British audio specialist Q Acoustics has just announced a new flagship model in its 5000 series of stereo and home theater speakers.
It's called the 5050 and it's the largest speaker in the entire range, with two 6-inch mid/bass drivers, the largest in the series. Q Acoustics promises that the 5050 floorstanding will “fill even the largest listening rooms with dynamic, natural sound.”
Q Acoustics' C3 (pronounced 'C-Cubed') continuous curved cone profile features on the mid/bass drivers, a design borrowed from the company's flagship Concept series (see our review of the Q Acoustics Concept 300 for more information about it), but in a new home. Although we must keep in mind that it is not the most affordable model that includes the C3 controller technology; that would be the new Q Acoustics M40 HD (five stars), a new entry in our buying guide for the best stereo speakers, along with the slightly older Q Acoustics M20 HD.
Back to the 5050, though, and that mid/bass driver uses “substantial magnets” along with large voice coils in an attempt to increase motor power. The claim? Q Acoustics says the 5050 is capable of achieving a “50% increase in power handling and control over a comparable 25.4mm voice coil driver.” And that's the whole statement.
Opinion: It's big, it's beautiful and it should be given room to function
The 5050 sits alongside its siblings in the series, which are all passive speakers: Q Acoustic recommends 25-150W amplifier power to accompany the 5050. The range comprises the 5010 bookshelf speakers (although I prefer the term 'bookshelf' stand”, as no speaker will perform better when placed on a bookshelf), 5020 floor stands, 5040 floor stands, and 5090 center channel.
Like the rest of the 5000 series, the Q Acoustics 5050 comes in a choice of four finishes that should work with most living spaces, including Satin Black, Satin White, Santos Rosewood and Holme Oak.
The 5050 also comes with solid aluminum stabilizers for its floor and its low-profile speaker terminals should keep all cables relatively tidy; Additionally, it means that the speaker could probably be placed slightly closer to a back wall if necessary.
'But what about your tweeter?' We hear you cry! Of course. This controller unit is hermetically sealed, the company says, and mechanically isolated (floating) from the baffle. The speaker's inner chamber is also vented (to help with distortion through those bass registers) with a lower crossover point.
To help the 5050 navigate the important internal pressure that large multi-driver floor users simply have to handle, each tower features four Helmholtz Pressure Equalizer Tubes (HPETM). Lastly, the internal Point-2-Point boost should help further eliminate any low-level resonance.
The Q Acoustics 5050 is available now priced at $1,999 / £1,299 / €1,699 (which is around AU$2,510).
