Q Acoustic 3000 5.0 Cinema setup: center speaker

[SuperSound]

Hi members,

I'm planning on stepping into the surround experience.

I've listened to the Q Acoustic 3050 (front), 3020 (back) and 3090c (center) in some HiFi shop nearby. I was very pleased with the 3050 and 3020, they sounded really well to my opinion, but the center sounded like garbage. Voices where really muffled.

When I replaced the 3090c speaker with a 3020 (bookshelf speaker) the sound was much more natural and clear. Even in a 4.0 setup (3050 front, 3020 back) it was a much better experience than the 5.0 setup with the center speaker.

I have been told that this was due to the M-T-M (mid, treble, mid) design of such a speaker, so that it fits under or above a tv: aesthetics over sound quality. A vertically desinged speaker almost always sound better and putting 2 mid-drivers in one speaker does not help improve sound quality either, they told me.

They had no other setups where they used a center speaker, they had dedicated theaters but all with 3 front speakers, where 1 acts as a center speaker. So I could not compare it to other center speakers.

Overall the reviews for all these Q Acoustic speakers are very good, even for the center speaker (https://www.whathifi.com/q-acoustics/3000-series-51-cinema-pack/review). "This package offers a rounded sound, occupying a comfortable spot between excitement and refinement. It’s a hugely insightful sound, packed with the subtlest of textures. If you’re after a nuanced listen, this is it.". Maybe I had just a bad center, could that be it? When I arrived the center speaker did not function and they replaced it with a new one, so it had 0 playing hours, also something to keep in mind.

Are there people out here that experience the same with this paritcular center speaker? Or other center speakers?

What would you guys recommend, go for another set with a better center speaker? Go for a 4.0 setup? Or a 5.0 setup and maybe interchange the 3090c with a bookshelf 3020 speaker?

 

[Samd]

Hi members,

I'm planning on stepping into the surround experience.

I've listened to the Q Acoustic 3050 (front), 3020 (back) and 3090c (center) in some HiFi shop nearby. I was very pleased with the 3050 and 3020, they sounded really well to my opinion, but the center sounded like garbage. Voices where really muffled.

When I replaced the 3090c speaker with a 3020 (bookshelf speaker) the sound was much more natural and clear. Even in a 4.0 setup (3050 front, 3020 back) it was a much better experience than the 5.0 setup with the center speaker.

I have been told that this was due to the M-T-M (mid, treble, mid) design of such a speaker, so that it fits under or above a tv: aesthetics over sound quality. A vertically desinged speaker almost always sound better and putting 2 mid-drivers in one speaker does not help improve sound quality either, they told me.

They had no other setups where they used a center speaker, they had dedicated theaters but all with 3 front speakers, where 1 acts as a center speaker. So I could not compare it to other center speakers.

Overall the reviews for all these Q Acoustic speakers are very good, even for the center speaker (https://www.whathifi.com/q-acoustics/3000-series-51-cinema-pack/review). "This package offers a rounded sound, occupying a comfortable spot between excitement and refinement. It’s a hugely insightful sound, packed with the subtlest of textures. If you’re after a nuanced listen, this is it.". Maybe I had just a bad center, could that be it? When I arrived the center speaker did not function and they replaced it with a new one, so it had 0 playing hours, also something to keep in mind.

Are there people out here that experience the same with this paritcular center speaker? Or other center speakers?

What would you guys recommend, go for another set with a better center speaker? Go for a 4.0 setup? Or a 5.0 setup and maybe interchange the 3090c with a bookshelf 3020 speaker?

I had (and still have) a 3090C and it's great - clear as a bell. There must have been something wrong with that particular set and for them to say the design is wrong is......!

 

[SuperSound]

Hey Samd,

Oh that would be great! So, voices trough your center sound the same as trough your front speakers for example? (idk which front speakers you have though)

 

[Samd]

OK - full story! I had the full works on the 3000 series, centre, 3050s and 4 x 3010s on a 7.1 setup with a denon AVR with separate amp etc for music and the performance was great with no issues. We (the female half of the duo!) decided we needed to down-box and, as we don't watch a great many films, decided to go for the setup in my signature below. So a bit of a Q Acoustics fan and why not - great gear.

