Q Acoustics BT3 Review

[Green Bow]

Q Acoustics BT3 Review

Equipment:
Source 16bit 44.1KHz FLAC files stored on computer.
DAC - Meridian Explorer
Cable - standard £2 3.5mm jack to phono RCA.
A smooth DAC and a not-pacey pair of BT3. I think I prefer faster audio kit, but anyway.... this is what I think.

Impressions No offensive buzzing when there is no music playing.

Even after being allowed to burn-in over for four days, they still seemed to have been softening in sound. Initially they were cold sounding and had a very small sound stage; both aspects of which changed. I absolutely hear my Meridian Explorer signature in them. I hear the same sort of slight congestion when the going gets tough.

In every way though my Grado SR225e seemed to be faster and more detailed. These headphones could comfortably pause and take a breath while the BT3 are doing their best. That doesn't mean that the SR225e had it all their own way though. The BT3 get close to the SR225e sometimes. Also because of the new presentation I hear details I missed in my headphones. The details are there in the headphones, but overlooked because other sounds are more forward.

An area where the 225e were winning was in bass response. Given the Grado Prestige Series are reputed as not bass heavy, this isn't good. This may be the fault of my cheap 3.5mm jack to RCA though. I can't confirm this until I buy a quality cable. However doing a little equalising and the BT3 make more sense. My music player allows me to EQ at 31HZ and 62Hz at the lower end. 31Hz had zero effect, meaning the BT3 have zero response at that frequency. However increasing just 3dB at 62Hz and the BT3 had a new lease of life. The lower sounds were all warmer and the overall signature seems normal.

I have settled with increasing 3dB at 50Hz in the Windows Control Panel thus eq-ing all sound from my PC. I had not forseen this bass lightness and to be honest the bass is quite weak without EQ. If this is the natural performance and not cable related, adding a source without EQ would be affected. For music at near field, close up the music sounds good. They do fit the the function of desktop speakers. It took a while to adjust to them though.

Techno sounds surpisingly a little warm and pristine. Testing with Bellisima (DJ Quicksilver) and Seven Days One week (B.B.E.). There's a solidity and punch. Fading Like a Flower (Dancing DJs vs Roxette) fills your ears and messes with air pressure, which is good!

Abba Gold sounded a little digital and harsh sounding on my headphones. Sounds fairly normal on BT3. The best of Lang Lang pretty good representation. However lacking some bite.

The Best of Sade - Smooth jazz, which needs more clarity in the purcussive taps.

Hawkwind - Brainstorm (from Doremi Fasol Latido album) sounded much as I hoped. It was a little slow in timing and could have used more clarity but the album conveyed well.

PC Gaming For this use they are good speakers. Initially I much preferred my headhones. However after a couple of days burning-in I moved to the BT3 most of the time. I found it a more relaxing way to hear audio in games. They produce an audio experience which fills all available space in front so allowing for immersion. Only when absolute directional information of enemy placement is necessary will the headphones be better. I played through Crysis 3 and the BT3 were totally on form. The only thing I missed was rain sounds coming from behind which headphones do. However good interconnect does help with that, so I need to get one.

Watching DVD Again they do really well for this job. Watching content is easier with speakers that with headphones. It's because I am not constantly aware movement is restricted and I can relax more. Sound is immersive and takes you closer to the movie.

Upgrades. A quality 3.5mm jack to RCA (Hopefully this would fill out the bass, and increase speed and detail.) All reviews of five-star cables claim better detail so I am going to buy one. A quality length of speaker cable between the master and slave speaker should also make a good upgrade.

Final Impressions. I think the better deal was the Onkyo A9010 and the Q Acoustics 3020 currently on Richer Sounds at £315. It would have been my choice if two aspects had not changed my mind. I have no space for the amplifier. The 3020 are best 15cm from a rear wall and that moves the speakers forward. They would have been too close to the user on desktop.

