Q Acoustics 5090 Centre Speaker

The Q Acoustics 5090 centre speaker is designed to accurately reveal the dialogue in movies and is a sonic match for the 5010 and 5020 stand mount speakers and the 5040 floorstanders, when put together as part of a multi-channel speaker set-up.

If not designed well, important dialogue could be obscured by the rest of the soundtrack – a well designed centre speaker is essential to get the complete picture. Two continuously curved bass/midrange units are enhanced with a centre mounted sealed 25mm tweeter. There are two rear firing bass ports.

Four finishes are available to match the rest of the 5000 series.

Powerful bass drivers

Like other speakers in the 5000 series, the 5090 features an advanced driver design with a continuously curved cone. The advantage is increased power handling. In fact the larger motor system increases power handling by 50%. The drivers have a larger than normal magnet and voice coil assembly. The result is a wide dynamic range as well as a punchy and accurate sound. Two bass units are mounted either side of the tweeter, for a wide dispersion sound field.

Advantages of the continuously curved driver

Q Acoustics performed research and development over several years to arrive at the continuously curved profile of their bass/midrange units. They combine the bass performance of a straight conic cone with the mid range control of a flared cone. The single, smooth, continuous profile has excellent dispersion characteristics. Moreover, the frequency response is well controlled. The result is less distortion and a deep and tight bass. The wide dispersion makes room placement less critical.

A ported design

Most of the 5000 series feature bass ports. These enhance bass response. In fact the 5040 has two rear firing ports. The port lets the air move more freely and can be placed to the rear or front. Subwoofers usually have a large port underneath, that fires at the floor. Great for earthquakes in movies.

There is another type of speaker cabinet. These are sealed. However, they need more amplifier power for a given amount of bass. The advantage is tighter bass with more control. They usually have some kind of digital signal processing, to improve the bass response. The choice of cabinet design is usually down to personal preference.

Clear treble from an enclosed 25mm tweeter

The 5090 features a centre mounted tweeter. This gives the speaker a wider frequency response than is usual for a centre speaker. The tweeter is mounted in a sealed enclosure. It is isolated and floating so that it does not cause any resonance. Moreover, the isolation prevents any pressure modulations from interfering with the bass drivers. There is a lower crossover point which makes integration with the bass/mid units easier.

Why a centre speaker?

There are many surround sound formats, and virtually all of them have a centre or dialogue channel. The centre channel is also used for effects. Most films are mixed with a centre channel. As a result, not having a centre speaker can make the dialogue difficult to hear. Additionally, the level of the centre channel can be set independently. A centre channel speaker is important as most of the action happens front and centre.

Who are Q Acoustics?

Q Acoustics rapidly established themselves as the makers of innovative and great sounding speakers. The 1000 series was a range of affordable speakers that became best sellers and were followed on by the 2000 and 3000 range, many of which won awards from the world’s leading audio critics. They have redefined what is possible with audio engineering, with their innovative driver designs. The rest of the 5000 series includes bookshelf and floor standers and sit between the 3000i and Concept ranges.