The top-of-the-range Concept speaker, this high-end floorstander is designed to appeal to discerning audiophiles. The Concept 500 achieves a perfect balance between art and science. It is a loudspeaker that is at once, stylish, contemporary, exquisite-sounding and astonishingly accurate.
Designed to appeal to discerning audiophiles, the Concept 500 achieves a perfect balance between art and science. It is a loudspeaker that is at once, stylish, contemporary, fine-sounding and astonishingly accurate. It couples low directivity with wide bandwidth, good sensitivity and sensible impedance. This makes the new Concept 500 both room-friendly and an easy load to drive, allowing amplifiers to deliver their best performance.
The Concept 500 adopts some of the most advanced and innovative technologies to deliver pure audio excellence and a sensational sound stage.
Neutral, powerful and dynamic.
The objective of any good Hi-Fi system is to reproduce a convincing live performance in the comfort of your home.
Great care has been taken in both the design of the crossover and the selection of high grade components, to introduce virtually zero noise and distortion. The 4th-order Linkwitz-Riley topology which gives an excellent response both on and off-axis.
Mechanically decoupled mounting which effectively isolates the HF driver and speaker cabinet from reciprocal vibrations that would otherwise be transmitted between them.
“The Q B12 smashes through the action like a steam train, hitting you right in the stomach and taking your whole body along with it. it’s precise, detailed and really rather dynamic.” "Understanding neighbors required for this powerful sub."
The Mid/Bass voice coil has an uncommonly large diameter of 35mm which allows increased ‘shove’ and higher power handling - as well as reducing compression.
Constructed in three separate layers and filled under pressure with a non-setting gel, this damps the cabinet walls and converts higher frequency vibrations into heat.
Tall loudspeakers tend to suffer from resonances caused by unwanted pressure gradients. Speciallydesigned Helmholtz Pressure Equalisers (HPE™) balance out these pressure irregularities.
Access Panel - The rear access panel has been constructed to maintain the integrity of the Dual Gelcore™ cabinet. The Concept 500 is equipped for bi-wiring or bi-amping with terminals which can accept bare wires, spades or 4 mm banana plugs.
Access Panel
The cast aluminium base of the Concept 500 is designed without large flat areas or additional adornments to discourage unwanted acoustic reflections. The resulting elegant design is underpinned with a choice of carefully engineered feet to immovably couple the loudspeaker to any surface.
Flat areas or additional adornments to discourage unwanted acoustic reflections.
Concept 500 is the embodiment of elegant design, compatible with a contemporary living space and not specific to any particular style of interior. The appearance has been pared-back to be as clean looking as possible, with rear-mounted mid / bass drivers keeping the baffle uncluttered and embedded magnets securing the grille so no fixings are visible.
Magnets securing the grille
Gloss black or gloss white finishes have each been combined with Italian realwood veneer, chosen for its consistency in colour and pattern. The veneer is used sparingly in a subtle strip to create a cabinet that is visually light and clean. The white gloss finish has been attractively paired with pale oak and the black gloss with deep rosewood. Multiple coats of lacquer have then been added to give a deep piano gloss finish.
Gloss black
white finishes
| Acoustics | |
|---|---|
| Dimensions/cabinet | 1150 x 400 x 350 mm |
| Dimensions/overall | 1175 x 400 x 375 mm |
| Distortion | (120 Hz - 20 kHz): 0.2 % |
| Frequency Response | 41 Hz - 30 kHz |
| High Frequency Unit | 1.1" |
| Minimum Impedance | 3.7 Ω |
| Nominal Impedance | 6 Ω |
| Recommended Power | 25 - 200 W |
| Weight | 42kg |
"The sum-up is pretty simple: the Concept 500s are nothing short of sensational value for money, and capable not only of revealing exactly what your system is doing, but ...
"This is an outstanding speaker that shows an all-round depth of talent that would be impressive even if the price were considerably higher. Its ability to remain transparent so ...
"…the Q Acoustics Concept 500 is special….I doubt that, once they've entered your listening room, they'll ever leave.”"
"For the money, there are no better floorstanding speakers you can buy. In fact, you’d have to spend thousands more for any improvement – and even then you might only see improvement in certain areas."
"The Concept 500s prove Q Acoustics can compete at all levels. They’re superb speakers for the money."
"The Concept 500 sets an incredible benchmark at £4,000. This is also one of the most impressive demonstrations of applied technology I’ve seen in a while ...
"“These glossy new speakers, selling at just under £4,000 a pair, sound like a £20,000 product...they sound five-star near perfect. The bass was juicy and rich ...
"Mainstream speaker makers often struggle when they move upmarket, but not Q Acoustics. The Concept 500 is an audacious new floorstander employing highly optimised drivers and cabinet...
"…it’s frankly a life-changing experience hearing the soundstage on the 500s because it doesn’t come with the consequence of added piles of resonance on the music...
