One major reason we consider in buying a soundbar is to get that cinematic feel of watching movies at home. Sometimes, it’s for the portability of being just a bar instead of setting up towers from 7.1 speakers systems. Fortunately, one quality soundbar that can do this is the Q Acoustics M3, it’s an all-in-one soundbar with its own subwoofer for a complete package.
Design
Design wise, the Q3 doesn’t shout out that it’s a sound system. The full black body with silver accent feets/holder is just ideal for a general home entertainment look. It doesn’t stand out to be distracting or making a statement that you should look at it when watching movies.
It has a wedge type shape that almost makes an elliptical illusion, we’re just glad that it’s not another box type soundbar in the market. Overall, as compared to other soundbars we’ve seen in the market…it can make a statement.
The unit weighs 4.0kg, enough for a solid bass production considering that the subwoofer is inside the unit. And the package comes with a remote and standard instructions manual.
Sound Performance
We have to applaud this unit as it still supports the majority of the connections in today’s entertainment setups. Except for the USB port which is used for server maintenance, the M3 is complete with HDMI, AUX port, RC and even optical in.
Of course for wireless functions, it also has NFC and Bluetooth 4.0 for clear audio production. Overall we both tried the optical and Bluetooth connection for our test.
We will get this out of the way, the M3 isn’t an ordinary soundbar as it has two 40W speakers for a total of 80W that can do 180 degrees coverage of a room. This means, the power production is ample enough and cheap 2k-5k subwoofers don’t go anywhere near its quality.
Music production is clear in treble and mid with minimal distortion when maxing out the volume, as for the integrated subwoofer…it will depend on where it is placed to create more impact.
In our scenario, we tried both tiled and wooden floor for testing. Of course, the wooden floor produced more favorable bass as the floor was able to absorb the shock and spread it our further. While the tiles weren’t that helpful and even deflected most high notes making the pitch too high, we had to adjust the equalizer settings to fully maximize the unit.
But overall the bass is satisfying for a room like 30-25sqm, it won’t rattle your neighbors but enough to give you a decent bass feedback. We wish it could have been more in mid-volumes…but we understand that the treble and bass range is already fixed.
Overall, in comparison with our JBL Soundbar SB200. The experience is almost the same, but the Q3 was able to stand ours with one unique feature that we liked.
The M3 has two hook placements to be hung on a wall, it won’t require any special bracket or drill. Just the regular L-shaped look in your hardware store. Unfortunately, we didn’t try this feature but activating the wall mode of the EQ diverted power into the top of the speakers as compared to the front.
This is what the unit will look if you hang it on the wall. Ideally, it looks nice but makes sure that the hole you will drill is enough to support around 8kg of force.
Conclusion
To conclude, the Q Acoustics M3 Soundbar is something you would highly consider if you are a fan of a minimalist soundbar setup at home. Sound quality is no doubt something it has, we just feel the bass could have improved further.
Overall the best audio quality is from the optical audio connection, so make sure to use that when utilizing the M3. For the price of Php24,990, it’s no joke that the M3 is already competing with other brands like JBL, Harman for a home speaker system, but if you would consider aesthetics and functionality than the M3 will have a chance.
Interested in buying one? Here are the branches where you can get or experience the Q Acoustics M3 Soundbar
• A.Refinery UPTC, 2nd floor, Phase 1B, UP Town Center, Katipunan • A.Refinery Cebu, Lvl 3, Ayala Center Cebu, Cebu
• A.Refinery Davao, Lvl 2, Ayala Abreeza Mall, JP Laurel Ave, Davao City