To upgrade or not to upgrade Q Acoustics 1010i 5.1 front speakers????

crownshi

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Hi All,

I have a Q Acoustics 1010i speaker package wired up to an Onkyo 608 amp. I have to say that I love the 608 and for cinema I am extremely happy with this setup. The sound is awesome.

However I also use the Onkyo for music and feel that this setup is slightly lacking particularly in the bass frequencies. I like my rock music and like it loud :dance:

My question to the forum is would an upgrade of the front speakers from the 1010i's to 1020i's or 2020's make a significant difference? The 1020i's and 2020 can also be bi-amped which the 608 is more than capable of doing.

Would this also make a significant improvement?

Lastly would replacing them with other speakers be the answer or would this spoil the nice integrated and balanced sound that I get from using the Q Acoustics all round?

I am very keen to hear what you all might think about this

Crunchie
 

lesmallett

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I had a similar dillema to you. Had the 1010 package with an Onkyo 606 and added 1020's to the front. Not sure the 1020's will give you the music satisfaction you are looking for as they don't offer a great deal more than the 1010's.

I decided to upgrade the sub to give me the bass I needed but later ended upgrading the fronts so I could run the amp in Pure Stereo mode.

I would suggest saving your money for better speakers to give you the music satisfaction you require. There are a number of good places to source used or discontinued products, it was the only way I could afford to do it.
 

crownshi

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Hi Les,

What speakers did you upgrade your fronts to in the end and do they work well with the remaining 1010i's? Did you try bi-amping?

Cheers

Crunchie
 

crownshi

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Thank you for the info Jammoe. I'm watching a pair of 1020's on ebay at the mo and may bid for them. Are you enjoying the B&W's?

Crunchie
 

lesmallett

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I ended up buying some Acoustic Energy Neo 3's. I don't think the 1020's will give you the kick you are looking for in music.
Buying selling my Qacoustic's and buying old stock I didn't pay much for a large leap in quality.
Think after changing my fronts and centre I was only £80 down.
 

Oldboy

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I also had the same dilema as you and in the end i got a pair of 1030i floorstanders as front speakers and went to 7.1 with the rest of the 1010i speakers. The 1030i floorstanders are certainly much better as stereo speakers than the 1010i or 1020i but i regret not going all out and getting a pair of 1050i for fronts as the dual cone would have given me more bass.

I'm not sure a pair of 2020 would give you the sound you desire, they will of course be an upgrade from the 1010i but you won't get the bass and sound you desire and will still not sound that weighty or have enough bass to use the pure sound option on your amp. To be able to use the pure sound option effectively you need speakers that are capable of much more bass than the 2020 as your rock just won't rock without it :rockout:

If you have the cash and want to stick with QAcoustics (wouldn't blame you for a uniform sound) then the 2050 is the way to go BUT you should remember that no matter what you do there will be a compromise involved as an AV amp is no substitute for a dedicated hifi amp and set up. You can make gains with stereo sound but there is only so much you can do with an AV amp, speakers and speaker cable will make the most difference imo so just try to get the best of both that you can afford and if that means a pair of 2020 speakers then get good speaker cable and a decent set of stands to make the most of them.

You could consider speakers from other manufacturers, of course, but i've always been reticent to do so as it's difficult to match the overall sound but really that's more of a personal taste thing so don't dismiss it just make sure you audition any speakers you short list for consideration. Have a look at the review and best buy section on the WHF home page and see if anything matches your requirements and budget, best of luck.

Regards,

Nick.
 

crownshi

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I totally agree Nick that using your AV amp for both cinema and music is a compromise but the 608 isn't bad at music playback. I guess I just want to get the best out of what I've got :) I don't want another set up for music.

I would love to use some floorstanders such as the 2050's but unfortunately the layout of our living room and furniture doesn't give me anywhere to usefully put them. The same goes for stands. So it's bookshelf style speakers only.

Likewise I prefer to keep to the same manufacturer unless someone can give me a very sound reason why not. I'm always open to suggestions.

Crunchie
 

Jammoe

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crownshi said:
Thank you for the info Jammoe. I'm watching a pair of 1020's on ebay at the mo and may bid for them. Are you enjoying the B&W's?

Crunchie

Absolutely loving them, thanks. Well worth the extra outlay.
 

Oldboy

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crownshi said:
I totally agree Nick that using your AV amp for both cinema and music is a compromise but the 608 isn't bad at music playback. I guess I just want to get the best out of what I've got :) I don't want another set up for music.

I would love to use some floorstanders such as the 2050's but unfortunately the layout of our living room and furniture doesn't give me anywhere to usefully put them. The same goes for stands. So it's bookshelf style speakers only.

Likewise I prefer to keep to the same manufacturer unless someone can give me a very sound reason why not. I'm always open to suggestions.

Crunchie

In that case then i think either 1020i or 2020 is the way to go for you as either will give you an upgrade of sufficient value over your 1010i fronts, it isn't a large sum of money either so for the cost i think it's well worth it! It's just a case of if you get the 1020i or 2020...i'm not entirely sure what i would do as it's a tricky one, on one hand the 1020i will complement the rest of your system and match your current speakers but i can't help thinking that the slighly newer 2020 design may reap more rewards sonically for you.

I guess it comes down to your budget and availability, if you can source some 1020i's for a reasonable price from ebay then perhaps that would be the better option but it's really down to you. Personally i may well be swayed towards the 2020's if they justified the extra outlay but if i spotted a bargain pair of 1020i's then it would be a no brainer eh, so if you do spot some snap them up!

Don't worry about not being able to use stands as it's not a huge issue but would have meant you got a little extra performance from the speakers, at the end of the day they are named bookshelf speakers for a reason :D

Happy hunting, hope you get your upgrade soon.

Best regards

Nick.
 

crownshi

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Well I got em! I won the ebay auction and have just replaced the front 1010's with 1020's. I haven't had time to try adjusting the 608's set up but even with a straight swap I can definitely hear a good improvement. So far so good and I am pleased with the result.

The 1020's can be bi amped so when I get time I may try that to see if it makes much difference

Crunchie
 

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