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I owned a the 4.1s for a while and it impressed me. I appreciated the nice veneer. From what I've heard the Q acoustics put a lot of effort and materials in a quality cabinet build.
I have the Evo 4.1 as my desktop speakers, and they seem perfect in that setup. Since I'm basically always sitting in the same spot placement isn't an issue once they're locked in.
I haven't heard the AE300's, but I do own the AE100Mk2's and have to say they are outstanding for a small/budget loudspeaker and bet they don't sound rolled off in the treble...more neutral if anything. They do need a sub-woofer or two and should be powered with at least 100 watts a channel. They will scale nicely with better electronics and great for music and video in a medium to smaller sized room.
Just incase you haven't tried this yet with the wharfedale 4.1's, replace the brass bridge plates between the binding posts with some speaker cable, even a bit of bare ended basic stranded copper you have laying about will do if you dont want to spend any money on this experiment. Positive results will follow.
@@sprocketdiver190 Obviously I'd suggest the best kind of cable you can get, I use qed supremus myself, which is silver plated copper in a fancy geometry. But brass is almost 4 times less electrically conductive than copper, so its a heck of a bottleneck, and almost anything is better. For a cheap-but-good suggestion, try some qed silver anniversary xt, bare wire (the plugs would otherwise be brass!), its very low cost (£6.50 for 1 meter) then simply cut to length and strip the ends by 2cm, gently peel open the wire braid and snip off the central insulation, then put the wire back into its original shape, then twist the ends) it still has a geometry to fight skin effect and proximity effect, and you'll get far more clarity, speed and resolution out of those wharfedale AMT's than the curtesy bridge plates could ever hint at
Good review. I disagree with you on one point: as someone who lives in a country that transitioned from one system to another, and I am therefore very familiar with both, the metric system is WAY better than the imperial system. If you doubt me, try to divide 23'5-5/8" (7.15m) into 3 equal parts. With metric, it takes less than a second.
They are consistent 5 * winners in WhatHiFi, for years. I don't know if they are the best but they're pretty good. Probably all of these speakers are decent.
Q Acoustics just do it all at any price their speakers are. I run 3030i in my snug from a Yamaha RN-602. Superb loud or just running quiet on the loudness control still retaining all that timbre. I ran Concept 20’s on my main system which is a Yamaha RN-803D but base was not there in my main room. Went to 3050i but simply could not get them right in the room. Not the speakers fault. Went back to Concept 20’s and added a Rel Zero III. Just wow. Why hadn’t I done this in the first place? Absolute precision clarity from the 20’s with the perfect amount of low end and presence from the woofer. Keep up the great reviews👍
When I added a second Rel sub to my Q acoustics, the integration became a lot easier/smoother. And of course no more having to move my head a few inches to the left or right to experience the fullest sound. 🥳
Speaker shootout!!!! Great video! These are the best!!!! I would love to see a Wharfedale shoot out from the entry level all the way up to the Denton/Linton. Thank you, Randy!!!!!
Likewise. I have a LCR set of Wharfedale bookshelf speakers from the Diamond series that I would love to compare to the Evo 4.1’s here. I really like the Diamonds but I haven’t yet heard any speakers with an AMT ribbon tweeter and am curious to know how my Diamonds compare to the Evo 4.1’s. The Diamonds that I have were award winning from a prestigious publication when they came out so they are very considered to be very good. My old gray matter can’t remember which model of Diamonds they are but I think that they came out over 10 years ago. I also have a pair of Kef towers with the Uni-Q design where the tweeer is placed inside what I believe is a 7” Woofer that are described as time phased or something like that. The idea being that the sound from the tweeter and woofer are aligned so that the sound arrives at the listener at the exact same time. They are wonderful speakers and I think that Kef took the idea of time phase alignment from the famed manufacturer of studio monitors Tannoy.
I'm not one who normally pays attention to ads for sponsors, but I've got to admit, your plug for the Ridge products actually got my attention and the products look interesting. Anyway, just wanted to say good job on that. Thanks. I bet you haven't had many comments like that before LOL Now I need to finish watching your video.
Nice shootout and I like those Q Acoustics in particular. However, I’m still loving the Polk Reserve R100s you persuaded me to buy some time ago too much to want to consider changing. Those little babies, ably supported by a REL TZero MkIII, are just spectacular (and cheaper)
Love your show. I have learned a great deal. I almost pulled the trigger on a pair of Emotiva speakers but read that they were 4 ohm. After more research, I learned that my Yamaha receiver will only do 8 ohm and 6 ohm. I would have had to buy a new receiver. I mention this only because, as important as this is, it doesn’t seem like this is ever discussed or even advertised.