The centre speaker, as already said, was very clear and a perfect match for the fronts etc. Highly recommended.

As it happens, I still have the 3090C and if you are anywhere near Derbyshire, you could certainly borrow it to try.

 

[SuperSound]

Thanks for your opinion man! The center in the set I listened to sounded nowhere near the front 3050 speakers, it was a much more muffled and boxed sound and you could clearly tell from which speaker the voices came from (front or center). It was like night and day: a 128kbps mp3 vs a lossless FLAC.

I'm living in the Netherlands so I'm not able to come by and test the speaker, but thanks a lot for your offer! You don't have the 3090c connected right now, do you? Otherwise, could you (if its not too much to ask) maybe make a small audio and/or video recording while recording the sound coming from two fronts (concepts or 3050 doesn't matter for me) and then coming from the centers? A difference like I experienced will be clearly noticeable even when recorded with a smartphone.

Your opinion is very in line with the reviews I've found online: "cristal clear voices during films and music", "Beautiful crisp sound. Mid range tones are better to hear than the bookshelf speakers in the same series", "very clear and dynamic/wide range sound".

I actually can't find anyone that says the center has a muffled/boxed sound, and even anyone without any hifi/sound knowledge would not have bought the center that I listened to I think, not even if it was for free. If it really sounded that terrible as I've experienced, I'm sure I'd have find complaints about it. Even the WhatsHifi review was very positive.

Although the concept speakers are out of my budget; what made you upgrade to them? And what are the differences in your opinion?

 

[Petherick]

Just wondering - was the system recalibrated after the centre speaker was changed? This could make a huge difference to how the setup sounded.

 

[Samd]

but it would take a few days 'cos the 3090c is boxed and in storage and I'm away for a day or two next week. How would I get the recording to you?

Why the Concepts? I got a very good price on the kit I was selling on the stereo side and I smiled sweetly at the treasurer one morning! The differences are there but not massive (nor would I have expected them to be) but they are quite a bit smaller than the 3050s and fitted the de-cluttering which I mentioned earlier.

I have to ask if the difference was so marked, what the dealer's response was? Did he accept it was rubbish? It has the same design bass units and identical treble unit. I just did a google on 'Centre Speakers' and, almost all makes are of the same overall design as the QA - is your dealer any good?!!

 

[SuperSound]

@Patherick
To be honest: I've no idea. I'm actually new into the "HiFi scene". I've owned 2 B&W DM220 speakers (35 year old speakers) and a Marantz SR5500 which I have taken over from my dad. So I've never did a listening there (or somehwere else) before. Although I have to mention that while I was listening I've played with the settings on the amplifier (Onkya TX-RZ810) and noticed that the front-left/front-right were set to 0.72meters distance and the center to 3.00m distance (from listener position). I've ofcourse changed both to the correct setting (which was 3 meters estimated), but yeah this was very sloppy in my opinion.

@Samd
If the speaker is in storage then never mind! I think I'm just going for the 3050 (x2, front), 3010 (x2, back) and a 3090c (x1, center). You and all the other reviews I can find on the center speaker (which include customer reviews aswell as professional reviews) never talk about a poor sounding center, and actually mention the clearity and crispness as positive things!

To come back on your question about the dealers response: The dealers response was that the difference was due to the M-T-M horizontal design. Treble should always be above the mid speaker he said and 2 mid speakers which produce the same sound in the same direction can cause interferience which does make a cost on sound quality he stated. He showed their Auro 3D theater which used 3 tower speakers (I dont know their brand or model), front-left, front-right and one as center speaker. He also told me that big movie theaters (like IMAX theaters) also use the same speaker for front-left/right and center, to prove his viewpoint.

If the dealer is any good? Well they exists for over 60 years and are actually highly rated for their service and quality. It might just be a one-time bad experience, so I'm not gonna name the dealer here (for now). I'm gonna wait for my 3090c speaker (and other speakers of this series) to arrive and listen to it again (I'm buying this from another dealer btw).

