Q Acoustic 1050
Carlito Roby
Armour Home Electronics is a relatively recent operation that brings together a number of well known British names - QED, Alphason, Myryad and Goldring, to name just four - into a specialist hi-fi conglomerate that's particularly strong in the budget price accessory sector.
Armour also used to distribute Mission's budget M-series speakers, but that arrangement came to an end when the Mission brand was purchased by IAG in mid-2005. Armour looked at the options and decided the best strategy was to develop its own speaker brand, and a year later it has brought a clutch of brand-new models to the marketplace, under the new Q Acoustics banner.
Since this hefty floorstander is the largest and most costly of four stereo pairs, yet carries a surprisingly modest 330 price tag, this is very much a budget range. It's therefore no surprise to find it's made in China, though all the basic design and engineering work was carried out by Armour personnel, alongside European consultants.
It's also therefore inevitable that the finish is predominately vinyl woodprint. That said, the silver-painted front panel is both thick and sculpted. The whole thing feels very solid, as confirmed by its 18kg total weight.
However, the most impressive feature, again in a price context, is the alloy plinth that lifts the speaker a few centimetres off the floor, extends the stability footprint and generally tidies up the appearance. It incorporates top-adjustable spikes, but there is no lock-nut provision.
This is a two-way design, based around twin 165mm bass/mid drivers mounted above and below a solitary tweeter. It's an arrangement that combines muscle with simplicity, and has an impressive pedigree - in last month's high-end The Collection edition, the thoroughly impressive 40,000 Audio Acoustics Sapphire Ti-C SE adopted just such a configuration.
The two main drivers both have 115mm doped paper cones and are loaded by a fat front port. Twin zig-zag terminal pairs are integrated with a cable-tidy, and a fabric-covered perforated metal grille is supplied.
Okay, it's not perfect, but this good-looking floorstander is capable of batting way beyond its humble price point, sonically speaking, and indeed can hold its head high among models costing twice as much. Expectations for such affordable floorstanders have never been high - all too often the sonic cracks that result from engineering cost constraints are clearly audible. But that is less obviously the case here.
When taken alongside good bass alignment and extension, generous sensitivity and headroom, and well controlled enclosure coloration, the net result is an exceptionally communicative loudspeaker that makes all kinds of music sound thoroughly involving and entertaining.
Yes, it could be smoother and tidier. The sound it generates does verge on the unruly, and this is not a speaker that hides any deficiencies in the software or the sources, and it doesn't deliver the most spacious imaging.
But it does combine decent dynamic grip and expression with a measure of transparency and overall coherence that makes even difficult material impressively believable - applause, for example, which is a stern test for any speaker, sounds very convincing. The bottom line is that the 1050 brings real musical tension to the proceedings, and so ensures that listener involvement remains high.
The 1050 has a notably generous sensitivity - 91dB according to our measurement, which is certainly close enough to the 92dB found in the manufacturer's specification. Furthermore, this impressive figure is in no way compromised by a fundamentally benign load that stays above six ohms almost throughout. However, because the port is tuned to around 43Hz, the lowest, bottom-octave bass is somewhat curtailed.
The far-field in-room averaged frequency balance is far from smooth, but it does hold within very decent /-5dB right across the audio band, from 40Hz up to 15kHz, and the trend therein looks very well judged. There's a slight lack of energy through two octaves in the upper midband and lower treble, between 1kHz and 4kHz, but it only amounts to a couple of decibels, and will therefore only tend to tame any aggressive tendencies, rather than make the speaker sound 'shut in'.
Though I'm not really in need of another stereo receiver I have the opportunity to buy a sx-1050 that is in remarkable condition. I am very happy with my HK 630 twin, but like the idea of all those extra watts (120) that the pioneer offers, and from past experiments with(borrowed) higher powered amps my RF-5's also like them. So, question is, has anyone here had first hand experience of the sx-1050.
yes...as a private in the army 35 years ago,....me and a few of my barracks rat buddies would drive one all week end look, A new one sound great to my 17 year old ears. They are a pain in the *** to work on. If you get it bring it up very slowly on a variac unless the current owners tells you it's been in regular use....and you believe them.
