Want to inject some energy into your home cinema sound? Look no further
Speaker package| £2475| whf.cm/5040i_HCP
Q Acoustics hasalready delivered a thoroughly impressive show with the 5040 floorstanding speakers, earning itself a What Hi-Fi?Award this year. So, naturally, the next step is to bundle those speakers with a set of standmount surrounds, a subwoofer and a centre channel – and now we have ourselves a 5.1 home cinema package.
Those 5040 floorstanders are the front speakers; you also get a pair of passive 5010 standmounts, a 5090 centre channel and the QB12 active subwoofer. Bear in mind that you will need stands for the rear speakers and centre channels, so don’t forget to factor those in to your budget. There is tough competition at this level from the Wharfedale Evo 4.4 5.1 package (£2799), and also the excellent Bowers & Wilkins 606 & 607 S3 surround speaker package, which has just earned itself a What Hi-Fi? Product of the Year.
The first hint that these speakers are more playful and energetic than those rivals is actually found in the design. The 5040 features a distinctive, yet cohesive design for all of the speakers. While the Wharfedale Evos look more stoic and traditional with their black wood veneer finish, and the B&W go for a functional, angular design, the Q Acoustics carve out a distinct personality for themselves.
The rounded corners on each cabinet offer a modern aesthetic which should complement most living rooms and home cinema set-ups. Not only does it look good, but it’s also practical, as it has shaved off some crucial height, width and weight – these are much more svelte than the Wharfedale package.
Beneath the surface, the 5040 sports a tweeter sandwiched between two 125mm mid/bass drivers in a vertical arrangement, something of a tradition for Q Acoustics speakers at this point. However, the design of those mid/bass drivers is new, as Q Acoustics has implemented its new Continuous Curved Cone build. This is designed to incorporate the rigidity of a straight cone design alongside the high-frequency break-up attributes of drivers with a flared design. The driver units are made of impregnated paper, while the tweeter is a 25mm soft-dome that is decoupled to reduce potential distortion through vibration.
On the rear of the speakers you will find a standard set of terminals for hooking up to an AV amplifier, and on the bottom are a set of four detachable spikes; two on the main body of t
