First Review: Q ACOUSTICS CONCEPT 30
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- Опубликовано: 26 июл 2024
- The Audiophiliac compares the new Q Acoustic Concept 30 with the KEF LS50 Meta!
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Twitter: @AudiophiliacMan
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#Qacoustics #UKspeakers #audiophile
0:00 Intro
1:03 Look inside the Concept 30!
2:59 Concept 30 Specs
3:54 Listening
7:24 KEF LS50 Meta comparison
9:54 So Steve, what do you really think?
11:08 Martin Colloms on Perception Zoom talk
11:42 Audiophiliac Viewer System of the Day!
12:47 Outro 
Развлечения
Once again, another enjoyable review Steve. Have always liked your laid back style of presenting. Enough technical info dovetailed with your many years of listening experience, woven together…that definitely keep me coming back, looking forward to what you have to say. Really enjoy the eclectic recordings you choose for your reviews. Keep up the excellent work!
Thanks Brian!
Great review, Steve. These sound like my kind of speakers. Thanks for the great music tips, checked them on Tidal and added them as favourites. I’ll sort out the CDs shortly. Cheers.
Thank-you... Great review Steve. Cool engineering and cabinet design...
So happy to see the room like its old self. Soothing. With Steve talking and the old room behind, even food tastes better.
John Dorian
Went to a Jethro Tull concert in Miami Beach in 1970. I had never heard of their opening band, Mountain... THEY LITERALLY BLEW ME AWAY!!!! Then Jethro Tull came on and I was so underwhelmed after experiencing Mountain, that I left after their second song. I became a lifetime fan of Mountain on thAT NIGHT. Leslie West was awesome!
Regarding 'Mountain' - my favorite track is - " Theme for an Imaginary Western".
FINALLY a review of these!
From Mountain to harp - love it!
The Martin Collums presentation was very good, thanks for sharing that link.
I was lucky and watched it live. It is worth watching again.
@@richardatkinson4452 I watched it a second time also. He is a good speaker, choosing his words concisely. He is conveying legit concepts, refreshing in an industry that is otherwise so subjective and full of endless meaningless chatter.
Steve, I’m hooked on your videos. I love them as much for your optics on the equipment and your music suggestions. Unfortunately you don’t list the music selections you talk about and I constantly have to rewind to fine the name of the artists or albums. Would you consider listing them? I think many of your viewers would appreciate that. Thank you
Got very affordable 3010i's for my sister last year. They are frickin amazing. Bass, detail, great fun.
Steve is the only one that ever described these speakers as bright and sharp. Everyone else says they are smooth and even subdued in the top end.
I know, it's confusing me..
Nice review and very informative! Thanks for this! Would like to hear these beautiful looking speakers, think they are very good sounding 👍
Huge Wilco fan here and glad to here that yes, those Wilco albums can be a bit bright and sibilant. It’s not just me.
“The Truth? You can’t handle the truth!” - Col. Jessup from “A Few Good Men”. 😉
I can just hear him as we listen to speakers and fine recordings. Isn’t that what we seek when we listen? The “truth” in sound reproduction?
It’s why do many audiophiles try so many combinations of “stuff” (actually I was thinking more along the line of George Carlin’s famous rant on Sh*t, not to be confused with the audio manufacturer of a similar sounding name 😉🤭)
Steve you always have one of the most descriptive analysis in describing the audio responses of fine gear better than almost anyone else. It’s accurate and personal and to the point. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
And for those of us slightly “mature” (I hesitate to use the word older) and audiophiles who grew up in the 60s “experiencing” (kudos to Hendrix) the golden era of Classic Rock/Pop Music we can remember those groups like Mountain and so others creating and producing some of the greatest sounds of all time (hell yeah I’m prejudiced 🤭😂) and those fine recordings done in a simpler analog process were transparent in that we heard the real musicianship and creativity of the artists shine and radiate into our souls back then and even still today.
Thanks again for reminding us and introducing and educating younger audiophiles on some great music from a wonderful time so very different from these wacky moments we are currently living in.
They really make sharp looking speakers
The feeling I get is that these might have been the speakers I would have burned to own…when I still had extraordinary hearing, about 30 years ago!
I have the Concept 20's which are a fantastic listen, they sound so clean and revealing. All the Q Acoustics budget speakers sound excellent and offer good value. I also have the LS50 Meta which sound phenomenal. Would love to have these and the 300's and the 500's etc etc.