Entertaining and informative review, thank-you. I did a machine shop apprenticeship in the UK during the 1970s, so I am metric/imperial agnostic. Fun fact: a US pint has only 16 ounces while a UK pint has 20. This makes a UK gallon about four and a half litres and a US gallon about three and a half. (You know geeks watch this channel, don't ya?)
yea... if you sit like nailed down 8' from them, and not moving your head by an inch for hours... Good if you are microphone... not good if you are human.
I listened to the tower version of the EVO at the Crutchfield store, here in Virginia. I wanted to like them. I really did. I love AMT tweeters. The cabinets were nice. The drivers were nice. They just didn't sound good to me. To be fair, I was comparing them with more expensive speakers like Revel F 206, Golden Ear Triton 5, Polk Reserve 700 and Monitor Audio Silver series towers(dont remember the model) The EVO were my least favorite out of the bunch. Granted, they were in a terrible acoustic environment. Someone else would probably have a completely different opinion, and that perfectly fine. I just didn't care for them myself. 🤷🏻
My brain hurts from trying to run this down. Here's my li'l summary, Professor, to see if I can say it back to you: (1) Q Acoustics Isa best fit to A10 Classic: nice "dynamical" bass and mostly doesn't need a sub... mostly. (2) My listening position is about ten feet from speakers. I thought that was far, but now I'm reading and watching. It's not that far?! 🤦♂️Oh. ...Well then maybe floor standers is too much? (3) Anything worth doing is worth OVER doing! ...Except classical guitar. Unless it's Santana!(Waddayamean that's not classical guitar?!😎) All right, then Gypsy Kings! is ... they DO have a couple acoustic guitars! (4) The Q Acoustics knowledge base seems to suggest that the 5020 has roughly the same dynamic range as the 5040... But how can the smaller speaker be the better one? 🥵 Well boss... listening from 10' away -- floor or bookshelf? I think I know the answer but ...dammit I wanted the big ones! 😭👀🫣 Thoughts?
Try Focal Vestia N2! I've listened to them compared to Warfedale, Polk Audio, KEF, SVS and many others. They were clear, full and dynamic. It was the best sounding speakers of all. I really liked them and just bought them.
I purchased a pair of Polk ES50 speakers because of a stupid cheap price, and I can't believe what sleepers they are. A crazy good bargain IMHO at a full price. I compared them to the listening tool on Crutchfield to the ES55 and ES60 and could not decipher much difference. I will add that I do use a subwoofer with them.
I was totally turned off from Wharfedale, after trying the Diamond 225s. Detail was really lacking in the upper midrange and highs. They call this a 'laid back' British sound but I couldn't get into it. It makes most tracks sound really dull and makes only certain types of music sound good. Basically sounds like it's EQed heavily to emphasize Bass and cut out harsh high frequencies. But to me if the high frequencies don't have any bite to them, it takes away all the excitement from music. I've heard the EVOs are better in the highs but I would bet the veiled sound still exists in the woofer.
Thank you. I don't really know why a few people in the comments get confused. Its like they think they're watching a shell game instead of an audio review. "Where's the King, where's the King...". It was crystal clear to me. Thanks for talking about low, mid and high range. Clarifying whete the dropouts are and how extended a range gets. Without those opinions it would be meaningless. People like different things. The AE's are obviously for bass prone who like warm sound and soeakers that are forgiving. Whardales, have beautiful airy highs. Q's best even handed detail across all ranges.
They need 150 hours on them different speaker after smoother but air top end and increased Bass but with agility and texture patience is definitely rewarded..
Dear Cheapaudioman, u used to test deep bass using Intergalactic, that's awesome. However, I would enjoy knowing what bookshelf speakers will be able to break windows by throwing Daft punk "Doin'it right" ? Can give a shot ?
I enjoy your videos. Be great to have a video explaining what all of the technical specs of a speaker means and how to optimally pair an amp. I am lost when you talk about such matters. Do you have a link to an existing video on the subject?
Thank you for doing awesome reviews! I love your straightforward advice, including this one. Some viewers might not have the full context of Star Wars characters, however. Maybe just use a numerical rating scheme for bass, mid and treble?
just pulled the trigger on klipsch mclaren fives for small room tv and music, After I get back from vacation will probably pair them with SVS SB 1000 pro.
The UK has some wonderful speaker brands that I have had the pleasure of listening to. Kef,Wharfedale,and Mission to name a few but I have never heard any speakers from Tannoy who I have read make very good studio monitors and are used by quite a few of the big recording studio sound engineers. Randy have you done any analysis and reviews of Tannoy speakers? I would love to hear what you have to say about any Tannoys.
Do any of them have bottom mounting so you can bolt it down to the stand? I know the newer powered Klipsch 5,7, and 9's do.This comes in handy when you have kids or people that can come close to the speaker and a fear of knocking them off the stands.