I expected more from the BT3. However I think I can not expect too much given the weak interconnect between DAC and BT3. I know from experience that good quality cables make all the difference. A cable described as being fast and detailed would be ideal. Neither is the DAC really of exceptional quality. Having said this the BT3 are good speakers. The ground work is done, meaning with the weak cable, they are a reasonable package.

If a new 3.5mm to RCA cable adds the missing bass, then they will be great. However if not then the BT3 for me do not operate without EQ. They are too bass light and not a complete package.

At the moment they also have a very slight tendancy just occasionally to sound like their enclosures.

 

[Vladimir]

Good and honest review. Sounds like these would do better in a smaller room and closer to walls.

These definitely are not keepers for you? Can you swap them for somethign else (that Onkyo and the 3020s)?

 

[Green Bow]

Yes I could change them. However, without doubt cabling should be upgraded first before passing on the BT3. It might just give them the bite that they are close to. They make a good tone so have the basics under control.

The last time I bought good cabling was with some speaker cable and the tone was made richer. The soundstage filled the entire room. Putting good interconnects on that particular system just made it more; well more. Tones were filled out more luciously, and sounds had clearer boundaries.

At the moment the BT3 are right on the borderline. Meaning will I keep them or not. It's made me slightly re-evaluate: are all small speakers going to bass compromised. I think not because the Q Acoustics 3020 is reviewed by What Hi-Fi as the best sub-£300 speaker. If it had no low end resonance and punch, then another manufacturer would have What Hi-Fi's title.

I have to conclude that What Hi-Fi would review the BT3 with a reasonable interconnect. Either from an analogue source or straight into the BT3 DAC. Since I need a 3.5mm jack to RCA anyway, whatever kit I have, I might as well try it. I am looking at the QED J2P range.

The BT3's convenience is without doubt their strong point. Mixed with good sound they are proposition. It means that active speakers make sense right now. In other words alternatives are the Dynaudio Xeo 2 when reviews come out. Epoz Actimate.

An amplifier speaker combination is ideal from another perspective. I.E. if one component breaks down it can be replaced. Whereas if the BT3 break, the whole deal is gone. I know this is common sense and doesn't really need reiterating. However it does make me think about trying to make separates fit. Separates of course are going to sound better.

Neither should I underestimate the Meridian Explorer effect. It's a good DAC but it's not stunning.

 

[davedotco]

No practical small passive speaker has deep bass. There is no way to increase the bass extension other than by reducing the sensitivity of the rest of the frequency range so that the ouput matches the bass output at say, 40hz.

Actually not that difficult, the really difficult bit is selling a speaker with a sensitivity in the low 70s dB/watt.

in real life, most small speakers get over this by having a small bass 'bump' around 100Hz, on music this actually sounds deeper than you might think. In most passive (or powered active) models this leads to what I call 'bass bloat', something I find pretty unpleasant.

A fully active design gives better control over the bass allowing a certain amount of frequency response tayloring without the 'bloat', a big advantage in my view.

 

[Green Bow]

@ Vladimir, I wonder if you're right that they still want a wall behind to help. I thought however with them being front ported that it didn't matter. I don't know the facts of this but I read another review saying just that. Plus What Hi-Fi reviewed the BT3 as being OK plonked down anywhere. I think if they needed a wall, they would have said so. They remarked on that aspect with the Ruark Audio MR1.

@ davedotco, as they are now eq with 3dB extra at 50Hz they are far from unpleasant. I am listening to Life for Rent - Dido. It's an album I have listened to hundereds of times. It's very livable with.

One aspect I noticed that was when I eq'd 3dB at 62Hz it added warmth and more rounder sound. However that was only do-able in my music player. I opted for +3dB at 50Hz, from Control Panel in Windows. That adds a kind of bottom end thud, and a less warm sound.

Some albums however do get a bit ropey but that is not always the fault of the speakers. That happens with my headphones too. I can only conclude it's the DAC. While I still just prefer my headphones, it's not a vast chasm of preference. Additionally with a good cable connecting the DAC to the speakers it should help. I think it will bring it closer in line with my headphones. There are no weak cables with my headphones attached.

