Having spent almost an entire year with the award-winning Q Acoustics 5040 and 5020, we have been waiting for bated breath for the launch of the flagship 5050; although we did have an advance preview of it at CAF 2023.
We also had the opportunity to discuss the new M40 and 5050 with Q Acoustics’ PR Manager, Nick Renshaw, and Sales and Marketing Director, Jamie McKay, on the most recent eCoustics podcast which you can listen to here.
What makes the Q Acoustics 5050 unique is that it offers so much performance for under $2,000 — in a category with some excellent floor standing loudspeakers from DALI, PSB, Wharfedale, and KEF in the same price range.
The more we listen to products like the 5050, DALI Oberon 5, Wharfedale Evo 4.4 and Focal Theva N°2 — the clearer it becomes that music listeners don’t have to go broke in 2024 building a high-end audio system.
So what makes the 5050 unique?
Showcasing genuine advancement in driver design, the introduction of the leading-edge C3 Continuous Curved Cone profile in the mid/bass driver elevates the 5050 and 5000 series beyond its class and will form a technical platform for years to come.
Alongside its series siblings, the 5050 also inherits innovative cabinet and driver technology from the company’s flagship Concept range for an exceptional sonic performance, while bringing sophistication to any listening room with its contemporary and minimalist design lines.
The 5050 joins the 5000 family, comprising of the 5010 bookshelf ($749/pair), 5020 standmount ($899/pair), 5040 floorstander ($1,499/pair), with the 5090 center channel ($599) completing the line-up for a home cinema speaker set-up.
5050 Innovations
- C3(pronounced ‘C-cubed’) Continuous Curved Cone design in the mid/bass driver ensures smoother high-frequency integration with the tweeter and superior bass dynamics.
- Sophisticated, clean and contemporary design with dark acrylic baffle motif mirrors the minimalist C3 Continuous Curved Cone profile.
- With a design taken from the Concept series but in a new housing, the high-frequency driver is fully hermetically sealed and mechanically isolated from the front baffle to protect from internal cabinet pressure and resonances from the mid/bass driver.
- Ground-up mid/bass driver design delivers increased power handling.
- Point-2-Point™ (P2P) internal bracing stiffens the cabinet to minimise lower frequency vibrations, while focusing stereo imaging and improving soundstage.
- Four Helmholtz Pressure Equalizers (HPE) tubes are fitted inside the 5050 to reduce internal pressure and standing waves.
C3 Continuous Curved Cone design
A genuine advancement in elements of mid/bass driver design, the C3 Continuous Curved Cone™ profile is the result of extensive research and expert engineering to combine the bass performance benefits of a traditional straight conic cone with the high/mid-range frequency control of a flared cone.
By creating a single, smooth, continuous curve profile, the advantages are manifold. Firstly, its excellent dispersion, alongside its well-controlled frequency response, enables smoother integration with the tweeter.
Deep bass dynamics are also superior, with this and tighter, damped low-end sound allowing more flexibility in placement of speakers near the wall boundaries of the listening room. Harmonic distortion is also reduced, ensuring the 5050 and the 5000 series delivers a sonic performance and wide soundstage that belies its ranking.
The C3 Continuous Curved Cone™profile has successfully addressed shortcomings in one of the basic geometrical elements of drive unit design to deliver the best characteristics of both straight and flared cones.
Sophisticated design
The reductive nature of the C3 Continuous Curved Cone’s™ appearance is also reflected in the 5050’s minimalist design, with its sophisticated but contemporary lines leaning towards the elegant form of the latest Concept speaker series.
The baffle fronts are laminated with a layer of butyl rubber and black acrylic trim, not only to provide a damping layer to suppress vibration occurring in the baffle, but to offer an eye-catching counterpoint to the cosmetically clean front presentation uninterrupted by any fixings.
As with the entire 5000 series, the 5050 arrive in a choice of four modern but classic finishes that complement any living space, including the introduction of a new stylish lighter wood veneer. High quality finishes include Satin Black, Satin White, Santos Rosewood and Holme Oak.
The 5050 floorstanding model comes with stylish solid aluminium stabilizers that feature top adjustable spikes for easier levelling adjustment, while durable low-profile speaker terminals provide a tidy appearance, enabling the speaker to be placed closer to the back wall if required.
Premium cabinet and driver innovations
All models in the 5000 series feature acoustic cabinet innovations first introduced in the flagship, high end Concept range, including tweeter design, Point-2-Point (P2P) bracing and Helmholtz Pressure Equalizers (HPE) tube technology.
High-frequency driver design
Based on the tweeter design principle found in the newest Concept series, the high frequency driver unit is hermetically sealed and mechanically isolated (floating) from the baffle to prevent internal pressure modulations from within the cabinet and adjacent mid/bass driver. The inner chamber is also carefully vented for lower distortion, with a lower crossover point for seamless integration through the crossover region.
Mid/bass driver design
At the heart of the ground-up mid/bass driver design is the C3 Continuous Curved Cone™. The cone’s geometry requires good motor strength for optimal performance. Substantial magnets are coupled to large voice coils to increase motor strength – the result is a 50% increase in power handling and control over a comparable driver with 25.4 mm voice coil. The result is an improvement in the dynamic range of the speaker, especially in the bass region.
Point-2-Point™ (P2P) and Helmholtz Pressure Equalizers (HPE™) technology Point-2-Point™ (P2P) internal bracing is fitted to internal areas of the cabinet susceptible to low-end frequency reverberations. This reinforcement delivers a more focused stereo image and a wider soundstage.
All floorstanding speakers are vulnerable to internal build-up of pressure that cause unwanted standing waves and colouration. To prevent this occurring, the 5050, like its smaller 5040 sibling, is fitted with specially designed Helmholtz Pressure Equalizers (HPE™) tubes inside the cabinets (four inside the 5050 and two inside the 5040) to improve frequency response.
Technical Specifications
- Bass unit: 2 x 150 mm (6.0 in)
- Treble unit: 1 x 25 mm (1.0 in)
- Frequency response(-6dB): 37 Hz – 30 kHz
- Nominal impedance: 6.0 Ω
- Minimum impedance: 3.0 Ω
- Sensitivity (1m, 2.83V @ 1kHz): 91.8 dB/w/m
- Recommended amplifier power: 25-150 W
- Crossover frequency: 2.7 kHz
- Effective volume: 39.7 L
- Dimensions (HxWxD) (Inc spikes and stabilizer): 1017 x 386 x 336mm (40.0 x 15.2 x 13.2 in)
- Weight (per loudspeaker): 21.6 kg (47.6 lbs)
Price and Availability
Q Acoustics 5050 are available now for $1,999/pair at Amazon or www.qacoustics.com.
In the UK, they’re £1,299/pair at www.qacoustics.co.uk and €1,699/pair across Europe.
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John
March 7, 2024 at 9:17 pm
Not really a review of the speakers…more like a press release.
Ian White
March 7, 2024 at 10:28 pm
John,
Because nobody has a pair yet. It was an announcement about the 5050 finally being available.
Best,
Ian White
ddog
March 8, 2024 at 3:49 am
Very nicely done sir. I want a pair bad. Their speakers do seem to speak to those that listen. Looking for something for my Schiit stack, a secondary stereo. Need an amp yet, but that part is easy…
Thank you again, I’ll be back.