It would be interesting to hear your comparative analysis of speakers, amps & components against studio grade monitor speakers and amp. - Speakers reviewed on studio grade amp against studio grade speakers on same studio grade amp; and - Amps reviewed on studio grade speakers compared against studio amp on same studio speakers; and - Input devices such as DACs on studio amp/speaker combo. Of course there is a cost to doing this however it may be an opportunity worth considering giving the additional perspective where studio grade is taken as the benchmark? This could also be an opportunity to expand your content to also include the home studio viewer demographic? Only bringing this up as you do so well with your reviews.
20% of speaker price is the parts. You are paying for appearance and markup. You can build your own speaker with $100 caps and top level drivers for $600. Do it yourself with open baffle single 12 inch drivers. $50 of MDF and $600 of top full range drivers. Will sound better than anything you can buy under $30k If WAF is an issue them you have other problems.
Sam, this sounds great. Have you thought about doing a TH-cam video to share your knowledge? Would love to see you compete against the other DIY speaker companies.
@@larrym2434 Really? Why does ones labour have to have a price attached to it instead of simply having some actual passion and getting satisfaction in building/creating something awesome? By your weak logic why bother doing anything at all? You might as well just sit on your couch in a pointless vapid existence, glazed over watching TV 24/7, microwaving frozen pizzas and yelling at clouds.
In this price range you can buy one of the best speakers ever made the Magnepan LRS+. Yes you need a minimum amount of room, thats a show stopper; and more power but that can be dealt with gradually over time.
as I'm in the UK I bought a lot of Mission and B&W back in the day and a few Tannoy but I just sold some Dali Zensor 3 I wanted to replace them with either Wharfedale 12.2 or the Monitor Bronze 100 or the Q acoustics 3030i I have been watching all your reviews and I'm still stuck lol
Randy.... You reignited my love for audio and have wasted countless hours reviewing all things audio and spent over $1500 on audio since finding you. Love/Hate relationship.
Excellent chapter as always! A question, according to your experience, what would be the ideal combo for the Wharfedale Evo 4.1? could it be cambridge AXA25? Or would you opt for another brand? greetings! 😁 😁 😁
The U.S., Myanmar, and Liberia are the only countries that still use the imperial system day to day. Maybe that is why they use the metric system in their specs
USA is a continent sized nation with an entire infrastructure in American Standard. It will always be so. You cannot convert the entire installed physical infrastructure of the USA. 3 million square miles.
Thanks for review! Can you do a video on how to match a subwoofer to bookshelf speakers? How do you choose? What are the criteria and considerations? What are tour suggestions to best match a sub with bookshelves? I’d love to see you do a video on this topic!!! Thanks!
For what it's worth, some sub manufacturers have a "matching list" to help buyers get the best model of sub to pair with their speakers (SVS and REL to name a couple).
Good idea. I bought a SVS sb1000 and def tech speakers and honestly not a great match in my opinion. My mids have no lows but then my sub being a 12” sub is just really deep thump that really doesn’t seem to go well together.
Thank you for the shootout! Maybe the W'dales have veiled mids because of a crappy ferrite/inductor combo on the woof?? Q acoustics would no doubt benefit from some premium x-over parts.
I'm returning mine, I burned them in for two weeks and they just don't have enough focus for me. They do lots of things well though. Good speakers. I guess I like a little more pop, and sharper leading edges to the sound.
different strokes for different folks. for me paying over 600 bucks for book shelf size speakers is like buying a 60 dollar hamburger. for those that are comfortable paying that, have at it. for 600 bucks i want floor speakers that will damage my walls with the power.
Just watched your review of the Wharfefale Evo 4.1 - praising it, and now I hear your 'Final thoughts' about them in this comparison. It all sounds so contradictory...🤔
I also noticed that. I intend to buy the Cambridge Audio cxa81 amp, and it is recommended not to match it with a bright speaker. Evo 4.1, according to those who have the cxa81, is a good match. What amp did Randy use for this speaker test? Unless you know the amp that was used, speaker tests are pointless.
Love your rating systm lol. So the ribbon tweeters are directional. Does this apply to the emotiva speakers too or just this specific model? Thank you for the comparison.
Ive recently ABed the elac debut connex db41 (if i recall correctly), q acoustics m20, klipsch the fives and airpulse A100. I focus on midrange vocals, the airpulse A100 is the best by far. And im coming from my own system that are midrange kings, the proac response 1s and dali minuet se. I would be happy with the airpulse a100.
Hi Randy, I am following your videos with greatest interest, I learned a lot from you, and I highly honour your humorous attitude and your opinions. Got a question though about your comparisions at speaker reviews. About two years ago, you reviewed the Aperion Audio B5 with a very good assessment. It’s still in your list of recommended speakers around $600 as „about the very best you can get“. Howeveerrr, after that review you never ever referred to this speaker in any comparison, what makes me wonder. Is your assessment of that speaker obsolete, or would it still be a great purchase?
you d better try to find more reviews about that speaker (than only one reviewer). Besides that, if reviewers are not comparing, they tend to give quite positive reviews on almost every product....
