JANUARY 2022 MACWORLD 103spaced five feet out to either side of the
screen. But here too, there was no
glossing over weaknesses. Without the
tone equalization of DSP that’s applied in
powered speakers, the dramatic dialog in
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix) had a
different, thinner aura than the studio-
recorded musical bits. And it pained me to
hear how vocally worn Bruce Springsteen
and his E Street Band mates sounded in a
recent Saturday Night Live performance.
A CAUTIONARY TALE
True to the code of small monitors, the
3030i are best heard with their tweeters at
ear level. So the Q Acoustics rep who’d
coordinated this review recommended I
also take on their carefully matched,
25-inch-high, 3030FSi speaker stands
(fave.co/31xyROp; $209 a pair), which
promised to elevate the speakers to just
that level for a sofa-seated listener. The
companion stands are also a nice addition
for aesthetic reasons, making for a
“modern industrial” bundle that’s
particularly spiffy in white.
As it played out, though, the speakers
(and a set of QED interconnects) arrived
first; the stands had been lost in transit. So,
I initially hooked them up in my family
room to the Sonos Amp (and later the
Bluesound Powernode 2i amp) and rested
the speakers atop a spare pair of shorter,
19-inch-high stands. And honestly, that
combo proved quite agreeable, especially
after I removed the 3030i’s magnetic
speaker grills, which
really opened up
their presentation.
Ironically, the
3030i’s sound took a
significant turn for the
worse when the
official stands turned
up and I switched
them over. “Gee, they
sound tinny” noted
another masked-up
visitor, and I sadly
concurred. Joni
Mitchell’s usually
chiming dulcimer onI initially had a difficult time isolating the Q Acoustics 3030i from
the floor in my small listening room. Grasping at straws, I first tried
placing dish towels under the stands’ spikes.