Cambridge Audio Minx 20 vs QAcoustics Q7000 Satellites?

[Bazzy]

Hi All,

I know The WHF team has reviewed both these speakers in their respective 5.1 set-ups but I would really welcome any thoughts/opinions on which are better?

I plan on possibly using them for the L/C/R duties in a Surround Set up with REL Q200E Subwoofers. I am considering these as they might be suitable in terms of size, mounting & installtion needs.

I also plan on using Orb Mod-1's for the various Surround duties ina 9.2 Set-Up. Sadly, again, due to space & installation challenges, I cannot use the Q7000 Satellites for surround duties as they are too big but could use Minx 10's instead of the Orb Mod-1's if need be but really not sure if they would be better though.

Will The REL Q200E's be a good match for any of these speakers & which would work better:

A) Q7000 L/C/R with Orb Mod-1 Satellites & REL Q200E's

B) Q7000 L/C/R with Minx 10 Satellites & REL Q200E's

C) Minx 20 L/C/R with Orb Mod-1 Satellites & REL Q200E's

D) Minx 20 L/C?R with Minx 10 Satellites & REL Q200E's

Sorry To be so convoluted!

Bazzy!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Bazzy,

I see you have not had any response yet and as I have just compared the Minx 20’s with the Q7000’s and the Kef HTS 3001se I thought I’d share my thoughts with you.

I purchased two of each speaker with the intention of testing them for a weekend and returning what I didn’t want. I don’t think you will be unhappy with either but if you are using an AV amp, as I am, then the Minx 20’s, once set up properly (and this may involve a little tweak of your amps EQ here and there), will provide the best sound. And this, IMO, is also the case when compared with the Kef’s.

Straight out of the box the Q7000’s were better balanced, but as soon as you listen a little more carefully you can hear what an incredible and accurate speaker Cambridge Audio have produced. I have owned speakers – all standmount and between £300 and £1000 for a pair – from the likes of Mission, Kef, Proac, Tannoy, B&W and others, and can safely say that in terms of upper mid and treble performance the Minx 20’s are better than them all. The Q7000’s suffer from the same problem all of my other standmounts have and that is that they have a passive crossover and the distortions that go along with it – right bang in the middle of where the vocals are! This doesn’t sound like distortion. In fact you will only be able to hear what it does not sound like when comparing with good full range drivers or a quality pair of headphones.

Yes the Minx 20’s use a filter to roll off the frequencies to one of the drivers at around 900hz but this is not the same as a crossover. The area where they are weakest is unsurprisingly the lower mid/upper bass, and this is confirmed when looking at measurements. This is why I mentioned the EQ above. A small tweak up at around 150hz and a small tweak down from above that until about 3khz and that dip is much less of a problem, though it will vary depending on the source material. Once you have spent the time doing this and setting up the sub level carefully you will be rewarded with vocals, and sound staging that defy belief not just for this size and price range, but for pretty much all passive speakers in general. Just remember that cost does not always go hand in hand with quality – something that is so often assumed in the world of hifi.

As a note about your sub - the Q200 may not be a great choice to go with the Minx 20’s as the frequency response stated only goes up to 100hz. Look for something that goes to 150 or even 200 as you will need to rely on the sub to help out the satellites lower down.

Hope this helps, but the best advice I can give is to try some, preferably in your own home and spend some time setting them up.

Steve

 

[Bazzy]

Hi Bazzy,

I see you have not had any response yet and as I have just compared the Minx 20’s with the Q7000’s and the Kef HTS 3001se I thought I’d share my thoughts with you.

I purchased two of each speaker with the intention of testing them for a weekend and returning what I didn’t want. I don’t think you will be unhappy with either but if you are using an AV amp, as I am, then the Minx 20’s, once set up properly (and this may involve a little tweak of your amps EQ here and there), will provide the best sound. And this, IMO, is also the case when compared with the Kef’s.

Straight out of the box the Q7000’s were better balanced, but as soon as you listen a little more carefully you can hear what an incredible and accurate speaker Cambridge Audio have produced. I have owned speakers – all standmount and between £300 and £1000 for a pair – from the likes of Mission, Kef, Proac, Tannoy, B&W and others, and can safely say that in terms of upper mid and treble performance the Minx 20’s are better than them all. The Q7000’s suffer from the same problem all of my other standmounts have and that is that they have a passive crossover and the distortions that go along with it – right bang in the middle of where the vocals are! This doesn’t sound like distortion. In fact you will only be able to hear what it does not sound like when comparing with good full range drivers or a quality pair of headphones.

Yes the Minx 20’s use a filter to roll off the frequencies to one of the drivers at around 900hz but this is not the same as a crossover. The area where they are weakest is unsurprisingly the lower mid/upper bass, and this is confirmed when looking at measurements. This is why I mentioned the EQ above. A small tweak up at around 150hz and a small tweak down from above that until about 3khz and that dip is much less of a problem, though it will vary depending on the source material. Once you have spent the time doing this and setting up the sub level carefully you will be rewarded with vocals, and sound staging that defy belief not just for this size and price range, but for pretty much all passive speakers in general. Just remember that cost does not always go hand in hand with quality – something that is so often assumed in the world of hifi.