Great video. As a follower of your channel outside of North America (yes unbelievably you have followers from all over the world - haha) I would appreciate if you could give us the metric as well as imperial values - maybe flash both together on-screen for a few seconds? Hope you get some cool fathers-day gifts.
I still use my Adam Audio T7V, Edifier R980T and dB Technologies Minibox K70 speakers; however it would be interesting for me to get my hands on some of the Wharfedale vs Acoustic Energy vs Q Acoustics speakers just to do a comparison.
For testing speakers I’d recommend using Judas Priest’s Ram it Down cd. Monster of Rock will shake the house if you got the mighty woofer and a little power.
@@ChrisStoneinator I like all of the tracks from Ram it Down. If you're pushing some power and have 4 15's or bigger that CD will cause your house to shake. I like bass but it has to be clean and defined.
What I understood from other channels is that SVS makes absolutely amazing subs, but the speakers aren't very refined in sound. Powerful and impressive, yes that they are.
@@MarcelNL if you watched his review he actually quite liked the ultras, I ended up buying some myself and their soundstage is the biggest I've heard, the amount of in room bass is also pretty insane. They're kind of v shaped just a tad at least in my room. They're like audio Technica m50s of those were a speaker imo
i currently have the kanto tuk which one should i replace it with, i quite like the deep bass of the tuk would like to find something that have the same bass
The more affordable speakers like the 300 and 500 series are manufactured in China, but the special edition versions, and higher end speakers are made in Scotland. I have a pair of 501 floor standers, a pair of 500 stand mounts and a 500 centre in my surround system and love them.
Great nostalgic speaker shoot-out. Much happiness for my Sunday viewing and listening pleasure. Your humour always tickles and keeps things real, but lay off the minimum wage Stormtroopers . They are on a training budget that doesn't include training.😂
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Best floor standing speaker money no object?
Combo of metric and imperial is better, Go Aussie measures lol. Edit...How many kilos?
I owned a the 4.1s for a while and it impressed me. I appreciated the nice veneer. From what I've heard the Q acoustics put a lot of effort and materials in a quality cabinet build.
I have the Evo 4.1 as my desktop speakers, and they seem perfect in that setup. Since I'm basically always sitting in the same spot placement isn't an issue once they're locked in.
What is most funny in the video is you calling or ponting the speakers by wrong names and we continue to understand. Very nice video, congrats!!
I haven't heard the AE300's, but I do own the AE100Mk2's and have to say they are outstanding for a small/budget loudspeaker and bet they don't sound rolled off in the treble...more neutral if anything. They do need a sub-woofer or two and should be powered with at least 100 watts a channel. They will scale nicely with better electronics and great for music and video in a medium to smaller sized room.
Just incase you haven't tried this yet with the wharfedale 4.1's, replace the brass bridge plates between the binding posts with some speaker cable, even a bit of bare ended basic stranded copper you have laying about will do if you dont want to spend any money on this experiment. Positive results will follow.
@@shreddherring true?
@@sprocketdiver190 Obviously I'd suggest the best kind of cable you can get, I use qed supremus myself, which is silver plated copper in a fancy geometry. But brass is almost 4 times less electrically conductive than copper, so its a heck of a bottleneck, and almost anything is better. For a cheap-but-good suggestion, try some qed silver anniversary xt, bare wire (the plugs would otherwise be brass!), its very low cost (£6.50 for 1 meter) then simply cut to length and strip the ends by 2cm, gently peel open the wire braid and snip off the central insulation, then put the wire back into its original shape, then twist the ends) it still has a geometry to fight skin effect and proximity effect, and you'll get far more clarity, speed and resolution out of those wharfedale AMT's than the curtesy bridge plates could ever hint at
Good review. I disagree with you on one point: as someone who lives in a country that transitioned from one system to another, and I am therefore very familiar with both, the metric system is WAY better than the imperial system. If you doubt me, try to divide 23'5-5/8" (7.15m) into 3 equal parts. With metric, it takes less than a second.
Thanks!
Q-Acoustics is the real sleeper speaker brand.
They are consistent 5 * winners in WhatHiFi, for years.
I don't know if they are the best but they're pretty good.
Probably all of these speakers are decent.
Not in the UK, Q Acoustics are extremely well known here.
Q Acoustics just do it all at any price their speakers are. I run 3030i in my snug from a Yamaha RN-602. Superb loud or just running quiet on the loudness control still retaining all that timbre. I ran Concept 20’s on my main system which is a Yamaha RN-803D but base was not there in my main room. Went to 3050i but simply could not get them right in the room. Not the speakers fault. Went back to Concept 20’s and added a Rel Zero III. Just wow. Why hadn’t I done this in the first place? Absolute precision clarity from the 20’s with the perfect amount of low end and presence from the woofer. Keep up the great reviews👍
When I added a second Rel sub to my Q acoustics, the integration became a lot easier/smoother. And of course no more having to move my head a few inches to the left or right to experience the fullest sound. 🥳
I missed the speaker shootouts. I watched a lot of them when I first found your channel. Got the B1+ and I really enjoy them.