It was probably a bad unit or a bad setup I listened to, but if I still experience the - what in my opinion is a bad sound - I will post my findings here I will ofcourse contact the dealer to discuss my experiences, so they can - for example - swap the center speaker in their demo setup if it turns out to be a bad one, aswell as some explanation from them why they gave me the wrong advice then^^

I will rate the dealer on popular HiFi sites like this one after!

 

[Samd]

I notice you are going for 3010 rears rather than 3020 which I think you mentioned earlier. The 3010s are well capable of those duties. I lived in Belgium for a couple of years (Lier near Antwerp) and enjoyed the trips into the NL very much.

Keep us posted and I hope it works out for you - sure it will.

 

[SuperSound]

Yep I'm indeed going for the 3010. I mentioned the 3020's because the dealer had the 3020's set up as surround instead of the 3010. To what I've found online; both of these speakers are really compareable in terms of their sounding and their capabilities. I've decided to go for the 3010 as the 3020 would indeed not give me any noticeable improvements when set up as surround speakers. They are also a bit smaller which makes them easier to place in my room.

I will keep you posted! Thanks a lot for the advise so far

 

[newlash09]

Sorry to temporarily hijack your thread smooth sound . Will be off with one question

Iam also using the concept 40's as my front speakers. And I have been looking for a matching centre concept speaker in white colour.

However, unfortunately where I live, I have a black concept centre and white 3090C centre available. Both online though. And really cannot audition before I buy. So was wondering if from your experience, you could suggest if the 3090 C gels with the concept 40's sound and detail wise. Or should I go for the concept centre in Balck. Thanks.

Hi smooth sound...iam a big fan of qacoustics too. And my entire HT setup is with their kit for 50/50 music and home theatre. And it sounds great. All the best....

 

[Leeps]

To the OP: in the demo where you were disappointed with the centre speaker, how was it positioned?

The location of the centre speaker is often compromised and can have a big effect on the overall sound. Many people stick it inside a cabinet below the TV. What would you sound like if someone put you in a cabinet? Probably muffled!

Advice often given about the main left and right speakers is that their tweeters should be ideally at ear level height. Treble is directional after all. But this advice is rarely applied to centre speakers, so our hearing can easily detect the difference in positioning between the main speakers and the centre.

My own centre speaker is located ontop my cabinet in front of the TV, but is raised slightly and angled upwards so the speaker is effectively pointing towards ear height in the seating position. I use Auralex Mopads that come in wedges for this purpose. They also have the benefit of minimising any cabinet vibration. If you think about it, the centre speaker should ideally be situated in the centre of your TV, but then that might compromise the visual aspect of your movie experience a tad!

 

[Samd]

Sorry to temporarily hijack your thread smooth sound . Will be off with one question

Iam also using the concept 40's as my front speakers. And I have been looking for a matching centre concept speaker in white colour.

However, unfortunately where I live, I have a black concept centre and white 3090C centre available. Both online though. And really cannot audition before I buy. So was wondering if from your experience, you could suggest if the 3090 C gels with the concept 40's sound and detail wise. Or should I go for the concept centre in Balck. Thanks.

Hi smooth sound...iam a big fan of qacoustics too. And my entire HT setup is with their kit for 50/50 music and home theatre. And it sounds great. All the best....

I still have my 3090C as mentioned earlier. I got it out of storage in case the OP needed the test so I will hook it up to my system and give it a whirl with the Concept fronts.

 

[Samd]

My own centre speaker is located ontop my cabinet in front of the TV, but is raised slightly and angled upwards so the speaker is effectively pointing towards ear height in the seating position. I use Auralex Mopads that come in wedges for this purpose. They also have the benefit of minimising any cabinet vibration. If you think about it, the centre speaker should ideally be situated in the centre of your TV, but then that might compromise the visual aspect of your movie experience a tad!

Really!

 

[newlash09]

Sorry to temporarily hijack your thread smooth sound . Will be off with one question

Iam also using the concept 40's as my front speakers. And I have been looking for a matching centre concept speaker in white colour.