As a note about your sub - the Q200 may not be a great choice to go with the Minx 20’s as the frequency response stated only goes up to 100hz. Look for something that goes to 150 or even 200 as you will need to rely on the sub to help out the satellites lower down.

Hope this helps, but the best advice I can give is to try some, preferably in your own home and spend some time setting them up.

Steve

Hi Steve,

Very many thanks indeed for the kind reply & help! I am not to savvy on the technical numbers side of things but bear with me!! I just do not understand matching Subwoofers & Satellites by teh numbers!! It is great you were able to compare both the Q7000 & Minx 20 Satellites - I almost discounted the Minx 20 on the basis of the WHF reviews of each as the reviews praised teh Q7000 highly & there were some reservations about the Minx 20 systems so I am very glad you hear your views. TBH, I expected to Q7000 Satellites to be much better as they have two larger drivers & a separate tweeter but it just goes to show!I will definitely try & get a listen to them if I can but I take serious note regrading what you say about the subwoofer matching. I really am sort of committed to using the REL Q200E's as I have pre-wired everything (2 of them) & I really wanted/needed small form factor sealed forward firing subs for a number of practical reasons. The Q200E's are the best I could come up with at a reasonable sort of budget but which still offer a really good performance. I have tried looking around earnestly & cannot find anything else similar (12" Cube) unless ones goes up drastically in costs.

I scoured the net last night searching every sub maker I could find & found that most only offer a Crossover adjustment of up to 100-120hz & some up to 140-150hz but extremely few above that. I am not sure that the matching Minx subs can match the performance of the established brands even though they may partner with the Minx satellite speakers much better? I just think the Minx Subs are very expensive for what they are & much better performance for less money could be had elsewhere - it also allows flexibility of changing subs in future? It seems to me from what you say then that the Minx system really would not work at all well unless it was specifiaclly with a Minx Sub as that is one of the few that go up to 200hz? It really limits choices & costs more!

Is it possible to overcome the shortcomings of the limited Crossover range in the Q200E's (26hz-106hz) by bypassing the controls on the subwoofer & setting crossover settings as needed/required from the AV Receiver instead? I was thinking of possibly using a Minx 20 for L/C/R duties & Minx 10's for the surrounds in a 9.2 system but if they will not work well with the Q200E's (even via the AV Receiver controlling the numbers) then I guess I will have no choice but to discount them sadly? If so, it might be a real pity as I really like their form factor & for other practical reasons.

I also wanted to ask, is a "DSP" Subwoofer required with Minx Satellites - I ahve no idea what taht is but read somewhere it would be best as teh Minx subs are "DSP"? Are most brands of subs these days also "DSP"?

I also wanted to not go below a 10" subwoofers for future proofing & sonic performance reasons & the Q200E offers a much smaller footprint/overall size than most other 10" & even most 8" subwoofers out there - almost like get much better performance out a smaller box if that makes sense?

Based on the above, what do you think I should do and/or what are my options?

Really grateful to you!

 

[Anonymous]

Bazzy,

Yes I am guessing What Hifi may well prefer the Q7000 if asked, but it is certainly not the first time that people have disagreed with them – and personal preference will play a part too. I have become very used to active speakers and so speakers with crossovers sound ‘different’ to me (by that I mean not as good in most cases)

Regarding the sub, if you apply a little EQ with your amp (or in tunes if you use that) then I think the Q200 will be fine, in fact I recently found out that the measured -3db point for the middle (I think) Minx sub is only about 107hz. You do not need to use a sub with DSP. There are certainly a lot of DSP subs on the market but then there are plenty without too and very good results can be obtained with either design.

If I were you I would ask your dealer about trying a pair at home. Like I said, I just purchased a number of speakers and then returned those I didn’t want, though some will charge a small fee for this.

Steve

 

[markiedee]

I can vouch for the minxes in that they sound incredible once set up correctly and more to the point run in for a while, i have also had speakers from many different brands with my last being monitor audio bx2's with the bx center and i also had a BK gemini subwoofer which i got rid of due to me downsizing.

I wanted something alittle more discreet and the the minx speakers fit the bill for me. I currently have a pair of min20s with the x300 subwoofer alongside a denon 1911 and i have to say that i'm not dissapointed the x300, it sounds powerful tight and punchy for such a small cabinet and best of all works harmoniously with the speakers. The min20s sound so transparent and vocals sound rich and clear.

I demoed them in richersounds and believe me sometimes how they set up there speakers is to be desired so that can also alter your views on these speakers.

I don't think that you would regret buying these speakers and thought that i would add my too pence.