Speaker shootout!!!! Great video! These are the best!!!! I would love to see a Wharfedale shoot out from the entry level all the way up to the Denton/Linton. Thank you, Randy!!!!!
Likewise. I have a LCR set of Wharfedale bookshelf speakers from the Diamond series that I would love to compare to the Evo 4.1’s here. I really like the Diamonds but I haven’t yet heard any speakers with an AMT ribbon tweeter and am curious to know how my Diamonds compare to the Evo 4.1’s. The Diamonds that I have were award winning from a prestigious publication when they came out so they are very considered to be very good. My old gray matter can’t remember which model of Diamonds they are but I think that they came out over 10 years ago. I also have a pair of Kef towers with the Uni-Q design where the tweeer is placed inside what I believe is a 7” Woofer that are described as time phased or something like that. The idea being that the sound from the tweeter and woofer are aligned so that the sound arrives at the listener at the exact same time. They are wonderful speakers and I think that Kef took the idea of time phase alignment from the famed manufacturer of studio monitors Tannoy.
I missed these speaker shootouts so much! Please do more in th future . Great vid🍻
I'm not one who normally pays attention to ads for sponsors, but I've got to admit, your plug for the Ridge products actually got my attention and the products look interesting. Anyway, just wanted to say good job on that. Thanks. I bet you haven't had many comments like that before LOL Now I need to finish watching your video.
I’ve missed the speaker shootouts. Love it!
Lotsa fun as usual! Love the silly awards from the early days of the channel. Keep review nice affordable stuff!
Speakers vs speakers comparison is the best Randy. Love these videos so much 😊😃....Thank you.
Nice shootout and I like those Q Acoustics in particular. However, I’m still loving the Polk Reserve R100s you persuaded me to buy some time ago too much to want to consider changing. Those little babies, ably supported by a REL TZero MkIII, are just spectacular (and cheaper)
What a great Sunday review. Tough to choose If one had too.
" it's got a lot of good, it's got a lot of bad...its very very powerful" that made me lol
Love your show. I have learned a great deal. I almost pulled the trigger on a pair of Emotiva speakers but read that they were 4 ohm. After more research, I learned that my Yamaha receiver will only do 8 ohm and 6 ohm. I would have had to buy a new receiver. I mention this only because, as important as this is, it doesn’t seem like this is ever discussed or even advertised.
What yamaha do you have?
Entertaining and informative review, thank-you.
I did a machine shop apprenticeship in the UK during the 1970s, so I am metric/imperial agnostic. Fun fact: a US pint has only 16 ounces while a UK pint has 20. This makes a UK gallon about four and a half litres and a US gallon about three and a half. (You know geeks watch this channel, don't ya?)
Always enjoy your videos Randy. Very informative and entertaining. Thank you for this sir.
Wharfedale EVO 4.4/4.2 for the win. The 4.1's are nice speakers, but the 3 way, with the soft-dome mid, is the sweet sauce.
4.3's too! Excellent speakers .
Agreed but the 4.2s are quite big for bookshelf speakers. Big and beautiful
yea... if you sit like nailed down 8' from them, and not moving your head by an inch for hours...
Good if you are microphone... not good if you are human.
I have missed this kind of video, Randy. Comparisons ftw! 👌
Sweet! A Speaker Shootout!
"King of the jungle is going to go to the Acoustic Energy 5020", umm Randy is that a little stuff up??? LOL
I listened to the tower version of the EVO at the Crutchfield store, here in Virginia. I wanted to like them. I really did. I love AMT tweeters. The cabinets were nice. The drivers were nice. They just didn't sound good to me. To be fair, I was comparing them with more expensive speakers like Revel F 206, Golden Ear Triton 5, Polk Reserve 700 and Monitor Audio Silver series towers(dont remember the model) The EVO were my least favorite out of the bunch. Granted, they were in a terrible acoustic environment. Someone else would probably have a completely different opinion, and that perfectly fine. I just didn't care for them myself. 🤷🏻
Randy, how do you think the Polk R100's would compare to this group?
My brain hurts from trying to run this down. Here's my li'l summary, Professor, to see if I can say it back to you:
(1) Q Acoustics Isa best fit to A10 Classic: nice "dynamical" bass and mostly doesn't need a sub... mostly.
(2) My listening position is about ten feet from speakers. I thought that was far, but now I'm reading and watching. It's not that far?! 🤦♂️Oh. ...Well then maybe floor standers is too much?