However, unfortunately where I live, I have a black concept centre and white 3090C centre available. Both online though. And really cannot audition before I buy. So was wondering if from your experience, you could suggest if the 3090 C gels with the concept 40's sound and detail wise. Or should I go for the concept centre in Balck. Thanks.

Hi smooth sound...iam a big fan of qacoustics too. And my entire HT setup is with their kit for 50/50 music and home theatre. And it sounds great. All the best....

I still have my 3090C as mentioned earlier.  I got it out of storage in case the OP needed the test so I will hook it up to my system and give it a whirl with the Concept fronts.

Really appreciate you taking all that trouble to help us both

 

[Samd]

@ Newlash09

I have not reached a conclusion which I suppose is testament to the prowess of the 3090C. I can detect a slight tonal difference but it is very minor and my test has been hampered by the amount of time it takes to change the speakers. Without major 'surgery' to my setup, I had to pull the centre speaker from its housing, disconnect and reconnect the other one etc etc.

The 3090 certainly benefits more with a slight upward tilt but that's no problem. I did run my system on the Concepts with the 3090C for some time before buying the Concept Centre so I can state that they work together very well. Hope that helps but if you are still not sure, I suppose I could set up some switching system to permit 'instant changeover'.

 

[newlash09]

Really appreciate your effort and time. I guess I will be fine with a white 3090C then. I had not gone for one so far, fearing tonal mismatch. And with the center channel being the epicentre of home theatre, wanted the last ounce of clarity. Since the 3090 C center seems to be pretty close, that's good enough for me. Will check with the seller again, if he has a concept center in white , otherwise a white 3090C it is. Thanks again

 

[Andrewjvt]

Really appreciate your effort and time. I guess I will be fine with a white 3090C then. I had not gone for one so far, fearing tonal mismatch. And with the center channel being the epicentre of home theatre, wanted the last ounce of clarity. Since the 3090 C center seems to be pretty close, that's good enough for me. Will check with the seller again, if he has a concept center in white , otherwise a white 3090C it is. Thanks again

You could be ok with either but if it's no problem I'd definitely go for the concept centre as it's slightly clearer and for vocals you want as clear as possible.

I just swapped my 3090c for a tannoy precision and vocals are much better

 

[newlash09]

Really appreciate your effort and time. I guess I will be fine with a white 3090C then. I had not gone for one so far, fearing tonal mismatch. And with the center channel being the epicentre of home theatre, wanted the last ounce of clarity. Since the 3090 C center seems to be pretty close, that's good enough for me. Will check with the seller again, if he has a concept center in white , otherwise a white 3090C it is. Thanks again

You could be ok with either but if it's no problem I'd definitely go for the concept centre as it's slightly clearer and for vocals you want as clear as possible.

I just swapped my 3090c for a tannoy precision and vocals are much better

For the advise on the tannoy's. I do listen to music in DTS neural X mode. And the center channel does bass and vocals in this mode. So was looking for clarity.

Do you also have tannoy LR speakers or qacoustics LR speakers. And which exact model of tannoy precision did you go for. I could check around and see if it is available in my area. Thanks

 

[Andrewjvt]

Really appreciate your effort and time. I guess I will be fine with a white 3090C then. I had not gone for one so far, fearing tonal mismatch. And with the center channel being the epicentre of home theatre, wanted the last ounce of clarity. Since the 3090 C center seems to be pretty close, that's good enough for me. Will check with the seller again, if he has a concept center in white , otherwise a white 3090C it is. Thanks again

You could be ok with either but if it's no problem I'd definitely go for the concept centre as it's slightly clearer and for vocals you want as clear as possible.

I just swapped my 3090c for a tannoy precision and vocals are much better

For the advise on the tannoy's. I do listen to music in DTS neural X mode. And the center channel does bass and vocals in this mode. So was looking for clarity.

