OP
- Thread Starter
- #21
No. Like to test them but too expensive for me to buy. So maybe a member gets one.
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Q Acoustics 3020i Bookshelf Speaker Review
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
OP
- Thread Starter
- #22
I watched every review I could find. They all got free samples and clearly confused by the non-uniform frequency response giving assessments that were all over the place.
Thanks for this @amirm!
It occurs to me again how we can hear deviations differently. Bright isn't a word I think ever came to mind with the 3020i for me. I personally liked this little speaker a lot, but the one flaw I that stood out to me was actually that it sounded laid back. I think sometimes a dip in the upper mids ends up making the presence region sound bright for some people, and the mids recessed for others. I believe at the time I was also listening to it against a B&W speaker, so that may be why the 3020i sounded dull by comparison too.
Anyway, the klippel's measurements match my measurements very closely (Klippels PIR curve corrected here) other than some deviation in the bass (which I believe is my error). This suggests good manufacturing consistency for the low price point, at least.
For those wondering, I'm guessing the bass is probably measurement or summation error on my part, . The 3020i was maybe the first speaker I measured quasi-anechoically and I wasn't nearly as methodical back then =] increasing the port output in my measurements and redoing baffle step by 3dB gives a much closer result:
It occurs to me again how we can hear deviations differently. Bright isn't a word I think ever came to mind with the 3020i for me. I personally liked this little speaker a lot, but the one flaw I that stood out to me was actually that it sounded laid back. I think sometimes a dip in the upper mids ends up making the presence region sound bright for some people, and the mids recessed for others. I believe at the time I was also listening to it against a B&W speaker, so that may be why the 3020i sounded dull by comparison too.
Anyway, the klippel's measurements match my measurements very closely (Klippels PIR curve corrected here) other than some deviation in the bass (which I believe is my error). This suggests good manufacturing consistency for the low price point, at least.
Yeah, look at this graph for this speaker:
It almost looks like it could be showing the furthest off-axis actually becoming the loudest >1300Hz and the least off-axis goes from the loudest to the quietest after the same point.
I drew it of my explanation doesn’t make sense:
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Sgt. Ear Ache
Major Contributor
I'd say people should spend less than half as much and get the RB42s! lol...
It got a headless panther and has a sensitivity of 80dB.
Sgt. Ear Ache
Major Contributor
Well it's sitting higher up on the preference Y axis and much further to the left on the cost X axis. It seems to me the panther awarding has changed a bit over time too...mostly just joking around though.
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ROOSKIE
Major Contributor
Quite frankly you will need coaxil design, really the only way to pull that off for high fidelity due to the angles. You will need a larger speaker and woofer or a subwoofer and active high pass. Not many (maybe not any??)small 5.25 inch drivers can play truly loudly with bass in a large room. Of course if you just need "medium" fidelity. There are more options.
Well it's sitting higher up on the preference Y axis and much further to the left on the cost X axis. It seems to me the panther awarding has changed a bit over time too...mostly just joking around though.
The lack of frequency weighting. Panther award is partly (mainly?) based on subjective listening too, and I would hate a lot of highs vs just a bit.
I am thinking Elac Debut Reference DBR62 (then I will have to get a sub) or Revel M105, but with the extra cost I'll have to forego the sub.
Net cost would be close to the same but I'm concerned the sub is 11 ms closer to my listening position so integration could be a problem.
Sgt. Ear Ache
Major Contributor
Yeah, however I have the RBs and they honestly don't sound particularly bright at all to me. I was really pretty shocked at that part of the test results...
That makes sense on the expense and I often forget just how loud a lot of people listen to their music.
Looks just barely ok to me considering you need to get an amp also which raises cost quite a bit.
Btw Amirm, do you have some more budget powered speakers in queue for measurement? Adam T5V, Genelec 8020D, kef egg etc. Come to my mind
Btw Amirm, do you have some more budget powered speakers in queue for measurement? Adam T5V, Genelec 8020D, kef egg etc. Come to my mind
OP
Bear123
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JBL 550P on sale for $199. Not a fantastic sub but great for the price...and worlds better than bookshelves without a sub. AVR should take care of any distance difference.....??
M16($6-700) plus a sub would be better than almost any bookshelf and no sub imo. $900 total with the JBL sub, or $1100 with a pair.
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
you are right on the money with rolling off the bottom octave hard and boosting targeted frequencies above that to fill-out a small speaker.
Interestingly enough, Radio Shack/Tandy used to sell a bass-enhancer which was an active LF parametric EQ with a low 20Hz filter (18dB/oct). It was sold specifically to work with their smaller speakers (minimus 7s etc) and was incredibly effective at cleaning up the low end from TT related warp and extreme LF from digital as well as providing useful and adjustable extension.
They are a very cool little product and frequently appear on eBay for nothing or close to it. It can make a minimus7 sound like a completely different and larger speaker.
I just picked up a 550p on sale. Have not tested it yet but I did unpack it and inspect the driver and internals (my usual routine whenever I get new speakers). The driver is WAY nicer than I thought it would be. Aluminum cast frame and huge magnet. The enclosure is 1” MDF and the overall construction is so much better than any $199 (delivered price with no tax) deserves to be. It weighs 50lbs and has a powerful amp as well. I’ll post more when I have a chance to fire it up and measure it. I’m waiting for a splitter for my preamp because I only have two preamp outs and I’m using the second set for my existing two subs (Peerless XLS with Peerless PR’s).
My current subs are well integrated with an active digital xover. I may run the third sub through the xover eventually or through minidsp. Need to sort out a couple things and I’ll probably purchase the Minidsp HD and use Dirac. I’m just not sure if I can run three subs with the minidsp. It was an impulse buy and if it sounds half as good as it looks, the 550p (Sale price) might be one of the best bargains in Audio land.
Bear123
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I picked up a 550 on trade when I sold my big BMS subs...it does a great job in my workout room. Although It wouldn't come close to meeting my needs in my main system, adding it to *any* bookshelf system not using a sub would be a huge upgrade. A pair at $399 would be even better.
My system has two really good subs and I was hoping a third one would be an improvement if I can integrate it properly. Four of these subs in a swarm type setup would probably sound very good. Not sure about the amp because I haven’t played with it yet but the driver and enclosure are much nicer than I expected for the price.
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