(3) Anything worth doing is worth OVER doing! ...Except classical guitar. Unless it's Santana!(Waddayamean that's not classical guitar?!😎) All right, then Gypsy Kings! is ... they DO have a couple acoustic guitars!
(4) The Q Acoustics knowledge base seems to suggest that the 5020 has roughly the same dynamic range as the 5040... But how can the smaller speaker be the better one? 🥵
Well boss... listening from 10' away -- floor or bookshelf? I think I know the answer but ...dammit I wanted the big ones! 😭👀🫣 Thoughts?
Try Focal Vestia N2! I've listened to them compared to Warfedale, Polk Audio, KEF, SVS and many others. They were clear, full and dynamic. It was the best sounding speakers of all. I really liked them and just bought them.
It's very subjective. Great that you got to compare the sound between the speakers 1st 👍
There is something about choosing to be satisfied with simplicity.
I purchased a pair of Polk ES50 speakers because of a stupid cheap price, and I can't believe what sleepers they are. A crazy good bargain IMHO at a full price. I compared them to the listening tool on Crutchfield to the ES55 and ES60 and could not decipher much difference. I will add that I do use a subwoofer with them.
I was totally turned off from Wharfedale, after trying the Diamond 225s. Detail was really lacking in the upper midrange and highs. They call this a 'laid back' British sound but I couldn't get into it.
It makes most tracks sound really dull and makes only certain types of music sound good. Basically sounds like it's EQed heavily to emphasize Bass and cut out harsh high frequencies. But to me if the high frequencies don't have any bite to them, it takes away all the excitement from music.
I've heard the EVOs are better in the highs but I would bet the veiled sound still exists in the woofer.
King of the jungle goes to the "Acoustic Energy" 5020 :)...that made me smile quite a bit :). Great reviews, Andy, I enjoy most of them. Cheers!
Thank you. I don't really know why a few people in the comments get confused. Its like they think they're watching a shell game instead of an audio review. "Where's the King, where's the King...". It was crystal clear to me. Thanks for talking about low, mid and high range. Clarifying whete the dropouts are and how extended a range gets. Without those opinions it would be meaningless. People like different things. The AE's are obviously for bass prone who like warm sound and soeakers that are forgiving. Whardales, have beautiful airy highs. Q's best even handed detail across all ranges.
The smaller Acoustic Energy AE100² (Mkii) got rave reviews from a couple of reviewers (the bigger brother AE300 described as "BBC sound")
Towers Next? Could you add a parameter: Which speaker is better with which type of amp;Tube, AB or class D?
Erin from Erin's audio corner was a bit disappointed about the lifted top-end of the QA 5020..
They need 150 hours on them different speaker after smoother but air top end and increased Bass but with agility and texture patience is definitely rewarded..
$800 anything for bookshelf speakers at this level is ridiculously expensive.
Dear Cheapaudioman, u used to test deep bass using Intergalactic, that's awesome. However, I would enjoy knowing what bookshelf speakers will be able to break windows by throwing Daft punk "Doin'it right" ? Can give a shot ?
I enjoy your videos. Be great to have a video explaining what all of the technical specs of a speaker means and how to optimally pair an amp. I am lost when you talk about such matters. Do you have a link to an existing video on the subject?
I have the Q Acoustic Concept 50's which are brilliant toghether with my Advance Paris A12. Q Acoustic makes some great speakers
Thanks Randy
How can you compare these to Dali spektor 2?
Thanks
Thank you for doing awesome reviews! I love your straightforward advice, including this one. Some viewers might not have the full context of Star Wars characters, however. Maybe just use a numerical rating scheme for bass, mid and treble?
What was the test music for this one? I feel like there was music that isn't in the amazon music play list.
Does the bass really matter that much if most people put a sub with bookshelves?
just pulled the trigger on klipsch mclaren fives for small room tv and music, After I get back from vacation will probably pair them with SVS SB 1000 pro.
The UK has some wonderful speaker brands that I have had the pleasure of listening to. Kef,Wharfedale,and Mission to name a few but I have never heard any speakers from Tannoy who I have read make very good studio monitors and are used by quite a few of the big recording studio sound engineers. Randy have you done any analysis and reviews of Tannoy speakers? I would love to hear what you have to say about any Tannoys.
Do any of them have bottom mounting so you can bolt it down to the stand? I know the newer powered Klipsch 5,7, and 9's do.This comes in handy when you have kids or people that can come close to the speaker and a fear of knocking them off the stands.
I think a better rating would be how many watts it would take to hit 90 DB that would give us all a better picture on what kind of amplifier to pair.
It would be interesting to hear your comparative analysis of speakers, amps & components against studio grade monitor speakers and amp.
- Speakers reviewed on studio grade amp against studio grade speakers on same studio grade amp; and
- Amps reviewed on studio grade speakers compared against studio amp on same studio speakers; and
- Input devices such as DACs on studio amp/speaker combo.
