Q Acoustics 3030I Bookshelf Speaker Review
Let’s add yet another amazing speaker to the list!
British audio brand Q Acoustics launched its famed 3000i range in 2018. Since then, they have run away with awards and praise for their ever-improving and growing lineup of speakers. Their newest effort, the 3030i, is just the latest example.
The 3030i is the largest of Q Acoustic’s bookshelf speakers on offer. I have luckily had the opportunity to review both the smaller 3020i bookshelf as well as the larger 3050i floor-standing speaker and was bowled over by their sound. As a fan of budget hi-fi, I love the bang for the buck nature of larger bookshelf speakers. Providing you have adequate space for them, large bookshelf speakers paired with suitable amplification is the sweet spot for building out a great setup.
Introduction
In my review of the 3020i bookshelves, I pondered why Q Acoustics chose to go with a smaller 5″ woofer versus using the 6.5″ woofer from the 3050i’s. Alex Munro, Brand Director at Q Acoustics, explained why by saying:
“The MF/LF drivers used in 3010i, 3020i, and 3050i are three different sizes. In each case, we are trying to get the best performance from as compact a cabinet as we can. The 5” driver design used in 3020i is precisely optimized for that size of the cabinet. Using a larger driver would certainly have meant using a larger cabinet, without necessarily improving the performance of the speaker.”
When I saw the press release for the 3030i I thought maybe the folks at Q Acoustics read my review and decided I was onto something. Turns out, the team at Q Acoustics were just keeping their cards close to their chest and had been secretly working away at releasing the 3030i.