Q Acoustics 3040c: Top marks and a buying recommendation in the avforums.com review

The British online magazine avforums.com reviews the new, particularly compact Q Acoustics 3040c floorstanding speakers and enthusiastically concludes: “The best model in the 3000c range that I have tested”:

“The Q Acoustics 3040c sounds so good that, compared with the larger 3050c – even if the two models remained fairly similar in price – you could quite reasonably choose the smaller speaker. Pair the WiiM Amp Pro with the 3040c and play some dynamic material, and the 3040c even displays a little more control and agility than its larger stablemate. Compared with the similarly priced Wharfedale Denton 1S, it lacks a little of the agility and precision in attack and decay, but in this room the 3040c reaches 10 Hz in the bass with ease, something the Denton 1S cannot manage.

At the upper end of the frequency range, the Q Acoustics 3040c – perhaps unsurprisingly given the similarity of the components used – is largely in line with the other models in the series. It is a combination of refinement, tonal realism and detail that allows Little Barrie’s ‘Gravity Freeze’ to retain the raw sound typical of its era without becoming harsh or aggressive – unless, of course, you really turn the WiiM up.

Soundstage reproduction and spatial presentation are also very impressive. […] With careful positioning, the 3000c models are also exceptionally good at disappearing into the room. In this respect, Q Acoustics has the edge over Wharfedale and, indeed, most other speakers under €1,000. The transition between the drivers is well integrated, and you never get the impression that you are listening to three drivers rather than a single coherent source.

This means that for just under €1,000 you are ready to go, and the 3040c sounds very convincing indeed. And if you feel like it, you can extract even more performance from it. Switching to the Cambridge Evo amplifier tightens up the bass response while also extending it a touch deeper, especially with non-percussive bass. The Cambridge’s enormous power reserves are sufficient to ensure that the 3040c – provided the volume levels you are aiming for are not bordering on insanity – can fill a typical British living room with plenty of headroom.

Conclusion
The more time I spent with the 3040c, the less its launch seemed like a coincidence and the more it appeared to be a logical evolution. Q Acoustics has packed almost all of the performance of the 3050c into a smaller, better-proportioned and easier-to-place speaker.