Of course there is a cost to doing this however it may be an opportunity worth considering giving the additional perspective where studio grade is taken as the benchmark?
This could also be an opportunity to expand your content to also include the home studio viewer demographic?
Only bringing this up as you do so well with your reviews.
Hi Randy , another great informative video, the ae300 in the Uk £649, and wow the 3020 is £189, regards mark
20% of speaker price is the parts. You are paying for appearance and markup.
You can build your own speaker with $100 caps and top level drivers for $600.
Do it yourself with open baffle single 12 inch drivers.
$50 of MDF and $600 of top full range drivers.
Will sound better than anything you can buy under $30k
If WAF is an issue them you have other problems.
80% of saving money by doing it yourself involves valuing your labor at $0/hour
Ok, so what design and build sounds as good as $30k speakers? How much $ in tools and time do I need?
Sam, this sounds great. Have you thought about doing a TH-cam video to share your knowledge? Would love to see you compete against the other DIY speaker companies.
I assume you are building and selling lots of these DIY speakers for the bargain price of $10000 then.
@@larrym2434 Really? Why does ones labour have to have a price attached to it instead of simply having some actual passion and getting satisfaction in building/creating something awesome? By your weak logic why bother doing anything at all? You might as well just sit on your couch in a pointless vapid existence, glazed over watching TV 24/7, microwaving frozen pizzas and yelling at clouds.
@19:18 you might want to add a txt, this is not the AE , but the Q acoustics
DESTROYS! DEMOLISHES! EVISCERATES! ”sounds better than" just doesn't cut it 😂
In this price range you can buy one of the best speakers ever made the Magnepan LRS+. Yes you need a minimum amount of room, thats a show stopper; and more power but that can be dealt with gradually over time.
You also have to deal with looking at that thing on a daily basis.😂
as I'm in the UK I bought a lot of Mission and B&W back in the day and a few Tannoy but I just sold some Dali Zensor 3 I wanted to replace them with either Wharfedale 12.2 or the Monitor Bronze 100 or the Q acoustics 3030i I have been watching all your reviews and I'm still stuck lol
Randy.... You reignited my love for audio and have wasted countless hours reviewing all things audio and spent over $1500 on audio since finding you. Love/Hate relationship.
this is one of my fvorate contents I like thanks
Excellent chapter as always! A question, according to your experience, what would be the ideal combo for the Wharfedale Evo 4.1? could it be cambridge AXA25? Or would you opt for another brand? greetings! 😁 😁 😁
The definition of audio edutainment 😘
The U.S., Myanmar, and Liberia are the only countries that still use the imperial system day to day. Maybe that is why they use the metric system in their specs
USA is a continent sized nation with an entire infrastructure in American Standard.
It will always be so.
You cannot convert the entire installed physical infrastructure of the USA. 3 million square miles.
People never wish their monetary denominations were in base 12. Who wants 240 cents to the dollar?
How does the Evo sound compared to B2+?
What a coincidence! I just got my Emotiva ERC-4 today. I'd be interested in your thoughts on it. I already A/B'd the on board DAC to my Gishelli J2.
Great review thx! 👍👍👍 I am wondering what speaker cables and amps do you use to get the best sound? 🤔
Hoe would you use the Accoustic's in a surround sound system?
Thanks for review! Can you do a video on how to match a subwoofer to bookshelf speakers? How do you choose? What are the criteria and considerations? What are tour suggestions to best match a sub with bookshelves? I’d love to see you do a video on this topic!!! Thanks!
For what it's worth, some sub manufacturers have a "matching list" to help buyers get the best model of sub to pair with their speakers (SVS and REL to name a couple).
Good idea. I bought a SVS sb1000 and def tech speakers and honestly not a great match in my opinion. My mids have no lows but then my sub being a 12” sub is just really deep thump that really doesn’t seem to go well together.
CheapAudioMan !..Thanks Much !.......
Thank you for the shootout! Maybe the W'dales have veiled mids because of a crappy ferrite/inductor combo on the woof?? Q acoustics would no doubt benefit from some premium x-over parts.
Love these shootouts ole buddy😊
Hi Randy! 5020 vs Polk ES15? what you say?
I'm returning mine, I burned them in for two weeks and they just don't have enough focus for me. They do lots of things well though. Good speakers. I guess I like a little more pop, and sharper leading edges to the sound.
Really enjoy your reviews. No sure you can really call a small stand-mounter a “bass monster “ though! 😊
different strokes for different folks. for me paying over 600 bucks for book shelf size speakers is like buying a 60 dollar hamburger. for those that are comfortable paying that, have at it. for 600 bucks i want floor speakers that will damage my walls with the power.
