Q acoustics harsh high end

Well I have learnt that the hard way

The moral of this story is that you can't trust at all reviewers' characterizations of equipment's sonic signature.  *You* need to hear it.

I only sort of agree...not always good right out of the box, but should be good within 100 hours...when I first heard the new Vandersteen 3 at my dealer they sounded not good right out of the box, ..went back 5 days later, same setup, and they sounded wonderful..had to buy them...my PS Audio digital gear took a long time to sound it’s best, but sounded excellent after just a few hours...new shoes are another story

@millercarbon,

For once, I agree with you 100%. 

The fact that some manufacturers use burn-in to delay returns long enough for people to get used to it and decide to live with bad sound is no reason to conclude its not a real thing. Burn-in is definitely a real thing. But what also is a real thing is nothing that starts out sounding crap magically sounds wonderful 500 hours later. Does. Not. Happen. It - whatever it is, cable, speaker, amp makes no difference - should sound good right out of the box, or it goes back.

Don’t believe all that break in nonsense. It’s just a way to have you get accustomed to the sound of the speakers. If you don’t like the sound from day one, you aren’t going to like it a year later after 300,000 hours of break in time.

Unfortunately, with all the replies saying they would need to be run in, I thought they might improve. It's far to late to ask for a refund. I'll just sell them when I can afford to upgrade.

I say return them if able to. Sounds like they are just not your cuppa tea. 

@jlj  
No, it's not you, it's them.  p3ga uis right.  The fundamental truth is that the majority of loudspeaker manufacturers today have shifted to a sonic signature with, basically, a brighter top end or some version of that.  These demo well for a short period in stores (like turning the TV sharpness control to max in Best Buy), but many find them fatiguing over the long term.  Evidently Q is one of these.  Fortunately, there are still a number of brands that don't pursue this goal.  It's not necessarily that you need more expensive, just different.  Vienna Acoustics and pretty much all of the *classic* BBC designs come to mind (this excludes the Spendor D series), and there are others.

P3ga, thanks for your suggestions and helpful responce. I have tried many different set ups and my conclusion is that these speakers are not as good as everone seems to think. (I do realise I'm in a minority of one). I tried to engage with the manufacturer but they were quite uninterested. When I can afford it, I'll audition some new speakers, in a higher price bracket.  The seekers I bought in the 70's, which is the comparison I'm making subconsciously, would cost nearly five times as much as the Qs, so perhaps that's the problem.

John, try raising (tilting) the front of the speakers up: Between the interactions of your room, furniture, ear level to tweeter level, your own standards, preferences, and hearing, I'm thinking that the you've got to raise the tweeter or slouch more in your listening chair. 2"-3" to start.

But it's ok to slouch, my girlfriend reminds me often that I'm a good slouch.

Take a look at Doug Schneider's comments re: tweeter height from a review of the 3020i & 3050i from last January on the Soundstage network: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/system-one/1247-hands-down-or-up-the-qacoustics-3020i-and-3...

Brother, I'm close to 60 & over the last 18 months have started updating my system with a vengence. If you can't get these to work for you, move on - but be careful, the 3050i's aren't a bright sounding speaker. There seems to be a movement towards 'extended' highs, often misinterpeted as 'openess' or 'speed', and a more forward image, with musicians damn near in your lap.

You may or may not enjoy these traits. I'm guessing the latter. Hope you find a solution that works for you.

Thanks Pogbomber

All very good suggestions! I have purchased a second hand marantz amplifier from the 90s, which has a warm sound. I have relocated the system into a different room with soft furnishings and a carpet. I also bought a second hand Archam Alpha CD player, which again has a warmer edge to compare. My next step is to give up on the speakers and audition some others. Thanks again for your help.
  John 

Which amplifier are you using?
Also, are you using any DAC?