@@keplermission4947 £230/$300 seems fairly budget level to me. No Radio Shack in the UK so can't comment on their offerings.
@@keplermission4947 q Acoustics are awesome
@@keplermission4947 the whole Design tells you to Not pull Up Tubes in These Things... Jesus.
@@keplermission4947 Tubes are Not Audiophil they cannot be.
Got the 3050 's. Still satisfied whith them.
I had the Concept 20’s and loved them, I sold them 🤦🏼♂️ and have struggled to replace them for my room, might have to check them out!
Why did you sell them?
@@doifeellucky just got offered another set of speakers that I thought were better but they didn’t suit the room!
I might like these over the LS 50 anyday
Podcast!!! Hurray! Hope will be new material
Mostly neq, but some reruns of older videos, it’s just the audio portion. But mostly new material check it out.
@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac Great. I love podcasts while I am out walking. New material specifically made for podcast will be great. 30-60 min long with discussions about audio will be great. We can do one together
OMG a ' mountain' notice..... ( college concert, '70 or '71 ... )
I have not heard either speaker…..YET but based on things I’ve heard and read, I was waiting for you to say the LS50 were brighter.
According to all the other reviewers the LS50s are brighter. This review is the only anomaly. I don't know why.
Smart design and decent price.
Loved you on Barney Miller!
Nice shirt 👍
I love my LS50 Meta and my Maggies MG 1.4 (those are on a comparable level, of course another kind of sound). Nice review.
System of the day is outstanding
Steve, how would you compare these to Canton bookshelf speakers that you reviewed last year?
Great review- and one I've been looking forward to. As an owner of the original LS50 and the concept 20 (which at least 'looks' more like the new concept 30), I actually found the Concept 20 to be more even/enjoyable on a wider range of recordings, and the LS50 a bit thinner/harder on the upper treble. Of course the LS50 provided more of that pinpoint-3D imaging. It sounds like the newer incarnations have changed things quite a bit for both manufacturers.
@@dchron8565 Unfortunately I recently gave my concept 20's to my youngest son in college when I moved to Linton Heritage for my main system. For gear I'm pretty much budget-audiophile, going for digital route: node2i -> SMSL SU-9 -> Schitt Saga/Vidar. I did just stream Summerteeth though out of curiosity. Definitely hear the sort of digital-glare that reminds me of when everyone was recording on ADAT in the 90's (not saying that's how they recorded). Forgot what a great album this is though, and how you can hear the influence of the Replacements on earlier Wilco.
@@dchron8565 he did review it, I ended up getting them because of the review. (Not youtube though)
Concept 20 is lovely sounding, transparent and female vocals sound so lush and sweet
Steve, years ago you reviewed the Sunfire CRM-2 that had an intriguing design. I heard a pair in Hong Kong and was smitten. Thinking about these small speakers and others of limited size that have come through your home, do the Sunfires still stand up against modern competition like, say, the KEF LS-50?
Yes, I reviewed them for Home Theater magazine, way back when! How they would compare to modern speakers, I have no idea. I’m not sure how any Audiophile or reviewer can mentally compare speakers they heard decades apart. I certainly can’t.
Mountain was great live
Greetings, been watching a long time. I have a question I cannot seem to get an answer for even from high end cartridge dealers. I am planning to transcribe very old discs (one sided Edison etc) to r to r. I must use a crystal cart I have especially for Pathe and the like. Very high output I have a few pre-amps what kind of an input do I need? Overloads my Mac. Any ideas? Been following you a long time I am 67 first amp a bell 6v6 [ush pull mono .
The speakers just look awesome. The bass driver looks like it is from Polk a few years ago!!
@@keplermission4947 Hi, I didn't say the woofer looks good, I'm sure i said " it looks like its from Polk".
I certainly think a good woofer looks good, ie. Morel, ATC, Rockport, Magico, TAD.
Steve would these work well for n a small room like a bedroom? I can use a REL T5 and high pass on hers at like 80hz
Which one of the speakers you have already heard are more natural sound (with sensations of the Real instruments ?) And good soundstage please. My amp Roksan k3 v2 and maybe one day technics su g700 MK2. Thanks
So Steve, how do they perform if you use them as speakers set close to a wall? As many people are space poor but optimistic for future housing, it would be handy to know whether It would be worth buying speakers with a view to the future when floor stands could be accommodated. Not ideal I know, but perhaps another string to your bow?
Thanks for watching Pablo. Most speakers sound best away from walls, but Totem speakers are an exception
Hallo i have the concept 20, do you think the concept 30 is an upgrade for me?
