Budget speakers advice Q Acoustic 2020i or Dali Zensor 1 or something else?

[George]

I have a pair of Q Acoustic 2020's running off a Marantz PM6004 amp. I like the sound of my Q Acoustics, fairly detailed, nice bass, very good mid range (very important to me) BUT I find the high frequency response on the 2020's a bit lacking, ie cymbals seem to be in the background and lacking sparkle. I am thinking of upgrading. Except for the lack of high end sparkle I like the sound of my Q Acoustic 2020's. Would the Q Acoustic 2020i give me a similar sound to the 2020's with better highs OR would the Dali Zensor 1's be a better choice? The sound i'm after is detailed with good tight bass, excellent mid range, and highs that make cymbals sound like well, er symbals *pardon* without sounding too harsh or clinical. Q Acoustic 2020i or Dali Zensor 1 or something else?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Becky_Roberts]

Hi George

It's a good question as both speakers are great, but while the 2020is bring improvements over the 2020s in many areas (detail, attack etc), the balance is much the same between the two. They do tend to round off the treble slightly. If you want more sparkle in the higher freq, you'll get that with the Zensor 1s. They are fast, clean and energetic speakers, too - and a good match for the Marantz amp you have.

Ultimately, though, we'd recommend going up to the Zensor 3s if budget allows (they're around £100 more). They retain the 1s character, and improvements in openess, scale and bass punch far outweigh the extra spend.

Hope that helps.

Becky
Staff Writer, What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision

 

[George]

My Marantz amp has outputs for 2 sets of speakers. Could I put a pair of Dali ones on top of my Q Acoustics and have both sets running of my amp so that the Dali ones 'fill in' what is missing on the Q Acoustics?

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

My Marantz amp has outputs for 2 sets of speakers. Could I put a pair of Dali ones on top of my Q Acoustics and have both sets running of my amp so that the Dali ones 'fill in' what is missing on the Q Acoustics?

Not a good idea.

The Dali Zensor 3s are the ones to go for, but I understand they're stretching your budget a bit. I bought mine for £240 about 10 months ago, so they do occasionally come on offer. If you can, wait until after Xmas and you may see them on offer somewhere. That's what I'm hoping for anyway, as I want another pair as rears on my 5.1 set up.

Edit: Nintronics have them at £250 in black or white at the moment.

 

[George]

My Marantz amp has outputs for 2 sets of speakers. Could I put a pair of Dali ones on top of my Q Acoustics and have both sets running of my amp so that the Dali ones 'fill in' what is missing on the Q Acoustics?

Not a good idea.

The Dali Zensor 3s are the ones to go for, but I understand they're stretching your budget a bit. I bought mine for £240 about 10 months ago, so they do occasionally come on offer. If you can, wait until after Xmas and you may see them on offer somewhere. That's what I'm hoping for anyway, as I want another pair as rears on my 5.1 set up.

Edit: Nintronics have them at £250 in black or white at the moment.

Thanks, I was just wondering why it would be a bad idea to use two sets of speakers? Of course it would be much tidier to have one pair. I do like the Q Acoustics 2020's and i'm afraid if I spend out on the Dali 3's that I won't like them (I have no hi-fi shop in my area so cannot audition a pair). Could the Q Acoustics be modifed by adding a better tweeter? Of course if I bought a pair of Dali 3's I could always sell them on on without too much loss if I really did not like them.

 

[rainsoothe]

imo there's a VERY slim chance you won't like the Zensor 3 with Marantz. And I think it would bring exactly the improvement you're looking for. I know buying without audition is a big nono, but in this case you should be pretty safe, especially if you can sell for little loss OR find an online retailer that accepts returns.

 

[gasolin]

I have a denon amp that is almost the same (if not) as the marantz mcr 510/610 and i had to lower the treble by 2 db when i use it with my dali zensor 1, just to bright a combination but sound was still good, with my Boston a26 i have the treble on 0db and it's not intrusive or to loud, i don't notice it (in a possitive way) i just listen to music and enjoy it.

One thing i have noticed is my van den hull clearwater has as soft top comfortable to listen to, when i use the Audioquest FLX/SLiP 14/4 it's more bright,noticeable in the top (use the van den hull cable because i like the top better then from the audioquest).

You might wanna try different speaker cable or just turn up the treble by a few db which is a 100% free tweak it dosn't cost anything and compared to enhancing the bass i pretty shure the max level will be the same before theres distortion

 

[George]

Is my Marantz PM6004 powerful enough to drive a pair of Dali 3's?

 

[rainsoothe]

Defenately.

 

[George]

Defenately.

