Gravity force

Did the English writer, painter and social reformer John Ruskin perhaps get it wrong after all? He is the author of the famous quote "The law of economics forbids getting a lot of value for a little money ... It doesn't work". - It does work, one would like to call out to him in the face of the Q Acoustics 5020, a loudspeaker that has only been available for a good month. The press release for the new 5000 series was slightly misleading, as it read: "Located between the 3000i series and the models of the Concept series ...". Are the new speakers simply a bridge between the other two series - or do they turn out to be the "golden mean"? That's what we want to find out in this test.

For years, the 3000i models from Q Acoustics have been part of the i-fidelity.net test routine. The compact 3010i (300 euros/pair) with their price/performance ratio are the perfect introduction to good-sounding music listening. They are regularly in use at i-fidelity.net. There are visual similarities to the new series, especially the shape of the cabinets, which are available in white, black, rosewood and oak with rounded corners. This flowing design prevents the impression of a boxy cabinet. Currently, four models are available: the compact speakers 5010 and 5020, the centre 5090 and the floorstander 5040. They will be joined by the larger 5050 in the course of the year. Thus, with this series, reasonable two- and multi-channel solutions can be realised in rooms of different sizes.

The seven-kilogram 5020 is a bookshelf speaker, a designation i-fidelity.net has never liked. Of course, these speakers can be placed on a shelf or sideboard and they will naturally make music there, but they fall short of the possibilities offered by a free-standing setup. For this purpose, Q Acoustics offers the inexpensive 3000FSi stands (219 euros/pair). These stands are coupled to the floor with height-adjustable spikes, the speaker itself is securely fixed to the top plate with two screws so that nothing wobbles or tilts. From a sound perspective, this type of set-up offers the greatest possible potential. If you don't like the look of the drivers, you can attach a cover that sticks to the baffle with magnets. However, it is a little too small - just look at it at an angle and it will come off the front.

Positioning the 5020 in the listening room on the stands is no problem. If the speakers are angled slightly towards the listening position, so that you can just see the inside, the result is a beautiful stage image in width and depth. It is important to ensure that the loudspeakers do not tilt. The height-adjustable spikes help to ensure a firm stand. When speakers are new out of the box, it takes a few hours for the drivers' mechanics in particular to reach their one hundred percent performance. i-fidelity.net takes this into account in every test and gives the components the necessary break-in time. Once this procedure is completed, nothing stands in the way of serious listening.

Jazz Is A Spirit" by Jakob Manz begins in slow motion. The depth of the drums is surprising; when the bass joins in, the amazement is perfect. Not only is the reproduction convincing in terms of volume for a loudspeaker of this "size", but above all the clear contours are unusual. This is a feature that has so far been almost exclusively provided by the KEF LS50 Meta, which costs 400 euros more. The sound colour reproduction of the trumpet is also impressive. What makes listening to music so exciting is the ability of a loudspeaker to realistically reproduce the sound image in the room, i.e. to "place" voices and instruments where there is actually no loudspeaker. The 5020 delivers a result that is absolutely above average for its class.

This makes it ideal for reproducing the intense music of the vocal ensemble Voces8. "The Veil Opens" begins with floating tones of the piano, then the voices united into a choir discreetly enter and the Q Acoustics creates a believable atmosphere. Nothing sounds miniaturised or even slightly anaemic. Some other speakers in this class make a spectacle out of any kind of music due to their acoustic tuning. The 5020 doesn't do that. On the contrary, its neutral and accurate performance is reminiscent of much more expensive monitors. This absence of acoustic exaggeration also means that you can listen to music for a long time - and that is meant in every sense - with such a speaker.

No question of genre

Electronic fireworks from the Pet Shop Boys, of course, do not force the 5020 to give up either. However, "I Will Fall" has what it takes to demand everything from the mid-bass driver. As long as you don't overdo it with the volume, the 5020 pumps an impressive amount of energy into the listening room. No frequency range overpowers the others, so that the phase rotations added during the recording create interesting effects in the room imaging. The track "The Grants" by Lana del Rey has a lot of reverberation, which you can hear under all circumstances, but rarely with this clarity, because it is simply so precise.