 

[Vladimir]

I'm far from a professional reviewer in knowledge about audio, but I've noticed that even with closed boxes or front ported speaker bass gets boosted when near walls. Maybe it spreads in 360 degrees and not just through that port hole. So instead of pushing the woofers and amps to go extra 3dB with your EQ, just put the speakers closer to the walls and boost the bass that way. Who knows, it might work. Maybe some reviewers would see this thread and explain us better. *unknw*

Also sometimes you may hear some problems that are actualy part of the recording but it sounds like your equipment is to blame. It could be the cable or the DAC, we will never know for certain with our untrained ears, unlike pro reviewers.

 

[Green Bow]

*unknw*

Also sometimes you may hear some problems that are actualy part of the recording but it sounds like your equipment is to blame. It could be the cable or the DAC, we will never know for certain with our untrained ears, unlike pro reviewers.

There could be something in the case for placing them near a wall. I'll add any info on that if I try it.

That's what I think too about what to blame. I forgot to mention it could be the recordings.

The Grado headphones probably gain a little detail too with them having a couple of treble spikes. The different signatures between the Grado and the BT3 comes up with some surprises too for the speakers.

I think the right plan right now is to get a cable. I am stuck choosing between and Chord iChord and a QED Reference Audio J2P. The Chord review touts it as having stong punchy bass. Whereas the QED (according to What Hi-Fi magazine) claims details and clarity. I bet either cable would pull the BT3 up.

Beyond that I have another better quality DAC which I have not opened yet. I am trying to allay my worries about it first.

 

[davedotco]

I'm far from a professional reviewer in knowledge about audio, but I've noticed that even with closed boxes or front ported speaker bass gets boosted when near walls. Maybe it spreads in 360 degrees and not just through that port hole. So instead of pushing the woofers and amps to go extra 3dB with your EQ, just put the speakers closer to the walls and boost the bass that way. Who knows, it might work. Maybe some reviewers would see this thread and explain us better. *unknw*

Also sometimes you may hear some problems that are actualy part of the recording but it sounds like your equipment is to blame. It could be the cable or the DAC, we will never know for certain with our untrained ears, unlike pro reviewers.

Don't wind the poor man up, funny but cruel....*shok*

Not everyone understands how various frequencies are more or less directional, they are even taken in by the miss-information routinely posted on here and still believe that the positioning of the port on a speaker makes a difference to the positioning and bass response. (It doesn't)

In addition, eq-ing small speakers at low frequencies can be very misleading, mostly all that happens is that you increase the 'doubling' effect, ie boost twice (double) the frequency you think you are increasing.

Finally, positioning any loudspeaker that has any pretensions to quality is important, you can design for specific conditions, but in the end, positioning is everything.

 

[Vladimir]

I'm far from a professional reviewer in knowledge about audio, but I've noticed that even with closed boxes or front ported speaker bass gets boosted when near walls. Maybe it spreads in 360 degrees and not just through that port hole. So instead of pushing the woofers and amps to go extra 3dB with your EQ, just put the speakers closer to the walls and boost the bass that way. Who knows, it might work. Maybe some reviewers would see this thread and explain us better. *unknw*

Also sometimes you may hear some problems that are actualy part of the recording but it sounds like your equipment is to blame. It could be the cable or the DAC, we will never know for certain with our untrained ears, unlike pro reviewers.

Not everyone understands how various frequencies are more or less directional, they are even taken in by the miss-information routinely posted on here and still believe that the positioning of the port on a speaker makes a difference to the positioning and bass response. (It doesn't)

And what are your credentials sir? Have you been trained and appointed as a professional forum advisor? Or is this a 'theory' of yours?