Thanks *smile*

 

[Cypher]

Why not try the Wharfedale Diamond 220 speakers ? They should be good *smile*

 

[Regisss]

Actually what are main differences between - Wharfedale DIAMOND 121, DIAMOND 122 and DIAMOND 220?

Can anyone comment on how they sound compere to Dali Zensor 1?

 

[gasolin]

Mabye you are just use to bright sounding/sparkling speakers and find it to weird listening to speakers that have a top you don't notice (are not bright) speakers are not surpose to add anything to the music that's not there, they just have to make the music sound as good as possible.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

Did you try adjusting the tone controls?.

If you have a bypass button turn it off see how you get on.

 

[George]

Did you try adjusting the tone controls?.

If you have a bypass button turn it off see how you get on.

Yes, treble almost maxed (starting to give unwanted distortion) bypass off and loudness on.

 

[George]

Not sure about that, I know how symbals and higher percussion instruments sound and the Q Acoustics are not quite delivering.

 

[George]

I've taken the plunge and ordered some Dali 3's. I've gone for next day delivery so I can have them for the Christmas holiday. I will let you know what I think of them. Also is it OK to swap over one of my Q Acoustic speakers with a Dali speaker so I can compare the two speakers using the balance control on my Marantz amp (using a mono source ie, fm radio switched to mono). Or am I likely to damage my amp by doing this?

 

[George]

I've taken the plunge and ordered some Dali 3's. I've gone for next day delivery so I can have them for the Christmas holiday. I will let you know what I think of them. Also is it OK to swap over one of my Q Acoustic speakers with a Dali speaker so I can compare the two speakers using the balance control on my Marantz amp (using a mono source ie, fm radio switched to mono). Or am I likely to damage my amp by doing this?

OK I got the Dali 3's today and I have been comparing them to my Q Acoustic 2020's ALL DAY. The verdict: I prefer the Q Acoustics, the mid range is much clearer on the Q's and I don't hear any better highs on the Dali's, the Dali's do have more bass but they sound muddy, so the Q's are staying and if I cannot return the Dali's they are off to Ebay. Well if this has taught me anything is that I should be happy with the Q's. I'm sure I will get advice about stands and positioning but it was a level playing field both sets of speakers were working in the same conditions. Oh well, live and learn. *bye*

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

I've taken the plunge and ordered some Dali 3's. I've gone for next day delivery so I can have them for the Christmas holiday. I will let you know what I think of them. Also is it OK to swap over one of my Q Acoustic speakers with a Dali speaker so I can compare the two speakers using the balance control on my Marantz amp (using a mono source ie, fm radio switched to mono). Or am I likely to damage my amp by doing this?

OK I got the Dali 3's today and I have been comparing them to my Q Acoustic 2020's ALL DAY. The verdict: I prefer the Q Acoustics, the mid range is much clearer on the Q's and I don't hear any better highs on the Dali's, the Dali's do have more bass but they sound muddy, so the Q's are staying and if I cannot return the Dali's they are off to Ebay. Well if this has taught me anything is that I should be happy with the Q's. I'm sure I will get advice about stands and positioning but it was a level playing field both sets of speakers were working in the same conditions. Oh well, live and learn. *bye*

My Dali 3s came into their own after using them for a week or so, they sounded more alive. Give them a week, and if you feel the same way, then return them.

 

[jimdonnelly]

Agreed, give the Dalis some time to loosen up. I felt they got better after a couple of weeks. Make sure you fire them straight out, I think having them toed in impacts the sound negatively. Just my opinion.

 

[George]

Agreed, give the Dalis some time to loosen up. I felt they got better after a couple of weeks. Make sure you fire them straight out, I think having them toed in impacts the sound negatively. Just my opinion.

I did run them for 12 hours. I am a little sceptical about speaker run in (if it were true why so much debate about it?) . OK they may improve slightly after many hours of use but they won't completely change their characteristics surely and by the time they are 'run in' and if I still don't like them it will be too late to return them. Also if speakers don't sound that great out of the box because they need 'running in' then manufacturers would 'run in' the speakers to avoid disappointed customers returning their product. Anyway I don't want to start a thread on this subject, I just personally don't believe that running in these speakers for 100 hours is going too make a huge difference. I realise that how speakers sound is a very personal thing and also depends a lot on musical tastes but for me the Q acoustics sound very very good (especially for the price paid) so I will probably stick with them.

 

[jimdonnelly]

No probs, just thought I would share what I experienced. I have also had the same with headphones. Maybe just my ears getting used to the new sound. Dali do recommend the "run in" but again that might be to allow your ears to get used to the sound.

Agreed that we dont need another thread on this. I hope you find what you are looking for.