I demo'd these. My impression was that Q essentially ambandoned the Q philosophy and made a speaker aimed clearly at being able to do everything that the Dali O5 and O7 can do including the wide stage and fun/fast bass with boosted upper mids. I think they succeeded. This speaker is like tge awesome unholy stepchild of a 3050 and an O5 that can reach into the O7s bass range. The 5050 is imperfect but immensely fun.
Really excellent review. I almost bought the 3030s back in the day. There is a competitive market in this model with Dali and Wharfedale among many providing floorstanders…
Hi Paul, hooray, at last someone dared to compare the new 5050 with the originator from 2016, the 3050, designed by Karl-Heinz Fink. I purchased 3050s last winter (based on the Martin Colloms online review) from Q-Acoustics USA for $400/pair (a bargain). They are now out of stock. I'd heard later versions (3050i etc) boosted the treble (that you confirmed) & were to be avoided. I now recommend used 3050s, they are efficient & an easy load, all great qualities. Cheers!
Somewhat off-topic but why-oh-why do stock marketing photos of loudspeakers almost invariably present them in environments where they would most certainly sound horrific?
Thank you for a great review. I would have loved to hear the comparison with the Concept 50's, too. Judging from the final score it seems you prefer the Concepts but is there something more to say regarding base vs neutrality and maybe value for money?
I have a pair of the 3050 Speakers which were reduced to £399.00 due to the 3050i Speakers being available. The 5050 Speakers may be suitable for me, but at three times the cost, I'm quite happy with what I have. I thought the 3050 Speakers were heavy in weight. I noticed the 5050 Speakers are not biwired like the 3050 Speakers.
i also have the 3050's i got them at the bargain price of £300 from Richer Sounds also when the 3050i speakers where released and i love them and like you i can not see any possability of paying 3 times the price for such a little improvement to basicly the same speaker and also as you pointed out the 5050's are not biwirable like the 3050 and so far i have no intention of changing them 😊
@@nsw9154 I was thinking of biwiring as I saw some biwired speaker wire online. I looked at a few videos including a Hifi Retailer and the concensus was it doesn't always work. A number of videos pointed out the silver links are cheap and can be swapped out for a small piece of wire with spade connections. I found four (two black and two red) on Amazon and they were around £12.00 or less. The sound did improve. The bass was tighter and the sound was more exciting. It wasn't night or day, but I could hear the difference. It was slightly difficult to connect the spades as the wire is quite stiff, but I did persevere.
@@trevorbartram5473 hi. I replaced them with the 3030i’s just to hear the difference and I was shocked how much more I enjoyed listening. The 3030i’s sounded like a wet blanket had been lifted off the 3050’s. So much more dynamic and colorful.
Hi Paul Q acoustics are definitely no slouches when it comes to upgrades , and new models . My concept 20s must be by comparison regarded as possibly vintage by now . But that’s seems way of things these days, when I remember you could buy a hard back books which came out , was it once a year ? . With the current models of hifi displayed within , these days it would be out of date before it came off the press . Happy days as they say 😊. From an old codger
I listened to the 5050 in comparison with a Focal Vestia2 and the Focal is in a different league...the 5050 seems to sound too laid back and veiled in comparison.. not my type sound! The amplification were a Denon pma 1700 and source Cocktail Audio streamer with Qobuz
Bought my 3050's a few years ago for £500 and I bet in any blind test I wouldn't know which was which.... Seeing it's 2024 and hard times are hard, I'm sure Q acoustics cut a few corners. I'll be keeping my £1300 i think.
@@TheAudiophileMan That answer seems bogus to me, Paul. Seven (out of ten, presumably) is 70%, as is 3.5 out of 5. I can understand that ten out of ten may be many times better than five out of ten, on a logarithmic or similar scale, which seems to be what you allude to in your answer, rather than just twice as good. I know it’s subjective anyway, but your numerical system, as explained, is as clear to me as the ratings for films used by the aggregator “Rotten Tomatoes”. Good review, of course!
I demo'd these. My impression was that Q essentially ambandoned the Q philosophy and made a speaker aimed clearly at being able to do everything that the Dali O5 and O7 can do including the wide stage and fun/fast bass with boosted upper mids. I think they succeeded. This speaker is like tge awesome unholy stepchild of a 3050 and an O5 that can reach into the O7s bass range.
The 5050 is imperfect but immensely fun.