Thank you
"The speed of sound" ... isn't that the same saying that was behind those old air motion tweeters?
How does Zamfir sound on them?
For similar $$$, would you buy this or the LS50 meta? BTW, I love mountain too.... Killer shit! 👍
I love Summerteeth by Wilco
Maybe "clarity" and "neutrality" is just uptilted contrast, to borrow a term from digital photo editing..? Imagine a photo of a scenery, then editing it in photoshop. You can edit whitebalance (Kelvin e t c, colour temp), contrast e t c. What if the contemporary taste for "neutrality" and "resolution" is analogous to high contrast and cool temperature in photography..
It's both information reproduced, interpreted by technology..
St. Germain Tourist is a great record. I'm not a "techno" fan. I only own one album that I would call techno and it's this one. The music is mellow. You can dance to it and it's played by a real band with real instruments. Highly recommend you check it out for something different. It's great from start to finish.
Electronic music has gone though massive revolutions in design in the last 10 years. I'd check it out.
I generally prefer to listen to mellower music these days. If there’s some good new mellow electronic music I’ll be happy to check it out.
The only stuff I’ve heard gong back a few years is dubstep. I always wonder what kind of drugs kids are doing to make that sound like good music to them?
When you say neutral I think you also mean resolving/low distortion.
Hi Steve, do you think this Q Accoustics Concept 30 will perform well when pair up with Cambridge Audio CX-61 or Audiolab 6000A? Truly appreciate your opinion. Thank you.
Hi Daniel, I have paired the C30 with my CXA61 and YES, they perform very well in my opinion. They sound smoother than the C20 I had before. The C20 sounded a little bit harsh to me sometimes. The C30 is more “laid back“. I am happy with the C30's and will keep them.
@@gladimuc Thank you Steve and may God bless you!
@@stcdan Oh man ... just discovered (for my ears) a much, much better matching speaker for the cxa61: Audiovector QR1 - huge sound stage with much more clarity than the C30. And it is not as picky concerning the recording qualitiy. I can confirm what Steve mentioned in his interesting review: not every recording sounds good on the C30.
@@gladimuc Thank you for your advice will try to audition one soon.
Steve how can I contact you? What would you prefer a Audio Technica AT LP 140 xp or a Fluance RT 85 turntable? And why would you suggest one over the other? Thanks. Joe
You contacted me just now. I’ve never heard that audio Technica turntable, but I have good experiences with all the Fluance tables I’ve heard.
I keep hearing good things about q acoustics and elac speakers. But I haven't had the opportunity to listen to them.
I had the concept 20 for a while and after a few months found it to be a bit dull
sounding and I started to be aware of the tweeter doing it's own thing from a
different part of the baffle, something I wasn't aware of at the demo it just became
more noticeable as time past and then rather annoying on music with a forward
treble, In the past I've been used to point source 'speakers namely Tannoy Duels
and of late KEF UNI Qs which I love. Therein lies the rub because now nothing
else will do I'm just more aware of the multiple drivers in normal 'speakers.
I agree. I demoed against Dali Zensor 3’s and and Monitor Audio Bronze 2’s and the Concept 20’s and dull would be the word I’d use.
@@doifeellucky Thanks for that I though I
was the only one.
Ok...2022. I'm going ALL-IN with a new 2-channel audio system - amp/pre, DAC & speakers. I listen to a wide variety of music tending toward acoustic, vocals, orchestra, etc. Maybe high efficiency, open baffle? Maybe great stand-mount speakers? Flexible budget at around $7500. Suggestions? And, thanks for your continued excellence. (I'm 68 & it could well be my forever system!)
What’s your current set up?
@@marcorossi1763 Hypex Ncore + Kef R3
If you haven't already done so, follow the advice Steve gave about buying speakers. Expose yourself to horns, planers, omnidirectionals. I also love acoustic and classical orchestral. I wasted many years and purchases before I landed on Magnepans. Who knows, maybe you will fall in love with horns?
@@AyushP306 Thanks. Steve has helped me several times in the past.
@@greenbeginner9221 Got Maggie's in our main listening room. Third pair. Smaller room is getting a makeover & I'm moving something in place of the Ncores & R3s. Thanks for the suggestion(s).
Where’s the link Steve?
Boring fact. There was a British tv show called "Weekend World" that aired on a midday every Sunday between the early 70's to the late 80's and it used the instrumental breakdown from Mountains "Nantucket Sleighride" as it's theme tune. Virtually every household in the country would be familiar with that song.