*boredom*

 

[drummerman]

I'm far from a professional reviewer in knowledge about audio, but I've noticed that even with closed boxes or front ported speaker bass gets boosted when near walls. Maybe it spreads in 360 degrees and not just through that port hole. So instead of pushing the woofers and amps to go extra 3dB with your EQ, just put the speakers closer to the walls and boost the bass that way. Who knows, it might work. Maybe some reviewers would see this thread and explain us better. *unknw*

Also sometimes you may hear some problems that are actualy part of the recording but it sounds like your equipment is to blame. It could be the cable or the DAC, we will never know for certain with our untrained ears, unlike pro reviewers.

Don't wind the poor man up, funny but cruel....*shok*

Not everyone understands how various frequencies are more or less directional, they are even taken in by the miss-information routinely posted on here and still believe that the positioning of the port on a speaker makes a difference to the positioning and bass response. (It doesn't)

In addition, eq-ing small speakers at low frequencies can be very misleading, mostly all that happens is that you increase the 'doubling' effect, ie boost twice (double) the frequency you think you are increasing.

Finally, positioning any loudspeaker that has any pretensions to quality is important, you can design for specific conditions, but in the end, positioning is everything.

Of course port positioning can make a difference.

Very low frequencies may not be directional but a port with all its noise, distortion (usually greater than the drive units) and wind tunnel effect certainly can be. Look at ported speaker response graphs and you will see that on occasions port output bleeds into the lower mids which will clearly have an effect especially if the port faces the listener.

Not just that, I long have been an advocate of either IB design or, if you must have a port, downward firing for more ease of positioning and lack of audible internal reflections.

 

[davedotco]

I'm far from a professional reviewer in knowledge about audio, but I've noticed that even with closed boxes or front ported speaker bass gets boosted when near walls. Maybe it spreads in 360 degrees and not just through that port hole. So instead of pushing the woofers and amps to go extra 3dB with your EQ, just put the speakers closer to the walls and boost the bass that way. Who knows, it might work. Maybe some reviewers would see this thread and explain us better. *unknw*

Also sometimes you may hear some problems that are actualy part of the recording but it sounds like your equipment is to blame. It could be the cable or the DAC, we will never know for certain with our untrained ears, unlike pro reviewers.

Not everyone understands how various frequencies are more or less directional, they are even taken in by the miss-information routinely posted on here and still believe that the positioning of the port on a speaker makes a difference to the positioning and bass response. (It doesn't)

And what are your credentials sir? Have you been trained and appointed as a professional forum advisor? Or is this a 'theory' of yours?

*boredom*

More taking of the pith.

The basics I mentioned above are available to anyone with access to the internet. Take a look at any polar response measurements of box loudspeakers.

This is typical of most box loudspeakers, there is very little energy above about 1kHz radiated to the rear, but bass frequencies are near omnidirectional.

Reflections from the backwall will obviously by dominated by bass as no high frequencies are present to be reflected, Ergo, the bass at the listening position gets boosted, other frequencies are not.

The designer balances the forward response plus the reflections (bass) to give a balanced response at the listening position. The position that the speakers are in when making that evaluation is then the 'best' position for the speakers with respect to tonal balance.

The engineer can design speakers for whatever position he wants, though 'audiophiles' love 3D soundstaging which requires speakers to be well clear of the room boundaries, so most are balanced for this type of positioning.

When they get in peoples homes they often find themselves poorly placed, close to room boundaries, so sound fat and bloated. Thats just the way it is.

 

[Vladimir]

I'm far from a professional reviewer in knowledge about audio, but I've noticed that even with closed boxes or front ported speaker bass gets boosted when near walls. Maybe it spreads in 360 degrees and not just through that port hole. So instead of pushing the woofers and amps to go extra 3dB with your EQ, just put the speakers closer to the walls and boost the bass that way. Who knows, it might work. Maybe some reviewers would see this thread and explain us better. *unknw*

Also sometimes you may hear some problems that are actualy part of the recording but it sounds like your equipment is to blame. It could be the cable or the DAC, we will never know for certain with our untrained ears, unlike pro reviewers.

