Q Acoustics 5040 Floorstanding speakers - anyone have these?

[soulkid555]

I'm looking to buy a pair of these speakers. I don't have a TV - they will be used only for listening to music.

Does anyone have these already? What are your thoughts having owned them? Any other recommendations?

[d_a_n1979]

I've heard them; typical Q Acoustics sound to me, bvery good, but could do better

I've never thought Q Acoustics low end is good enough; always seems to sound a bit wooly to my ears and 'chuffy' at times

Not as taut as it could be...

But that's my hearing/my tastes in music.

Much preferred the likes of the Dali Oberon 5s, AE Acoustic 120s and the Fyne Audio floorstanders (superb speakers)

Personally for that budget; I'd be seriously considering these via RS at £899 if you join their club:

https://www.richersounds.com/fyne-audio-f501-dark-...
https://www.richersounds.com/fyne-audio-f501-piano...

The 303i floorstanders are absolutely superb also and well within budget:

https://www.richersounds.com/fyne-audio-f303i-waln...

Can you demo first? What will they be paired with?

[soulkid555]

d_a_n1979 said:

I've heard them; typical Q Acoustics sound to me, bvery good, but could do better

I've never thought Q Acoustics low end is good enough; always seems to sound a bit wooly to my ears and 'chuffy' at times

Not as taut as it could be...

But that's my hearing/my tastes in music.

Much preferred the likes of the Dali Oberon 5s, AE Acoustic 120s and the Fyne Audio floorstanders (superb speakers)

Personally for that budget; I'd be seriously considering these via RS at £899 if you join their club:

https://www.richersounds.com/fyne-audio-f501-dark-...
https://www.richersounds.com/fyne-audio-f501-piano...

The 303i floorstanders are absolutely superb also and well within budget:

https://www.richersounds.com/fyne-audio-f303i-waln...

Can you demo first? What will they be paired with?

Thanks for this - will definitely check these out. I looked at Fyne also.

There is a Richer Sounds store near me so I plan on going there and giving them a test hopefully.

[d_a_n1979]

soulkid555 said:

d_a_n1979 said:

I've heard them; typical Q Acoustics sound to me, bvery good, but could do better

I've never thought Q Acoustics low end is good enough; always seems to sound a bit wooly to my ears and 'chuffy' at times

Not as taut as it could be...

But that's my hearing/my tastes in music.

Much preferred the likes of the Dali Oberon 5s, AE Acoustic 120s and the Fyne Audio floorstanders (superb speakers)

Personally for that budget; I'd be seriously considering these via RS at £899 if you join their club:

https://www.richersounds.com/fyne-audio-f501-dark-...
https://www.richersounds.com/fyne-audio-f501-piano...

The 303i floorstanders are absolutely superb also and well within budget:

https://www.richersounds.com/fyne-audio-f303i-waln...

Can you demo first? What will they be paired with?

Thanks for this - will definitely check these out. I looked at Fyne also.

There is a Richer Sounds store near me so I plan on going there and giving them a test hopefully.

I'd highly recommend Fyne Audio; I had their 302's for my office system with my NAD C320BEE integrated and then a Cyrus One Cast integrated and they were absolutely superb

[soulkid555]

d_a_n1979 said:

I'd highly recommend Fyne Audio; I had their 302's for my office system with my NAD C320BEE integrated and then a Cyrus One Cast integrated and they were absolutely superb

Brilliant. Thanks very much.

[Tony1963]

I’ve never heard them myself, but I’ve been told they sound best with a powerful, well controlled amp, and about 40-50cm from the rear wall to sound anywhere near their best. A cheap, weedy amp, and placing them up against a wall, even with the bungs in, isn’t going to sound great.

You really need a home demo, as is always the case with speakers.

[tonyg58]

Speakers are more personal than anything else in hifi.
I've always like the Q-Acoustics range since they first came out in the mid 2000s - good sounding and great value for money.

I've never like the Fynes - they're just versions of Tannoys by a group of ex-Tannoy engineers (and I've never liked Tannoys).
The coaxial tweeter/mid unit is fine if you are sitting facing them and have them well toed-in, but always seemed to go a bit flat to me if you were off-axis or just walking around.

Have a listen to as many as you can, if it was my money (it isn't though) I would be also be trying to listen to the Dali Oberons and also the Dynaudio Emit range, both of which are in the same price range

As has been said, will need a demo first to pick the one you prefer and then (ideally) a home demo.

[sri16v]

I had a pair or the q acoustics 3050i's floor standers, they were a good set of speakers, as mentioned above the lows were a little bit wooly, but very listenable, a good option as a budget entry.

I now have a pair of the concept 500's and they are a massive step up.

The sound staging is phenomenal on the concept 500's, they are also easy to drive, as little as 25watts per channel.

The low bass is more than adequate for the style of speaker, they go down to around 30hz from memory, it's not boomy or wooly and it's very tightly controlled.

I tend to run them with the outer bung in the port, a good foot away for any wall.

Not sure what your budget is but if you can pick up a pair of the concept 500s 2nd hand then they punch well above their weight and are a match for speakers in the 4to 8k price range according to all the reviews.

A lot of audio comes to personal preference, so many variables, room size/layout, source to drive the speakers, style of music.

Always worth a listen before you buy if possible.

I paid £2500 for mine a couple of years ago, ex demo

[sri16v]

Forgot to add:

Have a look at the concept 40's if budget allows, meant to be a good step up from the 3050s and the 50 series.

[Harry Flashman]

The Concept 500 is a superb speaker. So much so that I am toying with replacing my speakers with them. I tried them in my setup recently and was blown away. Great looking things too.

Very, very different price point to the 5040 though.

[sri16v]

Harry Flashman said:

The Concept 500 is a superb speaker. So much so that I am toying with replacing my speakers with them. I tried them in my setup recently and was blown away. Great looking things too.

Very, very different price point to the 5040 though.

I wasnt that blown away on the first few listens of the concept 500, going from a set of 3050i's.

As mentioned before once you get the positioning correct and distance from the wall they are an incredible speaker.

Also a testament to how good the 3050i's are in that they sound similar to a concept 500, just the concept 500 turns everything up to 11!

I imagine the 5040s are an equally good piece of kit for the price point.

[conkerman]

I have the concept 40's A good sounding speaker, and quite a leap from the 2050i that they replaced (although the 2050i are in a corner somewhere.

The changes I noticed was a lot more bass control and more extended treble (but not fatiguing) And much better imaging.