Q ACOUSTIC CONCEPT 300

Q Acoustics has looked to the past to create stereo speakers ready for tomorrow

British loudspeaker manufacturer Q Acoustics has a growing reputation for producing entertaining, low cost speakers, but on the evidence of the Concept 300, it can operate at the high-end with considerable success too.

Not that Q Acoustics hasn’t done high-end in the past. 2017’s Concept 500 was a formidable flagship floorstander, as much a technology statement as a real world product. What we have here is an exploration of the brand in that more rarefied space.

Even a cursory glance will tell you that the Concept 300 are quite unlike anything else on the shelves.

It’s not just their glossy lacquered cabinets which attract admiring glances, it’s the spectacular tensegrity tripod stands they sit upon. The good news is there’s solid Hi-Fi sense behind all the style.

The speaker and stand, incidentally, are a single piece. You can’t have one without the other, and combined they tip the scale at a rather hefty 14.5kg. The speaker cabinet is physically larger than you might imagine too, so expect quite a large section of the floor in your listening room to be annexed.

As a piece of furniture, the speakers are drop dead gorgeous. Mixing real wood veneers with gloss lacquer, the aesthetic is unambiguously premium. Our review sample was finished in white and oak, an inspired mix. You can also choose silver and ebony, or black and rosewood.

The finish is similarly meticulous. The 165mm mid-bass unit and 28mm tweeter are free of bolt heads, giving an ultra clean appearance. The mid-bass is actually locked in place from behind, held in place with spring-tensioned retaining bolts.

The high frequency driver employs a design approach trickled down from its bigger brother. By placing it on an isolation mount, engineers can sit it closer to the mid-bass driver. They’ve been able to improve time alignment, as a result.

The tensegrity tripod stand may look futuristic, but it’s actually based on engineering concepts that have been around since the 1950s; each stand features a web of load-bearing aluminium rods and tensioned stainless-steel cable, honed to negate the transmission of vibration, both from the speaker and the listening environment. It’s as close to floating as you can get, at least in terms of a Hi-Fi speaker.

They may look complicated, but thankfully you don’t have to put them together yourself. The stands arrive pre-assembled and fit easily to the base of the partnering speaker.

One welcome benefit of this tensegrity construction is that they don’t need to use potentially damaging floor spikes. While supplied if you really want to use them, less intrusive rubber boots provide a welcome alternative.

The Concept 300 cabinet employs Q Acoustic’s patented Dual Gelcore construction. Gelcore, a liquid that never sets, is used in conjunction with an isolation base suspension system, to further defeat high frequency vibration.

This base forms the bottom of the Concept 300 cabinet. The enclosure sits on four springs, damped using a material called

Sylodamp. The speaker will actually wobble unnervingly at the touch as a result, but base and tripod remain solid.

Thankfully, all this astonishing engineering detail pays dividends when it comes to playback. These puppies sound magnificent.

When setting up, we found the Concept 300 requires only a moderate toe-in to focus the stereo image, but it actually produces a larger soundstage when presented square on. Flip a coin as to what you prefer, there’s no hard and fast rule.

For our audition, the stereo pair was driven by some Pioneer ICE Power Class D amplification, and hooked up via heavyweight QED Supremus speaker cable.

When it comes to musical prowess, the Concept 300s have an artful lightness that’s impossible to resist. American Beauty, by The Grateful Dead (in 24-bit 96 kHz) provides a perfect showcase for their talents.

This fifth album from the California progsters dances along with effortless articulation. Jerry Garcia’s lead guitar perfectly centred in space, the tensegrity stand and Isolation Base combo emphasising the purity of the soundstage.

The speakers can also get complex when required. Whether your taste is traditional classical, or new age orchestral, they can sound epic when pushed. The soundstage crackles with dynamic energy and scale, instruments perfectly placed in space.

Get a little rockier, and there’s appreciable bass weight. That said, if you really want to move some internal organs about, hefty towers with bigger bass bins will doubtless do a better job.

The modern jazz of HYPS Chaotic Planet (on SACD) features complex speed percussion with dramatic, violent transients. The Concept 300’s deliver its staccato drum beats like a prizefighter. You’ll be punchdrunk before you know it.

And if you simply want to enjoy stripped back rock and roll, then they’ll oblige happily. If I Fell, from the remastered Hard Days Night (24-bit FLAC), offers almost granular detail; this was recorded how long ago?

Our takeaway from this audition is that the Concept 300s are genuinely content agnostic. They do an astonishingly fine job, regardless of your preferences in music.

Conclusion

With the Concept 300, Q Acoustics has produced something rather remarkable - a highly original, no compromise monitor speaker that uses ingenious engineering to create a soundstage so premium you’ll feel the need to dress up when listening to it.

They’re large for a monitor design, undoubtedly, but the quality of the finish and their ingenious integrated stand will ensure you’ll want to place them where they can be appreciated. These imaginatively designed, beautifully executed stereo speakers are an almost perfect fusion of performance and design.

Treat yourself to an audition sooner rather than later.

Specifications

• Drivers: 165mm Mid/bass and 28mm High frequency

• Nominal impedance: 6ohms

• Dimensions: 435(w) x 474(d) x 192(h) mm 220(W) x 355(d) x 400(h)mm

• Weight: 14.5kg