Don't wind the poor man up, funny but cruel....*shok*

Not everyone understands how various frequencies are more or less directional, they are even taken in by the miss-information routinely posted on here and still believe that the positioning of the port on a speaker makes a difference to the positioning and bass response. (It doesn't)

In addition, eq-ing small speakers at low frequencies can be very misleading, mostly all that happens is that you increase the 'doubling' effect, ie boost twice (double) the frequency you think you are increasing.

Finally, positioning any loudspeaker that has any pretensions to quality is important, you can design for specific conditions, but in the end, positioning is everything.

Of course port positioning can make a difference.

Very low frequencies may not be directional but a port with all its noise, distortion (usually greater than the drive units) and wind tunnel effect certainly can be. Look at ported speaker response graphs and you will see that on occasions port output bleeds into the lower mids which will clearly have an effect especially if the port faces the listener.

Not just that, I long have been an advocate of either IB design or, if you must have a port, downward firing for more ease of positioning and lack of audible internal reflections.

So it is better to have the port in the back to reduce 'audible port chuffing' (I think that's how professional reviewers call it) and 'bleeding into the lower mids'. Why does front firing port get recommended so much? *scratch_one-s_head*

 

[davedotco]

Of course port positioning can make a difference.

Very low frequencies may not be directional but a port with all its noise, distortion (usually greater than the drive units) and wind tunnel effect certainly can be. Look at ported speaker response graphs and you will see that on occasions port output bleeds into the lower mids which will clearly have an effect especially if the port faces the listener.

Not just that, I long have been an advocate of either IB design or, if you must have a port, downward firing for more ease of positioning and lack of audible internal reflections.

Not suggesting otherwise DM.

The point being made is that the position of the port, front or rear, makes no difference to the the positioning of the loudpeaker and the resultant bass response.

(Unless a rear ported speaker is placed so close to a boundary (a few inches) that it actually 'loads' the port changing it's behaviour)

You are quite right regarding port noise, low frequency induced 'chuffing' effects can be particularly noticeable on speakers designed to play loud and other factors, mostly midrange being reflected out of the port can be quite a problem.

There are ways to minimise these issues but they are particularly difficult to implement on smaller speakers, so rear porting is popular.

 

[davedotco]

So it is better to have the port in the back to reduce 'audible port chuffing' (I think that's how professional reviewers call it) and 'bleeding into the lower mids'. Why does front firing port get recommended so much? *scratch_one-s_head*

Two reasons Vlad. Firstly the idea that rearporting makes placement near a boundary 'difficult' is widespread, even among people that should know better, and secondly, I think putting all the complicated woodwork, cutouts, rebates etc onto one panel simplifies construction, important in the budget market.

 

[Green Bow]

This is just a preliminary post because I am still doing evaluation and comparisons with Grado SR225e bass quantity.

Last night I was listening from about four metres away from the PC. I was thinking that the BT3 sounded a bit bass heavy or overall louder that I anticipated. I turned the music down.

Today I was thinking about this and put some music on. I listened close up as usual, then slid my chair (on wheels) back. Then wham lots of bass. If anything a bit bass heavy. Clearly sitting up close like metre away they lose some bass impact, (however more on this).

Anyway, I turned off all added low frequency EQ. Even up close they sounded OK. When I rolled my chair back, their bass was fine; like perfect quantity. (Maybe even fractionally more bass than my fractionally bass light SR225e.)

I have just been experimenting with some familiar tracks and comparing the BT3 with the SR225e bass quantity. Even listening close up, the bass quantity is fairly even, when A-B listening with the SR225e.

I think what I have done is added EQ about a week ago, and in the mean time they have burned-in more. I suspect the bass has filled out. Even when they had forty-eight hours burn-in from new, they were bass light compared to the SR225e.

I just listened to the first five tracks on The Best of Lang Land and it was quite special. They have, in the words of What Hi-Fi, started to sing in the mids and highs. Undoubtably they need some good cabling. However they are now a much more livable-with proposition.

I will listen more and do more A-B with the Grado SR225e just to be sure.

