Q Acoustics speakers.

Skiman

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Hi all

Just ordered a pair of 1030i floorstanders in Beech to match my existing kit from www.bluestreamav.co.uk for £152.10 delivered. Seems very reasonable to me. They also have packages and individual speaker pairs at good prices if anyone is interested. I'll move my left and right front 1010is to the rear of my room for a 7.1 system. I hope this change will give me decent bass output in 'Pure Audio' mode when CD listening (after a suitable burning- in period)

Best regards.
 

Skiman

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Hi PistolPete

I remember your thread about the same upgrade so I'll review it later for your SW frequency switch over levels etc. Could you advise how far from the rear/side walls did you position the 1030is and did you fill them with ballast ( mine will be on a laminate floor if that makes any difference)? Also can you tell me how you 'bedded in' the drive units and how long it took?

Thanks in anticipation

Skiman.
 

Pistol Pete1

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Hi skiman,

One of the speakers is quite close to the side wall (15cm), the other miles away from a side wall.

Both are 40cms away from the rear wall, and are placed on black granite tiles (topps Tiles- £5.99 each) to sharpen up the bass. (It does improve it!!) Again both speakers are 'toed-in' to face the listening position.

The room also has laminate flooring, and I currently have not yet filled the lower chamber with sand, but intend to when I get time.

I bedded the drive units in for 3 days of non stop music at low/middle volume levels (onkyo 606 - volume level 30-35).

By the way, the price you got was a fantastic price!! Got mine for £169 delivered and thought that was a bargain!!

Hope that helps.......any more info needed, let me know.......
 

Pistol Pete1

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By the way, I bi amped the front speakers, rather than set up the 7.1.

Again, that would help the sound quality with cd listening (Pure Audio) as the Onkyo's are seen as not the best for 2 channel playback.
 

Skiman

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Hi Pistol Pete

Thanks for the info - very informative. Just waiting for them to arrive and set them up. I think I'll experiment with positioning etc. and then try with sand and then use your great tip re the granite tiles. will report back as and when it's all done. Thanks again for all your input and suggestions.

Best Regards

Skiman
 

Skiman

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Well as promised, an update on the addition of the1030is to the front of my system and moving the original 1010is to the rear to make a 7.1 set up. After initial connection I was frankly really disappointed in the sound quality - particularly in 'Pure Audio'. However after a week of 'running-in' I'm very relieved to report a really nice, tight bass response coming to the party although the treble can still be a bit overblown on some recordings. At present the speakers have their little rubber protectors over the spikes onto a laminate floor with no ballast in the cabinet. Does anybody think that the rubber protectos being removed, placing the cabinets on granite/marble slabs and/or filling the speakers with ballast could help make the treble more mellow?

The 7.1 set up is fantastic with blu-ray/dvd playback espacially as I've moved the surrounds and rears to the placements recommended by Dolby. The transient sound effects either from front to rear or vice versa, rotational effects (eg helicopters or Will Smith's Mustang doing a 720 degree spin through the rubber bollards in I Am Legend) and especially 'diagonal' sound movements of objects or dialogue (several examples in Ratatouille) are simply sensational and give a whole new pleasure to re-watching my discs.

Any help on my aforementioned questions would be greatly appreciated.

Shame to read about the forthcoming price increases to the Q-Acoustics line-up - think I was very lucky with my purchase.
 

Pistol Pete1

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Hi again skiman,

First of all, never listen to speakers out of the box - they all sound awful. I left my speakers running for two days flat before sitting down to have a listen.

First question would be is what equipment are you using with the speakers? The treble is not overly bright on my set up, but I use the onkyo 606. Do you have a Sony, by any chance?

I have the rubber protectors on at the moment too, but on those granite tiles. The tiles will 'sure up' the bass a little more.

Not had time to fill the speakers with sand yet, but intend to. This again should help bass clarity etc.

I have just added the clearer audio copperline alpha mains cable to both my cd player (Marantz CD63mkII KI Signature), and the onkyo.

Wow, what a diffeence it has made. Maybe try one of those connected (the company offer a 60 money back deal)?

Hope this helps.....
 

Skiman

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Hi once again PP

I have an Onkyo 605 driving my system so it's similar to your set up. After some judicious tweaking in the Onkyo's menu and playing some UK bought CDs (many of mine are from South Africa where I lived for 25 years and I'm convinced the production quality of the discs is not always up to scratch) the bass is now quite profound and rounded whilst the higher registers are alot smoother.

Her who must be obeyed has vetoed the granite slab scenario so it looks like the sand fill option is going to happen next weekend - will report back as and when.

Your experiences regarding the mains leads is very interesting - as my CD player (NAD 5320) is at least 20 years young I'm wondering if a decent mains cable will improve the sound quality to the same extent as your Marantz. I can see some serious saving is required for me to start up-grading my power cables but a soon to be embarkked upon 4 week trip to the USA is going to eat up all cash reserves!!!!

Thanks for interest and comments.
 

Pistol Pete1

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I suggest you do what I did. Buy one cable (£34 delivered) and try it on the cd player and amp.

On the amp, you would have to cut the power cable and add a connector first, and I don't know about your cd player. I imagine you would have to do same. It's not a hard job though, and Clearer audio sell the connector in the accessories section.

I found the cable made the most difference when connected to the cd player.

But after being connected to the amp for a while, the improvement has been more noticeable (switching back to the old cable comparisons). It's to do with 'burning in' the cable on av amps, which isn't needed so much with cd players, I've been told.

Having one on each has created a sound I'm very happy with. And thats the last upgrade for me now......
 

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