Q Acoustics 3030i: Bass Authority on a Budget

The Q Acoustics 3030i loudspeakers look lovely. There’s no getting away from it, they’re a pretty pair of speakers.

But behind the gorgeous white enclosure, removable magnetic grilles and the mirrored speaker surrounds, there’s a formidable force at play.

Q Acoustics are causing quite a stir in the speaker world, and not just for aesthetically pleasing designs — their gear sounds great too. Coming from the same series as the smaller 3020i and the larger 3050i’s, these sit somewhere in the middle ground in terms of size and sound.

We tested the 3030i’s using a Denon PMA600NE amplifier and a Denon DCD-600NE CD player.

In The Listening Booth.

Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing In The Dark’ s races along happily whilst the synth bass pumps authoratively. The 80’s part-synthetic drums don’t sound dated at all here, instead the 3030i’s bring them very much to life in 2023.

John Mayer’s ‘Why Georgia’ sounds almost orchestral on the Q Acoustic’s. The layered guitars and gently introduced bassline building to a noughties singer/songwriter crescendo, with some almost hidden electric guitar parts revealing themselves nicely in the mix.

Bass is handled extremely well, especially given the size of the 3030i’s. It’s tight, authoritative and more powerful than many speakers in a similar class. Even listening to 90’s house music, the palpitation inducing thud of the kick drum is solid and well-rounded. In short, they’re a joy to listen to, and currently have pride of place in our daily driver setup.

So, What’s the Verdict?

We’ve seen these speakers retail for as little as £269/€299, which is outstanding given the value you’re getting. Around this price point another contender would be the KEF Q150’s, which we’ll be taking a look at very soon.

If you’re in the market for a new set of speakers or just want to upgrade an existing pair (and have around £250/€300 to spend), we’d definitely recommend the Q Acoustic 3030i’s for great sound quality, power, authoritative bass and size. Not to mention drop-dead good looks.