I think as the bass filled out during burn-in with EQ added bass, they started to sound a little muddy up close, ......... Now with Lang Lang on Mendlessohn Piano Concerto No, the piano buzzes. When he gets a few strings going at once there is the sound of vibrations like I hear in my headphones. All music I have just been trying has air which I like.

 

[drummerman]

This is just a preliminary post because I am still doing evaluation and comparisons with Grado SR225e bass quantity.

Last night I was listening from about four metres away from the PC. I was thinking that the BT3 sounded a bit bass heavy or overall louder that I anticipated. I turned the music down.

Today I was thinking about this and put some music on. I listened close up as usual, then slid my chair (on wheels) back. Then wham lots of bass. If anything a bit bass heavy. Clearly sitting up close like metre away they lose some bass impact, (however more on this).

Anyway, I turned off all added low frequency EQ. Even up close they sounded OK. When I rolled my chair back, their bass was fine; like perfect quantity. (Maybe even fractionally more bass than my fractionally bass light SR225e.)

I have just been experimenting with some familiar tracks and comparing the BT3 with the SR225e bass quantity. Even listening close up, the bass quantity is fairly even, when A-B listening with the SR225e.

I think what I have done is added EQ about a week ago, and in the mean time they have burned-in more. I suspect the bass has filled out. Even when they had forty-eight hours burn-in from new, they were bass light compared to the SR225e.

I just listened to the first five tracks on The Best of Lang Land and it was quite special. They have, in the words of What Hi-Fi, started to sing in the mids and highs. Undoubtably they need some good cabling. However they are now a much more livable-with proposition.

I will listen more and do more A-B with the Grado SR225e just to be sure.

I think as the bass filled out during burn-in with EQ added bass, they started to sound a little muddy up close, ......... Now with Lang Lang on Mendlessohn Piano Concerto No, the piano buzzes. When he gets a few strings going at once there is the sound of vibrations like I hear in my headphones. All music I have just been trying has air which I like.

You seem a fairly critical listener. I do wonder if you perhaps expect a little bit to much from a £300 product ... ?

Still, as you have not dismissed it out of hand (yet) it must bode fairly well for less audiophile inclined users that want an easy to use, flexible, decently stylish and obviously fairly capable 'Do it all' powered speaker.

As to bass, just with speakers, the closer you sit to room boundaries, the stronger the bass usually becomes. Sitting in 'free space' in front of your desk I would expect the speaker to be less bass heavy than sitting close to a wall or corner.

Hope it all works.

That speaker really looks interesting.

 

[Green Bow]

I think my mistake has been to have been impatient and inexperienced. I have heard of speakers taking a few weeks to burn-in. However I didn't realise it meant the bass would change between 4 days to ten days. Of course because I had added some bass with EQ, I didn't notice this, until I noticed the bass was heavy. Close up it was making the signature not so much out of balance, but more impossible to understand. From a distance, yesterday I suddenly noticed it was too heavy and overall the sound was poor.

With EQ added in bass; there is more difference between close up and at a distance.

Without and EQ the bass is more similar close up and distant. Kick drums really pound when you sit back. Up close they are more of a tight thud. (At a distance I also hear what What Hi-Fi call a little 'soft round the edges' in the bass. Please see their review.)

The overall signature is recognisable and especially because I know the Meridian Explorer DAC. I have listened to it every day for a year. It's an overnight game change now., since turning off the EQ, I am listening to music the way I want it to be. There is more to be gained by getting a proper 3.5mm jack to RCA and I can not wait for it.

However what is happeing now is I am listening to music and not able to move sometimes. Interest and curiosity for what is coming next is here. I mean it's not perfect because I could have spent more money. Yeah still some poorer redcordings are a bit rubbish, but they allways were.

However the BT3 is recommendable. If someone got them for £220 on Peter Tyson, and bought a quality jack-to-phono lead. Then bought some good speaker cable for the slave. They'd be happy.

 

[drummerman]

Well, it reads like you may have a keeper ... .

If you are 'just listening to music' then you could be almost there.

