DazzS Posted March 2 Posted March 2 Hi folks, I'm looking for some advice and opinions on a future speaker upgrade. About a year ago I started the process of setting up my first proper hifi system, which now comprises a set of Q Acoustics 3030i, NAD c316bee v2 amp (I may look to swap to the new wiim vibelink amp when it comes out and if it reviews well) and cd player, 12" tonewinner sub and WiiM ultra. I've been really happy with the 3030i but am now starting to think about upgrading. This is for a large-ish open plan living room, but I've not had any problem filling it to my satisfaction (for music mainly, but also movies) with tge 3030i's+ sub. I'm still a novice at this stuff so not the best at finding the right terms, but essentially the main area I'd like to improve sound wise is instrument separation, particularly on rockier music with a fair bit of distortion and layering in tge mix (eg 90s/2000's grunge/indi rock etc) which I've felt can sound a bit messy/muddy to my ears. Because I've been happy with QA, I'm looking mainly at their line (both stand mounts and floorstanders), but would be open to other suggestions at similar price points. I'm not looking to spend any more than $1500 AU and within that budget the options I'm considering are: 5040 (open box) $1200 5050 (open box) $1500 3050i (new) $980 Concept 30 (open box) $950 (though I'm not so keen on the high gloss/two tone finish on these). So I guess overall I'm keen for advise/opinions on what would be the best upgrade/value option of these and why. I guess the other option would be to keep enjoying what i have and avoid the temptation of upgraditis!
Kasman Posted March 2 Posted March 2 If your keen on staying with QA I’d steer clear of the 3050 as it’s in the same range as yours and you probably won’t be getting any quality improvements (except for a bigger sound). I was in a similar boat to you a few years ago and went to a few retailers. I had a budget in mind (was about $1500 too) and eventually asked a retailer “for sh*ts and giggles what do I get if I double my budget?” They brought out some PMC’s and said “try these”. They were sooo much better in every way to other (much cheaper) speakers I compared them to. Anyway the retailer sold them to me for about 50% off and i only just exceeded my budget. My advice is go to retailers and be open to other brands. Take note of what you like and keep an eye in the classifieds here. Plenty of people turn over speakers regularly. 1
DazzS Posted March 2 Author Posted March 2 Thanks for the reply and advice about the 3050. I live regionally so visiting dealers is a bit harder than if I were in the city. I've been keeping an eye on the classifieds here too (i bought both my amp and cd player here), but for obvious reasons most speakers, particularly floorstanders, tend to be 'pick up only', which again is a bit limiting for me because of where I live.
Irek Posted March 3 Posted March 3 If you like Q Acoustics , than go for 5050 Floorstanding. WiiM is a great budget brand, but it's not some giant killer. If you want to try class D for better clarity and separation I would consider the new
DazzS Posted March 3 Author Posted March 3 Thanks for your thoughts on the 5050s. I can't see me going for the Marantz M1 though because I'm very happy with the wiim ultra as a preamp and streamer, so many of the M1 features would be redundant (especially considering the price) and I want to stick with separates. If I do go for another amp down the track it will be a more basic but powerful integrated amp or a power amp.
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