British loudspeaker purveyor Q Acoustics is back with its latest range – the 3000i starting at £199 for a pair.
When you consider the prices of some high-end Bluetooth and Wi-Fi speakers, the value on offer here can’t be understated.
After all, you can get a set of these, a decent turntable and Bluetooth AV receiver for £600 (better still for £700) which will give you a setup that’s more than enough for most of us.
The 3000i range follows on from the 3000 series, but the range has had a significant redesign which makes us think Q Acoustics should have given it a more significant name than a mere “i” on the end.
The three pairs are the £199 3010i and £249 3020i bookshelf speakers and £649 3050i floorstanders.
There’s also a £169 3090i centre speaker and a £329 3060S active subwoofer meaning you can easily create a home cinema setup, too – a 5.1 pack featuring the 3010i is £895 or £1,345 with the 3050i floorstanders.
Q Acoustics has taken design cues from its top-end £4,000 Concept 500 in the range of speakers in particular with regard to bracing in particular areas cabinet to reduce vibration as much as possible. In the 3050i floorstanders, tubes have been added to equalise the pressure throughout the cabinet thus reducing unwanted resonance.
Q Acoustics has even changed the area around the connectors on the back of the unit to further reduce vibration.
We’ve heard all three pairs and, as you’d expect, the 3050is are a big jump up from the other pairs and we loved sitting listening to some tunes from Tidal through them. But for £199 the sound from the 3010is – driven by the excellent Naim Uniti Atom – had plenty of punch for a small to medium-sized room.
The design is fresh and is better without the (magnetically attachable) grilles on thanks to a smart-looking chrome ring around each driver opening.
The 3000i range is available from May in arctic white, carbon black, graphite grey and the very smart English walnut (it’s hard to choose between this and the white as our particular favourite).
Previously Q Acoustics have charged more for some of these finishes but it hasn’t been tempted to this time.
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