Really excellent review. I almost bought the 3030s back in the day. There is a competitive market in this model with Dali and Wharfedale among many providing floorstanders…
Hi Paul, hooray, at last someone dared to compare the new 5050 with the originator from 2016, the 3050, designed by Karl-Heinz Fink. I purchased 3050s last winter (based on the Martin Colloms online review) from Q-Acoustics USA for $400/pair (a bargain). They are now out of stock. I'd heard later versions (3050i etc) boosted the treble (that you confirmed) & were to be avoided. I now recommend used 3050s, they are efficient & an easy load, all great qualities. Cheers!
Very honest review, thanks! 🙏
Somewhat off-topic but why-oh-why do stock marketing photos of loudspeakers almost invariably present them in environments where they would most certainly sound horrific?
Maybe that is a representation of the home of a buyer who is most likely like to buy the product?
Excellent review! I'm leaning towards the white ones. 50-50
Thank you for a great review. I would have loved to hear the comparison with the Concept 50's, too. Judging from the final score it seems you prefer the Concepts but is there something more to say regarding base vs neutrality and maybe value for money?
I have a pair of the 3050 Speakers which were reduced to £399.00 due to the 3050i Speakers being available. The 5050 Speakers may be suitable for me, but at three times the cost, I'm quite happy with what I have.
I thought the 3050 Speakers were heavy in weight.
I noticed the 5050 Speakers are not biwired like the 3050 Speakers.
i also have the 3050's i got them at the bargain price of £300 from Richer Sounds also when the 3050i speakers where released and i love them and like you i can not see any possability of paying 3 times the price for such a little improvement to basicly the same speaker and also as you pointed out the 5050's are not biwirable like the 3050 and so far i have no intention of changing them 😊
@@nsw9154 I was thinking of biwiring as I saw some biwired speaker wire online. I looked at a few videos including a Hifi Retailer and the concensus was it doesn't always work. A number of videos pointed out the silver links are cheap and can be swapped out for a small piece of wire with spade connections. I found four (two black and two red) on Amazon and they were around £12.00 or less. The sound did improve. The bass was tighter and the sound was more exciting. It wasn't night or day, but I could hear the difference. It was slightly difficult to connect the spades as the wire is quite stiff, but I did persevere.
I’ve got the 3050’s and I’m not a fan. However, the 3030i’s are sweet.
What don't you like about the 3050's?
@@trevorbartram5473 hi. I replaced them with the 3030i’s just to hear the difference and I was shocked how much more I enjoyed listening. The 3030i’s sounded like a wet blanket had been lifted off the 3050’s. So much more dynamic and colorful.
Hi Paul Q acoustics are definitely no slouches when it comes to upgrades , and new models . My concept 20s must be by comparison regarded as possibly vintage by now . But that’s seems way of things these days, when I remember you could buy a hard back books which came out , was it once a year ? . With the current models of hifi displayed within , these days it would be out of date before it came off the press . Happy days as they say 😊. From an old codger
I listened to the 5050 in comparison with a Focal Vestia2 and the Focal is in a different league...the 5050 seems to sound too laid back and veiled in comparison.. not my type sound!
The amplification were a Denon pma 1700 and source Cocktail Audio streamer with Qobuz
The Concept 50s are also reduced to £1199 so probably worth an audition based on the generally very positive reviews.
Thank you for the review. How would you compare these to the Concept 50?
I would opt for the Concepts.
@@TheAudiophileManThank you. I ordered the concepts 🙂
Bought my 3050's a few years ago for £500 and I bet in any blind test I wouldn't know which was which.... Seeing it's 2024 and hard times are hard, I'm sure Q acoustics cut a few corners. I'll be keeping my £1300 i think.
well 7 is clearly 3.5/5 stars....
It’s not evenly spaced, in a mathematical manner. The system is weighted.
True 😊
@@TheAudiophileMan That answer seems bogus to me, Paul. Seven (out of ten, presumably) is 70%, as is 3.5 out of 5. I can understand that ten out of ten may be many times better than five out of ten, on a logarithmic or similar scale, which seems to be what you allude to in your answer, rather than just twice as good. I know it’s subjective anyway, but your numerical system, as explained, is as clear to me as the ratings for films used by the aggregator “Rotten Tomatoes”. Good review, of course!
Check out the ratings video here: ruclips.net/video/G9-qgcF51sU/видео.html
FF to 4:17 and view from there. Any questions, give me a shout.
I wouldn't buy these speakers if the highs are too sharp I have a lot of late 80s cds would worry my ears would bleed
If it looks like a box 📦