Many of us should probably take note and stop once we've reached that point.

Anyway, report back with your cable update.

 

[Vladimir]

I don't think a balanced sound is unachievable at that price. I've heard some cheap Wharfedales that sounded pretty good and were cheaper.

 

[drummerman]

I don't think a balanced sound is unachievable at that price. I've heard some cheap Wharfedales that sounded pretty good and were cheaper.

I have no doubt decent sound can be had for that but compromises have to be made, naturally.

Seems a lot of bang for the buck though.

Are you wondering how these compare to your desktop system?

I like

 

[Vladimir]

I don't think a balanced sound is unachievable at that price. I've heard some cheap Wharfedales that sounded pretty good and were cheaper.

I have no doubt decent sound can be had for that but compromises have to be made, naturally.

Seems a lot of bang for the buck though.

Are you wondering how these compare to your desktop system?

I like

I presume more or less the same due to the format. However the imaging on these is amazing, I have to say. Drivers are time aligned and that waveguide does something that I'm liking.

IIRC I heard the old Wharfedale Diamond 9s and I was impressed how good they sounded for something like 200 euros.

 

[Green Bow]

@ drummerman, I do suffer upgraditis, but I am happy to stick with BT3. I actually have another DAC here which will comfortably outperform the Meridian Explorer. However I have been trying to work through the issues that have arisen with it. I have not opened it yet as I can return it, in the event I can't sensibly use it. I am trying to establish if it will be suitable for my purpose. If I use it I am sure it will improve the BT3

It's a Chord Mojo. It's not exactly a desktop DAC though. The general use for it, is to charge it then use it on the go as a portable DAC headphone driver. Like with a phone or DAP. 1. Apparently some units make a noise when charging. Meaning it might not be suitable for desktop left plugged in. However I think most Mojos are quiet when charging. 2. It gets quite warm when charging, and when playing as well can get hot enough to trip its cut-out. I have figured fitting a heatsink should be OK for that. 3. There was an issue with it missing the first second of newly selected albums. It was to do with change in sampling rate. Fix is either use 44KHz, or insert a second silence at the start of the album. 4. Then finally, (and I am looking at this), it has a high line-out level. It defaults to 3V and can be increased using the volume control to 5V. Normally line level is 1.7V or 3.4V peak to peak. I am concerned about putting a high load on the incoming circuits of e.g the BT3. (5. The charging circuit on the Mojo is sympathetic with desktop use as it stops powering the battery when full. Mains juice only goes to making music.)

The Mojo was an impulse purchase since I have looked longingly at the Hugo for so long. It's now intended to make my SR225e sound their best, with a view to possibly better Grado headphones.

My BT3 though fit a purpose. While there are better units, they do what I wanted. PC games are stunning. DVD rocks. Music is getting better every day. Right now I have Lake Street Dive playing Miss Disregard. While I can hear all the BT3/Meridian Explorer shortfalls, they still make a pleasant sound. Having said that I am still open to unmissable other options.

Lastly yes I will definitely get this new 3.5mm to RCA as soon as possible. Might take a week though; plus burn-in time.

The Lake Street Dive CD FLAC rip just got to track Funny Not to Care. Great track and sounds fine.

 

[Vladimir]

And that's why Chord made the Mojo. To give people a taste of the venerable Hugo at a lower and affordable price. It probably sounds twice as good as the Meridian.

 

[davedotco]

And that's why Chord made the Mojo. To give people a taste of the venerable Hugo at a lower and affordable price. It probably sounds twice as good as the Meridian.

I think we urgently need a 'code', to help inexperienced readers understand when we are entering a 'Thompson experience'.

 

[drummerman]

Interesting. I am looking at the Mojo as I have the disposable. I did read about the the unit getting warm due to the internal battery and small factor case but wasn't aware that may be a problem.

As to the improvements you can expect, probably quite a bit if the BT3's themselves are capable of demonstrating the differences.

Dunno but it will be interesting to hear your onion.