Retro 5.1 Done Right

Q Acoustics 3000 5.1 Speaker System

- Mark Fleischmann

TUBE AMPS. MONO PRESSINGS. And now, 5.1? Has bedrock surround sound indeed joined the ranks of retro audio technologies? Surround receivers beyond the most entry level nearly always have more than five channels (though their uses vary), while Dolby Atmos and DTS:X have made seven (5.1.2) the new minimum system configuration. What happens when you go in the other direction? The flood of 5.1 speaker sets that I used to review in the late 20th and early 21st centuries has tapered to a trickle. I see fewer new ones at CES and CEDIA, and plain old stereo is dominant at the rest of the domestic and international audio shows. However, the British manufacturer Q Acoustics has been marketing 5.1-channel speaker sets since the company’s inception about a decade ago and continues to actively develop them. The brand’s latest entry is called the 3000 5.1 Home Theatre System.

Cognoscenti

The founders of Q Acoustics previously worked for some fabled British loudspeaker makers, such as KEF, Mission, and Tannoy. The 3000 is one of four Q Acoustics 5.1-channel systems and one of two to be sold in the United States (through Q’s American website or Amazon, among others, with free shipping). The other three systems are the satellite-based 7000i Plus 5.1, also sold in the U.S.; the tower based Concept Cinema; and the 2000i Cinema, which uses compact speakers with 5-inch woofers, as opposed to the 4-inchers in the 3000. The company also sells soundbars, as well as in-wall, in-ceiling, and outdoor speakers.

The 3000 system consists of four 3010 compact satellites, a 3090C center, and a 3070S subwoofer. (The individual models are priced at $200/ pair, $180, and $400, respectively, which would total $980—but when you buy them together as the 3000 package, you get an $80 discount.)