Q Acoustics Concept 500 Review
Q Acoustics’ new Concept 500 loudspeaker may be its most expensive model yet — but produces a performance out of all proportion to its price.
Q Acoustics has built a deserved reputation for producing excellent loudspeakers at realistic, value-for-money prices. Their range stretches from the small but potent 2010i bookshelf model at just £99.95 to the 3050 floorstander for a very reasonable £550.
But what happens when you push the envelope a little and decide to enter a higher price-point with all the extra expectation that entails in terms of sound quality?
That’s the big question with the company’s new Concept 500 — the most expensive loudspeaker Q Acoustics has produced. That puts it in competition with models from KEF, Wharfedale, Quad, and Quadral, to name a few.
The good news is that the Concept 500 has, like other Q Acoustics products, been developed in collaboration with respected loudspeaker designer Karl-Heinz Fink and his audio consulting team based in the German city of Essen.
The larger budget available with this speaker means it features improved drive units and a new cabinet design aimed at making it as inert as possible. The latter features three layers of MDF sandwiched by a flexible gel which absorbs internal vibrations and turns them into heat. Q Acoustics maintain that this, combined with point-to-point bracing, reduces unwanted noise from the cabinet by 30dB, improving stereo imaging by reducing colorations.
The drivers consist of two 16.5cm mid/bass units allied to a 28mm soft dome tweeter arranged in a D’Appolito configuration where the high-frequency unit sits between the two larger transducers. That tweeter is also mechanically decoupled, mounted in its own rubber gasket to isolate it from vibrations.
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Size-wise, the Concept 500 measures 1150mm x 400mm x 350mm (H/W/D), which is a decent size but not too imposing in a room thanks to the gently curving front fascia. Stability is provided by a large, round aluminum frame-plinth, while the rear panel includes twin binding posts for bi-wiring or bi-amping, situated below a large reflex port.
One other feature of note is the ability to tune the treble response. Jumper plugs can be inserted in sockets at the back to give a +/- 0.5dB attenuation. Alternatively, leave them out to give a flatter response (see Measured Performance for full details).
From the front, the Concept 500s look fairly typical Q Acoustics models available in both gloss black or white finishes. But in a nod to their more up-market price, if you look from the side, there’s a wood veneer section at the sides — rosewood for the black or light oak for the white.
Sound Quality
I first heard the Concept 500s at Q Acoustics’ research and development facility in Woking some months before their official launch — and they sounded excellent on the end of some Naim electronics with good, deep bass and excellent treble definition.
Over a longer testing period in the Hi-Fi World listening room, the same characteristics were on show. This time, I connected them to a McIntosh MC152 power amplifier connected by Q Acoustics’ sister company QED’s latest Supremus cable (£150 a meter).
“No matter what I threw at the 500s they refused to be phased – simply turning in a thrillingly accomplished performance. That marks them out as something rather special.”
Playing Art Ensemble of Chicago’s complex “Theme De Yoyo,” the first impression was of a well-rounded and sonically even loudspeaker. Bass is strong and goes lower than you’d expect considering the size of the drivers, but it was controlled and tuneful with no evidence of cabinet joining in. The whole piece was projected into the room with extremely wide left-to-right imaging, allowing these speakers to envelop even large rooms.
But the Concept 500s were not all about low-end power. There was also a smooth mid-range on offer and a detailed but never harsh or zingy treble. The tweeter did not have quite the bite or extension of a metal-domed or ribbon-equipped tweeter, but it was explicit enough to reveal tiny details which sometimes go unheard on other speakers.
It was this ability across the sonic spectrum that makes the Concept 500 such a joy. Listening to the quiet saxophone reflections at the start of Primal Scream’s “Shoot Speed/Kill Light,” the speakers pounded out the descending bassline and piercing guitar with enough force to almost knock me off my seat.
Measured Performance
Our pink-noise third-octave analysis of frequency response shows a remarkably flat response from the Q Acoustics Concept 500. This is with the measuring microphone slightly off-axis (15 degrees) and no lift applied; on-axis, treble rises a little. So for best accuracy, the Concept 500s should be pointed straight down a room, not at listeners. With treble lift applied using the supplied jumper, upper frequencies were raised by +2dB, enough to give a subtly brighter sound.
The smoothness of our analysis across the audio band is due to the absence of local resonances that produce coloration; the Concept 500 will sound clean and uncolored. At low frequencies, bass lifts a little to add some weight, if by a small amount.
Sensitivity was a high 90dB from one nominal Watt (2.8V) of input. Impedance measured 6.5 Ohms overall, but the bass unit has a low DCR of 3.5 Ohms, so it draws current. The loudspeaker will go loud at low volume control settings and needs no more than 40 Watts to reach very high volume.
The Concept 500 measured well all around. Its almost-flat frequency response suggests levels of coloration well below most other loudspeakers, as well as an even tonality that few other loudspeakers through our doors approach.
Conclusion
The Concept 500 may be a new price-point for Q Acoustics, but it represents the same value-for-money concept as its other models. In terms of bass response, mid-range smoothness, treble detail, and all-round musicality, this is a loudspeaker that can go up against some rivals costing twice as much. I urge you to give it a listen.
Verdict
Outstanding – amongst the best
Value – keenly priced
For:
- Deep, controlled bass
- Smooth mid-range
- Detailed treble
- Inert cabinet
Against:
- Nothing at the price
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The best Q Acoustics has to offer. Concept 500 speaker review. Instant noodle worthy.
hifi #speakers #audiophile #stereo #audioreviews Gear used in this evaluation Mcintosh MAC 6700 integrated amp Devialet ...
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