MUSO QB should I get one?

Just got a Muso Qb to try in the kitchen. Main requirement is for Internet radio to access overseas stations.
There are no meaningful instructions. There is a high quality quick set up guide that contains no information. Essentially it says plug it in and set it up. There is also an even more lavish book advertising other products.
It sounded horribly bassy. Having decided to return it I thought I’d just look for some reviews, found some online instructions and reference to room compensation. By taking the loudness function off and setting it to near to wall it sounds much better. But why bury reference to that in the middle of the marketing brochure which I only found after I had started writing this.

The quick set up guide should explain the set up process, what you need to do, what you don’t need to do and why: there is plenty of space. Otherwise it can be the size of a credit card and fastened to the plug.

How do you switch it off? What is it with Naim and off switches. There’s not even one hidden inaccessibly round the back like there is on your amps. Switching on your phone, opening the app and navigating through settings is not an answer.

Under other settings I can see auto standby time set at 20 minutes. What does this do? It would seem that to switch the thing off you have to pause whatever you are listening to and then wait 20 minutes.

But there’s also a sleep timer so what does this do? Why not use the app or the instructions to explain the terminology?

There seems a huge range of volumes between different stations so a volume limiter/normaliser would be very a useful option. Can this be done in Firmware sometime?

First impressions of playing the same thing on the main system and the cube simultaneously is that the difference in sound quality is so gross it’s not really something you would ever wish to do except for listening to something simple like radio 4 when you are tooing and froing between rooms doing housework or something for instance

The presets work well. Wave your hand and choose one of your five radio stations. No need for your phone/app

First impressions are that it does not reproduce speech well and that for music it has excessive bass to grab the attention. Also it seems to be better if some way below ear height and a couple of metres from the Lister. Will try some more.

I would be very interested in any comments from those who developed it.

my QB2 is easily one of my very best hifi purchases, of all time - all the Naim type sound I like with modern streaming, into a small beautiful box - of course once you position it well and learn how to use it.
So my suggestion is don’t give up on it just yet but of course returning it is always an option if you decide it’s not for you.

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Naim instructions are very poor. I complained/whined when I had my first Qb2 and the response was , ‘well all you need to know is in the information in the website support.’
The email also said that paper instructions are obsolete, of course they are if you don’t supply any.

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It will sound better when run in.
Putting it in the right place and adjusting the wall distance setting and loudness setting will reap improvements.

Quite simply the Qube is not hi-fi! It is a small streaming powered speaker: it may well sound better than other such products on the market*, but it is totally unrealistic to expect anywhere near the same sound quality as a proper hifi system.

*Only a guess as I haven’t heard it: I’ve listened to the Muso, Qube’s big brother, and that was my impression of it compared to similar products (all are “boom boxes” to me), though those similar products were less than half the price. And Muso to me was nowhere near the sound quality of a full system. (But I don’t think it pretends to be.)

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(Edit: I originally said Qube was mono, but that was my misunderstanding. It projects a form of stereo from adjacent speaker drivers angled outwards.)

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In Naim’s defence, how to turn it off is clearly shown in the quick start guide that comes in the box.

It is a small boom box type thing. It sounds just as you’d expect.

I must admit I get a bit surprised about comments about its sound since it’s not particularly more pleasing to listen to than, say, a Tivoli radio, IMO.

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I recall not being able to turn mine off and the quick start guide is something that wasn’t in the box with mine or, I missed it.
The quick start guide IMHO should be a little more comprehensive, if only to have an easy link to a full online manual.
Otherwise, it’s a superb bit of kit. I love mine, which is currently my main system whilst renovations are taking place at home, - I’ve moved out so it’s my only music for the next few weeks. Loving it.

I have one in my Conservatory and to be honest I am not that impressed at all.

It’s a speaker so placement will very much have a bearing on overall sound. Get it absolutely right in a room with sympathetic acoustics and it’s remarkable how it can fill even quite a large room with a sound that is definitely of a HiFi standard. Get it wrong snd it’ll sound nice enough but won’t surprise in the same way.

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Well by my calculations, the main system is around 20 times more expensive, so this is pretty much what I would expect. My QB1 cost me under £500 so the fact that the office system (Atom) sounds much better is just what I would expect for 5 times more expenditure. Same for the office setup in comparison with the main system. Surely expectations have to include a measure of realism?

I do agree that the instructions provided have a great deal of room for improvement. That applies to all the recent products, too IMO.

Roger

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Having heard the Qb and Mk2 on several occasions I have been pleasantly surprised by the sound quality. A very enjoyable listen and something I would definitely consider getting for a kitchen or bedroom.

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I’ve never even needed the instructions on line or otherwise. Just accessed stuff on Tidal, tune radio stations. Simples.

I faced most of the same dozen questions lately.
The instruction sucks, but so do my abilities into the modern streaming world, being an old vinyl spinner.
You live and you learn.

As expected the performance are better than its dimensions would think.
After setup room corrections it sounded pretty good.
No, its not on level with a stereo amp/speaker setup, but nobody expected this.

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You’re right of course that the difference in quality is to be expected. My point really was that I felt multi room listening when the qualities are entirely different is not very satisfying. So in practice not as useful as feature as the marketing might imply.

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Yes Youre absolutely right, apologies Naim. Thanks for pointing that out.

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I have the full size muso mk1 and placement is vitally important. When placed badly it sounds very bass heavy with little midrange, but when placed with care in the correct position it comes to life with a very impressive and well balanced sound.

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I consider the Qb that we have in the kitchen as the best “hifi” purchase I’ve ever made. That something so small and (relatively) inexpensive can sound so good is quite remarkable. It also looks very good.

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I have QB Mk1.

Best PC speakers I’ve ever used.

Steaming Qobuz hi-res from through the PC. Simple.

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https://www.naimaudio.com/mu-so-support

John, there is a full brief on line for everything you need to know about your Muso…excellent speaker, I find the app is flawless and has all the menus you will need, been using it in the kitchen for 18 months now…all electronics you buy now only have a quick start up guide, all the info is on the net which is easy for a company to update that information when they complete any firmware updates etc.

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