Great receiver, built like a tank, do a search for "pictures of pioneer sx-1050"..and take a look at the inside. My 1050 is setting on a friends bench waiting for a complete refurb. Also have the 950..850 and 650 and a pioneer referance A-717 amp. They all do a nice job with my Quartets and 5.5s..depending on the price you pay you should be pleased..good luck..Pat.
For the simply fact that it is 35 to 36 years old and there is always a half dozen or so on e-bay leads me to beleave the build quality is pretty good..still fairly easy to git parts for. Again though , it depends on the $ paid , deffinintly better amps and receivers to be had but i should have aprox 350 in my 1050 "that includes price pd and refurb cost"..and i consider it $ well spent.
I had one and loved it. Unfortuantly, one of the output stages went bad and took the driver stage on that channel with it. After sinking about $200 into it, I cut my losses, bought another Pioneer, and dismantled the 1050.
My theory as to why the 1050 died is that its former owner had raised Persian cats. More than once we opened it up to find cat hair bridfging the output terminals on the inside. After my pal gave me the 1050, my own cat loved the toasty warmth of even an idling 1050 and slept on it a lot. The continued shorts probably fried the output transistors and pulled too much current through the output and driver stages.
I had an SX-1050 for some time and liked it. I then picked up a Sansui 9090 (not DB) and liked it better. Both were basically stock. With the 9090, the bass was more detailed with more authority and it had a warmer sound to my ears. I would give the nod to the Pioneer on its tuner but I rarely listen to local radio anymore. Just my $.02.
I had the bigger brother the SX-1250 and loved it. It was and still is my favorite receiver that I have owned. I sold it a few years back to get into tubes. For the right price, I would get another of the vintage Pioneers in a heartbeat.
I always check the DC offset, especially on Pioneer's of that vintage. They are getting notorious for needing caps in the power supply and pre-amp boards. You can look on line on how to check the DC offset. It is very simple using a common multi-meter.
Yes Boxx those stands were killer and had a 10" x 10" top plate which made them very stable, as a matter a fact before I left Germany I ended up stacking a pair of L-36's on top of those Advents. Those Advents to this day are probably some of the finest two ways I've ever heard plus I liked having a pair of acoustic suspension to go with those ported JBL's[]
The Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division supports NPS units system-wide by providing: scientific leadership to advance understanding and stewardship of natural sounds and night skies; highly specialized technical assistance; and development of policy and guidance to facilitate internal capacity building. More specifically, we provide assistance in collecting baseline data for ambient acoustic and night sky quality, identifying source specific impacts and engineered solutions to reduce, mitigate or prevent anthropogenic noise and excessive light in and around parks and national trails. We also assist with park planning, compliance, and external project reviews to help parks reduce impacts from noise and light pollution to natural and cultural resources and visitor enjoyment. The Overflights Program provides assistance related to air tour management, airspace design, military overflights, airport capacity enhancement projects, and park specific administrative flights.
Unlike many of the new generation of basic turntables, the CP-1050 lacks a built-in phono preamplifier. It must be connected to an amplifier or receiver that has a phono input, or to an outboard phono preamplifier.
The Onkyo-Grado combo was about the most easygoing, relaxed performer I could imagine, and excelled with Mozart and small jazz combos. With Ten Years After wailing away, though, there was a slight muffling of the snares and cymbals, and the guitar sounded too laid-back. The voices, however, were clear, and the soundstage width and depth were quite expansive.
The CP-1050 with OC-105 cartridge was an entirely different kettle of fish. Man, was this performance alive! This resulted in some grunge and harshness being added to the sound of the electric guitar and voices. The soundstage was quite wide but shallow, and the bass somewhat recessive.
The Pioneer PL-516 with Grado Black 1 was somewhere between the other two. The cymbals and snares lost the haze that had surrounded them with the Onkyo-Grado combo, but lacked the harshness added by the Onkyo-Onkyo. Although I preferred the sound of the Pioneer-Grado overall, I suspect that the Onkyo CP-1050, with a lively aftermarket cartridge, would really show its stuff.
The SB Panel 28 - Acoustic Insulated Overlay Board is a versatile and efficient acoustic panel designed for impact soundproofing and insulation between separating floors. It is commonly used in refurbishment and new build projects as a floating floor over concrete and timber or directly over timber joists. The panel is compatible with a range of SB-Systems that exceed the current Building Regulation requirements.
c80f0f1006