Just watched your review of the Wharfefale Evo 4.1 - praising it, and now I hear your 'Final thoughts' about them in this comparison. It all sounds so contradictory...🤔
I also noticed that. I intend to buy the Cambridge Audio cxa81 amp, and it is recommended not to match it with a bright speaker. Evo 4.1, according to those who have the cxa81, is a good match. What amp did Randy use for this speaker test? Unless you know the amp that was used, speaker tests are pointless.
Love your rating systm lol. So the ribbon tweeters are directional. Does this apply to the emotiva speakers too or just this specific model? Thank you for the comparison.
Ive recently ABed the elac debut connex db41 (if i recall correctly), q acoustics m20, klipsch the fives and airpulse A100. I focus on midrange vocals, the airpulse A100 is the best by far. And im coming from my own system that are midrange kings, the proac response 1s and dali minuet se. I would be happy with the airpulse a100.
The a100 also had very tight bass. Klipsch the 5 the most bass but it unbalances the mids.
Hi Randy, I am following your videos with greatest interest, I learned a lot from you, and I highly honour your humorous attitude and your opinions.
Got a question though about your comparisions at speaker reviews. About two years ago, you reviewed the Aperion Audio B5 with a very good assessment. It’s still in your list of recommended speakers around $600 as „about the very best you can get“.
Howeveerrr, after that review you never ever referred to this speaker in any comparison, what makes me wonder. Is your assessment of that speaker obsolete, or would it still be a great purchase?
you d better try to find more reviews about that speaker (than only one reviewer). Besides that, if reviewers are not comparing, they tend to give quite positive reviews on almost every product....
Great video. As a follower of your channel outside of North America (yes unbelievably you have followers from all over the world - haha) I would appreciate if you could give us the metric as well as imperial values - maybe flash both together on-screen for a few seconds? Hope you get some cool fathers-day gifts.
AMT tweeters are awesome, but they should probably go into 3-way towers rather than 2-way bookshelves.
When are you going to do a wharfedale denton 85th review
I’d love that. Don’t have that speaker in though. I can ask for a pair though
Hi thank you very much for the extremely valuable video
I can't help but thinking how great they could sound when used with one bass box per side
I still use my Adam Audio T7V, Edifier R980T and dB Technologies Minibox K70 speakers; however it would be interesting for me to get my hands on some of the Wharfedale vs Acoustic Energy vs Q Acoustics speakers just to do a comparison.
Wharfedale Evo 4.1 best of the three all round winner
I think these would be a step-down from elac unifi ub52 2.0s
Nice artwork, is that a recumbent Rothko?
Sweet👌
killer watch..... what is it?
Randy, this is the good stuff!
For testing speakers I’d recommend using Judas Priest’s Ram it Down cd. Monster of Rock will shake the house if you got the mighty woofer and a little power.
That is the absolute best test track anyone has ever recommended. Well done
Indeed! If it wasnt 2am Id fire that up. I can shake my house. 😉
"I'm a Rocker" is the real sleeper on that record. If you're not covered in goosebumps by the end, something's wrong with the system.
@@ChrisStoneinator I like all of the tracks from Ram it Down. If you're pushing some power and have 4 15's or bigger that CD will cause your house to shake. I like bass but it has to be clean and defined.
I wonder how the svs ultra compares I know you've compared it with the warfdale before
What I understood from other channels is that SVS makes absolutely amazing subs, but the speakers aren't very refined in sound.
Powerful and impressive, yes that they are.
@@MarcelNL if you watched his review he actually quite liked the ultras, I ended up buying some myself and their soundstage is the biggest I've heard, the amount of in room bass is also pretty insane. They're kind of v shaped just a tad at least in my room. They're like audio Technica m50s of those were a speaker imo
Great review
Thank u Randy.
My pleasure!
These have always been my favorite shows.
i currently have the kanto tuk which one should i replace it with, i quite like the deep bass of the tuk would like to find something that have the same bass
Great review as always, though can you look to have a review of Fyne Audio speakers? Scottish designed, not sure they are manufactured here, though!
The more affordable speakers like the 300 and 500 series are manufactured in China, but the special edition versions, and higher end speakers are made in Scotland. I have a pair of 501 floor standers, a pair of 500 stand mounts and a 500 centre in my surround system and love them.
@Jim Farrell thanks, I have 300i bookshelf speakers and I'm very happy with them.
Would be great if Randy could review some of their speakers.
I would like to see some more reviews of the 300i. They are owned by ex tannoy employees (after they wdre bought ought)
Wharfedale is my jam.. can’t wait to hear the dovedales at some point.
Best product sponsor you have had so far. Well except for Sith 😂
How can I contact you with a question?
Great nostalgic speaker shoot-out. Much happiness for my Sunday viewing and listening pleasure. Your humour always tickles and keeps things real, but lay off the minimum wage Stormtroopers . They are on a training budget that doesn't include training.😂
The Wharfedale looks so good, I'll just hide another pair of speakers behind them, if I don't like the sound.
Almost as satisfying as getting grandma new gold dentures 😎