Try and check if there are lot of reflecting surfaces in your room. Cover the floor in front of the speakers with carpet.
Raise the front spikes using a cardboard or rubber to about 1 cm.
Do not toe in a lot, a slight toe in about 7-10 degree is sufficient.
What's the distance from the rear wall? Try changing it to 30-35cm.
What's the distance between the two speakers?
It should be a minimum 6ft approx.
Are there objects directly in front of the speakers? If yes the what's the distance.
Is there a tv between your setup? If yes, then cover the TV with a cloth since that too acts as a reflecting surfaces.
If there are cabinets between the setup, makes sure it is not hollow and if it is then fill it with books etc.

Sorry for the late reply Pogbomer, I only just received the notification. 
The general consensus was that my harsh top end would either disappear in time or was the result of the environment. Well many hours have passed and I have tried the speakers in different settings and to be honest,  there still disappointing. 

Any luck?

On-axis measurements of Q Acoustics 3020 (purple trace)

While not your exact model, it is from the same range and should be similar. So, wether it be the 1kHz peak or emphasized treble >5kHz, it can sound bright.

Have you tried with and without toe-in? Maybe with grills on?

No speaker cable can attenuate treble by 3dB+, so if you can’t get used to the sound, return them.

This is why I never go off of only reviews, if measurements don’t exist (of at least any modern speaker the company has made) and/or I can’t return them without B.S. re-stocking fees (I’m fine with paying return shipping), I usually never buy such products.

Yup.  In a few weeks your ears will break in to the way the speakers sound.

Thanks for the link. They are certainly well reviewed. I'll give it a few weeks and go from there. 

Check out the 3050 review just out in Secrets.  https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/speaker/floor-standing/q-acoustics-3050i-floorstanding-speaker-r...

They never mention harshness in describing the 3050s. 

No doubt that breaking them in with some run time will help...

meanwhile are you using the dac on the pioneer... if so then switch to the marantz ...and vice versa as some mid level dac’s can be harsh. 

One more thing. Make sure you have reasonably well followed the manufacturer’s placement recommendations. If you are not getting the right amount of bass, this could accentuate the treble.

Also, make sure all 4 woofers are working. :)

Lightly put your fingers on the outer cone while playing music.

Best,
E

Break in is a real thing, but there is a fashion trend in high end audio to exaggerate the treble.

Monitor Audio has remained committed to not doing this, and I for one applaud them. I love their sound.

Don’t make any system changes until the speakers are properly broken in. Otherwise, you will be like a dog, chasing its tail. Once the speakers are run in, then and only then would I consider other options. Patience is a virtue. If you want to burn in the speakers quickly, connect 1 speaker out of phase and have them face each other. Then use the XLO or Esoteric or Isotek burn in CD and blast it for a week. With the speakers out of phase to each other, it won’t be too loud. Run it like this daily when you are at work. After a week, reconnect the speakers the right way and listen to music. If it is only a little better, run them in for another week. Then try again.

I fear there is no hope for you...

Thanks for the reassurance. Can any one recommend cables that might take the edge off the shrill top end.

my Q 3020 sounded a lot better after a few hundred hours of playing music

Be patient.  The sound will likely improve,
over time.  You may consider using the XLO
Test and Burn-In cd.

Many "modern" speakers sound that way.  It's the fashion these days.  You'll need to look out some of the few remaining more forgiving brands.

Sorry, the speakers I grew up with were Monitor Audio MA4s, from 1976. I guess you would call them a classic design with a 8" KEF bass driver,  25mm tweeter and a port. They were a couple of hundred quid at the time, so quite pricey. The 3050's are Q Acoustics and there the ones that sound bright and hard to listen to.

Thanks Erik for the tip. I have just listened to Hounds of Love by Kate Bush and listening close to the speaker highlights the problem even more. Kates voice is very hissy, each word seems to have ssssss on the end, very unnatural. Im wondering if this is typical of modern speakers and I should source something second hand.

Get 2' away from your speakers. If the problem goes away, the problem is your room.