Q-Acoustics prides itself on being different from other speaker companies. This young brand was founded in 2006 in the UK by professional businessmen and audio industry experts. The team has many alumni from top home audio brands, including KEF, Meridian, Mission, and Tannoy. Q Acoustics hopes to produce the most affordable speakers in the world. Bumps that persist in both the direct and off-axis sounds suggest an audible resonance. Resonances remind you you’re listening to boxes as they color all music equally.

The On-Axis and Listening Window curves should be relatively flat. They represent the ‘direct’ sound of the speaker before any reflections. The On-Axis is measured with the speaker aimed directly at the microphone, while the Listening Window is an average of a few angles to account for the fact most people don’t sit still or centered. These have the biggest impact on our perception of timbre.

Should you buy them?

They have created award-winning products, including soundbars, bookshelf speakers, floor-standing speakers, home theater speakers, and architectural speakers. The Q-Acoustics 3020i is the second model in Q Acoustics’ 3000i series. The product line includes a smaller 3010i speaker at one end and a 3050i floor-standing speaker at the other end. You can mix and match 3000i series speakers for multiple rooms or multi-channel home theater systems. The 3000i series of speakers was launched by Q Acoustics in April of 2018 and has enjoyed roaring success from the off. The performance and finish of these speakers has been quite startling, especially when you factor in the price. Prices valid in stores (all including VAT) until close of business on 27th November 2023. (Some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online.) Below is a graph colloquially called a ‘spinorama,’ so-called because it involves rotating the speaker to capture its sound at a whole bunch of horizontal and vertical angles — 70 total. The spinorama distills all that data into a more digestible form, giving us a detailed overview of a speaker‘s performance. Q Acoustics 3030i Spinorama, measured from tweeter. Most measurements truncated below 200Hz due to limitations in my measurement technique.

The Q-Acoustics team is very clear that by focusing on acoustic engineering and excellent design, it will have a chance to succeed by producing products that surpass competitors at the same price. This clear goal has enabled Q Acoustics to establish good results in the past decades.

The vocals shine. It’s a full mid-range that’s direct without being too forward; emotional without being insistent or hogging the spotlight. Sensitivity for the 3030i speakers is a solid 88db, at least for a stand mounted design. Spanning 200 x 325 x 329mm, each speaker weighs in at 6.4kg and, as far as amp matching is concerned? Anything upwards from 25W should be fine. Another key technology is Air Gap dielectric, leaving some gaps between the wires to increase the amount of air between the conductors, reducing the transmission loss and the capacitance in the wire by half. It is helpful for the accuracy of music in terms of time and rhythm. The overriding aesthetic of the 3000-series speakers hasn’t changed much. The Q Acoustics 3000i range retains the blend of straight and rounded edges, giving the speakers a contemporary feel. As usual, you can affect the speaker’s soundstage by angling the speaker forward or straight at your listening position – I found the 3020i sounded best somewhere in between, about 15 degrees off-axis.