Do you also have tannoy LR speakers or qacoustics LR speakers. And which exact model of tannoy precision did you go for. I could check around and see if it is available in my area. Thanks

I originally brought the q acoustics 3020 stereo pair and the matching 3090 centre speaker

For my rears I've got small Cambridgeshire audio mini minx that work quite well with a single BMR driver.

About 2 weeks ago I was on richer sounds website and spotted the tannoy precision 6c centre speaker for only £349 so even though I never needed it just went ahead and got it.
It's so large I need to build a new AV rack as ATM is on top of the bread board acting as a stand.
The salesman in richer sounds told me that someone from Australia brought one and paid the shipping as it's much cheaper than buying it from Australia. I think they are over a £1000 normally.

It's a great speaker and now I want to put precision speakers on the fronts and use the q acoustic for rears.

But seems you already have very good concept 40s I'd consider the concept centre at only £249 UK price.

 

[newlash09]

For the detailed reply. I have 2 months to make the purchase. So will wait a bit further for the concept centre to appear in white. Thanks.

 

[SuperSound]

I promised to come back with an update! A bit late, but here it is

I've bought the set I mentioned before (2x 3050, 1x 3090c and 2x 3010) from a different shop (due to the previously mentioned experiences...). I've hooked them up to my Marantz SR5500, configured the receiver and started by playing some music. All good!

Then I played a Dolby trailer (Amaze). Damn what a sound! And alot of bass, defenitely need no subwoofer in my small room

To especially test the center, I fired up the movie that I tested with at the HiFi dealer: Spectre. I skipped to the scene I had tested there, and noticed the center sounded way better than I had experienced before!

I called with the HiFi dealer on my findings, and they said they would investigate it and come back to me in a week with their findings. After a month not hearing anything back, I called them again. They told me the mail they sent out to me was stuck in the Drafts folder, but they found that the center in the audition room had a bad treble speaker. Since I was still looking for a new receiver with HDMI capabilities, they offered me a very attractive discount on a Marantz SR6012. After comparing some models, I've decided to go for it.

I have to say, with this new receiver the Q Acoustic speakers sound 10 times better! Although I was not unhappy with the sound I had, it felt like I missed "something". Some more 'busy' tracks did not sound that great, they sounded a bit 'dead' or 'boring'.

Afterall I'm very happy with the combination of these two purchases! Both amazing products! Thanks to all of you here who helped me deciding Especially you, Samd

 

[newlash09]

I promised to come back with an update! A bit late, but here it is

I've bought the set I mentioned before (2x 3050, 1x 3090c and 2x 3010) from a different shop (due to the previously mentioned experiences...). I've hooked them up to my Marantz SR5500, configured the receiver and started by playing some music. All good!

Then I played a Dolby trailer (Amaze). Damn what a sound! And alot of bass, defenitely need no subwoofer in my small room

To especially test the center, I fired up the movie that I tested with at the HiFi dealer: Spectre. I skipped to the scene I had tested there, and noticed the center sounded way better than I had experienced before!

I called with the HiFi dealer on my findings, and they said they would investigate it and come back to me in a week with their findings. After a month not hearing anything back, I called them again. They told me the mail they sent out to me was stuck in the Drafts folder, but they found that the center in the audition room had a bad treble speaker. Since I was still looking for a new receiver with HDMI capabilities, they offered me a very attractive discount on a Marantz SR6012. After comparing some models, I've decided to go for it.

I have to say, with this new receiver the Q Acoustic speakers sound 10 times better! Although I was not unhappy with the sound I had, it felt like I missed "something". Some more 'busy' tracks did not sound that great, they sounded a bit 'dead' or 'boring'.

Afterall I'm very happy with the combination of these two purchases! Both amazing products! Thanks to all of you here who helped me deciding Especially you, Samd

Hearty congratulations on getting super sound in your setup. There is a particular synergy between marantz avr's and Qacoustics speakers that has always appealed to me.

Please do spend some time properly setting up and calibrating your speakers. All the best and enjoy

 

[Samd]

...makes you wonder how many other people were put off by that rogue centre speaker but it's great when someone else's mistake leads to your advantage!

 

[chelstondave]

you think they would have noticed the dodgy treble