Very boring fact! 😂😂😂😂
@@bigblueocean It's probably even more boring than that.😂 Cool tune though
@@markflower8885 nice one Mark :)
In a similar but even more boring vein, would anybody have ever heard of Grinderswitch, if a certain British radio DJ hadn't used their "Pickin' The Blues" as his show's theme for 30 years? ruclips.net/video/WinXBa_gGFY/видео.html
My understanding is these are by a different designer than the previous Concept range. Is there a noticeable difference in sound between the two?
Yes and no, it's very different from the Concept 20, but quite similar to the Concept 300.
Having owned the 20's and spent some time with the 300's, I would say that the Concept 20's are more of a "super 2020" and the Concept 30's are more of a "Concept 300 light".
I got a notice on a reply to this, for some reason I can't see it here but I could see the entire message in the email that RUclips sent out.
If, by any chance, D Chron sees this, yes I had the dedicated stands. They are brilliant and they do make the C20's sound so much better than any other stand. The C30's are a little bit more flexible, the bottom is decoupled, so any good stand will do. I have the dedicated stands for them as well, kept them when I sold my Active 200.
Comparing the 20's and the 30's is a little bit tricky, they do share the same joy and energy, both have a great midrange and kinda sweet and clear top end, but that's where the 20's end and the 30's begin. Since the cabinet is brand new (taken from Concept 300) the speakers are new and the cabinet is quite a bit bigger they sound SO much bigger. The specs are similar in height and width, but it's 6 cm deeper, that creates a lot of volume. The major difference, sans the size of the sound, is that the C30 is capable of sub-bas, the C20's aren't even close in this area.
Either way, if you like the sound of QA and and you are happy with the C20's, you will love the C30's. I can't see why you shouldn't :)
St Germain album shows my home town part Talbot south wales UK on the cover!!. I'm a zu druid user.
But how does it compare to the Buchardt S400 mkii?
The concept 30 is much more transparent but lacks the warmth and richness of the S 400! The very opposite sounding speakers.
Does this speaker work well in a near field environment?
No
Wären 180 cm Stereodreick ausreichend ?@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac
Did I miss the part where you said what they cost?
Yes you did miss it, $1299 a pair
If speakers from the 70s sound as good as a modern speaker what conclusions can one draw? Save your money.
Starting to not watch reviews of new gear because I'm not about to buy anything. Gets repetitive. Just wondered whether you could ever visit viewers systems and review/recommend improvements to them. I mean average systems, not elite level. Just an idea, thinking that you might be looking for new material. Thanks
Interesting, i have Concept 500, heard Concept 300, and those sounds very musical, full bodies, warmish, bit rolled off at the top and not that revealing to me, they don't throw details or anything in your face. I never heard album that sounds harsh on them. And some albums should be harsh and bad. Maybe its just my amp combination (tube primaluna pre, pass labs power)
@@keplermission4947 no clue what you just said :) But looks like it doesn't have anything to do with the topic here
@@keplermission4947 what does "convincing" mean? I am very happy with those amplifiers. Again, i am not following you
@@keplermission4947 how do you know how I bought them? It wasn't auction or anything like that, anyway. Why it even matters? We're talking about QA Concept speaker line here. Did you heard/own any?
I have found Q Acoustic speakers tend to be a bit brighter than I prefer. I do favour Vintage speakers or sound profiles. They are beautiful speakers though so I still admire them, just not for my ears 👍
You mean quad pod stand not tripod.
Right, my mistake.
Four is the new three, except it needs more levelling. Rock on.
The ultimate conclusion of ANY audio equipment review is - just go to a decent shop and choose what your ears like best/can afford.
Am I the only one that skips straight to the Audiophiliac Viewer System Of The Day before watching the rest of the video?
Great
He does not like them. He does seem to like more lively speakers
Tripod = 3 feet
Tripod stands? No, they have four legs.
Speaking for myself this is definitely not the kind of speaker that I would want to listen to.
sounds like a boring speaker
What is boring about a detailed playing speaker with wide Soundstage?
@@borisbobowski628 probably no dynamics or sense of scale. Steve is just being nice since he has become accustomed to the Cornwalls
@@ljbrandt500 maybe..in the End its all taste but qualitywise Q Acoustics are a nobrainer and the 3000 Series to Concept 500 are legendary Good...so i blame him Not the Speakers