QAcoustics 1010i or 2010

[admin_exported]

Hi all,

At the moment I use a pair of Qacoustics 1020i speakers as my rears, they are wall mounted. Previous to this I had a pair of 1010i wall mounted on the Qacoustics wall brackets.

I am having problems with the 1020i as they don't sound as clear with directionality as the 1010i, I had the 1010i's 15cm from the ceiling as it states to do in the manual, however the 1020i are bigger and wider so this no longer applies. I seem to have some loss of directionality from my left speaker.

The 1010i seem really hard to get a hold of these days as they are now discontinued, however I could secure a second hand pair, alternativily I could go for some 2010's, I would have to change the bracket but that wouldn't be a massive headache.

Not sure what to do really for the best, the 1020i's just don't sound right

 

[Jammoe]

What speakers are you using for the front? (You could maybe upgrade fronts and then move the current pair to the rear?)

How far in front of the rears do you sit? 15cm from ceiling sounds pretty high to me. How do the rears sound if you STAND near your listening position? (That's how i discovered mine were too high, moved them lower for an instantaneous - and huge - benefit).

 

[Pistol Pete1]

I replaced my front 1010i's with some 1030i's after about 4 months of use. The old 1010i's are boxed, as new and doing nothing in the loft.

If you need another pair, let me know.......

(Hope I have not broken any rules saying this??)

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies,

Pistol I have just bought some new 1010i's to replace the 1020i's but thanks for the offer.

Jammoe, the speakers are as low as they can be really, the left hand side are just above the door, so I wouldn't be able to move them lower as then I wouldn't be able to open the door.

The problem is that I have replaced the 1020i with the 1010i and I still have the same problem, the sound out of the left rear doesnt sound as directional as the right.

If I was to pan from right to right rear I can definitely tell where the sound is, however if I pan from left to left rear I can't really tell when I am at the rear left channel. Some stereo sound pans sound normal its more environmental sounds, I will hear it in the rear right and then try and make it come out of the rear left and it does but it is difficult to detect.

I can just hear sound but its not obvious where it is coming from.

Before I replaced the 1020i's I tried re wiring the rears as the fronts and the rears sounded fine, so I know that the sound is coming out as it should.

The problem is at one point the sound must have been all right as I would have noticed so I'm stumped now as to what the problem might be. I can only assume that the problem may be the amp. However I'm not even sure this is the case.

The only problem is that I have found with the amp is that the centre speaker sometimes drops out when I am on the PS3, this has started happening after the last PS3 firmware update. Weird

 

[Jammoe]

If it might be the amp, can you swap all the speaker wiring for lefts and rights around to test if the problem continues or "moves"

Then if you prove it's the speaker positioning, can you place the rears upside down so the tweeters are lower (i did that for a while before re-mounting - it helped a little), or angle the speakers (further) down.

I originally had an issue with my door too, which is the reason i mounted the speakers higher. Dunno how your room is arranged, but i fixed it by flipping the door on its hinges so it opens the other way, then i could mount the speakers lower and the door doesn't cover the speakers (or risk hitting then when the door is opened).

If you can prove it's the speakers, you could always post pictures of your room for positioning ideas from forum members?

 

[Anonymous]

Jammoe:

If it might be the amp, can you swap all the speaker wiring for lefts and rights around to test if the problem continues or "moves"

Then if you prove it's the speaker positioning, can you place the rears upside down so the tweeters are lower (i did that for a while before re-mounting - it helped a little), or angle the speakers (further) down.

I originally had an issue with my door too, which is the reason i mounted the speakers higher. Dunno how your room is arranged, but i fixed it by flipping the door on its hinges so it opens the other way, then i could mount the speakers lower and the door doesn't cover the speakers (or risk hitting then when the door is opened).

If you can prove it's the speakers, you could always post pictures of your room for positioning ideas from forum members?

I have had a thought to why my speakers dont sound right, I have done all my testing on games.

I took some spare speaker wire I had and took the rears off the wall and put them at the front, wiring them in to the rear left and right channels and I tested the sound. It sounded fine at the front.

So I loaded up COD MW2 on the 360, I think my problem may not actually be a problem, some sounds don't come out of the left speaker, however if I drop a tactical insertion on stand behind the smoke I can hear it pan left to right fine. This also works when I watch the start of Transformers revenge of the fallen, the stereo panning effects sound fine.

I think it may be a case that some sounds on games are static and some are dynamic meaning that there is no way to make it happen.

Hopefully this makes some sense, if the sound pans correctly and I can hear it then it must be working properly so I dont think there is a problem if that makes sense?

 

[Jammoe]

There are definitely some funny "surround" soundtracks around. I watched a film the other night and all the rear channel stuff came through the right. So it's definitely a possibility.

If you wanna prove it for sure, try and get a sound pressure level meter (from maplins / the net). You can then run the test tones on your amp and make sure you're getting the same level from each speakers. 75db is the usual "standard" you want to get. But at the very least, make sure the level is the same at your seating position from all speakers.

Having said that, for a first try, just do it by ear. Pull up the speaker levels settings on your arm and just scroll through them. You should be able to tell if there's any great variation in volume from one speaker.

(You may well have done all that already. If so, i will apologise and politely step aside...)

 

[Anonymous]

Jammoe:
There are definitely some funny "surround" soundtracks around. I watched a film the other night and all the rear channel stuff came through the right. So it's definitely a possibility.

If you wanna prove it for sure, try and get a sound pressure level meter (from maplins / the net). You can then run the test tones on your amp and make sure you're getting the same level from each speakers. 75db is the usual "standard" you want to get. But at the very least, make sure the level is the same at your seating position from all speakers.

Having said that, for a first try, just do it by ear. Pull up the speaker levels settings on your arm and just scroll through them. You should be able to tell if there's any great variation in volume from one speaker.

(You may well have done all that already. If so, i will apologise and politely step aside...)

Hi,

I have a Radioshack SPL meter that I usually use, I set it to C weighting and slow response and then put the dial to 70 and calibrate all the speakers to 0. I have the rears calibrated to the front of my sofa as I sit on the edge of my seat when gaming so they are around 2 decibels higher that I have the Denon set to when watching films.

Got more testing to do at the moment as I say my PS3 with doing strange things with the Denon, sometimes dropping the centre channel for a time then it comes back. This seems to have started since the last PS3 update. Weird times.

I am now thinking that my speakers are working like they should although you can never say for sure one way or the other, if they aren't then they are doing a great job at appearing to work fine.

 

[Jammoe]

Sounds like the sort of problem that would drive me insane. How's the PS3 connected to the Denon? Tried a different cable / connection? (PS. Just noticed i said "on your arm" in previous post when i, obviously, meant "on your amp".)

 

[Anonymous]

Jammoe:Sounds like the sort of problem that would drive me insane. How's the PS3 connected to the Denon? Tried a different cable / connection? (PS. Just noticed i said "on your arm" in previous post when i, obviously, meant "on your amp".)

The PS3 is connected to the Denon via HDMI, I haven't tried another HDMI cable but that is an option. The problem if it is one is driving me mad and costing me money. My GF thinks I have lost my marbles but it winds me up something chronic. I would like someone to come on and properly calibrate my 5.1 system for my home but not sure who I could get to do that.

I have tried the Denons Multi EQ audyssey setup but the results always seem mental to me.