Q Acoustics’ new wireless speakers look ideal for small apartments that want big home theater sound (2024)

British audio tech company Q Acoustics has unveiled the new M40 wireless speakers with a discreet, tower-like design that promise to fill your home with hi-res sound without investing in big and bulky loudspeakers.

The M40 micro-tower speakers follow in the footsteps of the Q Acoustics M20 HD wireless music system, which we rated highly back in 2022 for its “loud, lively and lovable” sound.

Fast-forward to 2024 and Q Acoustics has put its past expertise and latest sound technologies into the new M40 audio system. It can support many different music sources and is powerful enough to deliver full-scale sound.

But what makes it stand out against the competition of the best wireless speakers is the fact this pair of speakers aren’t designed to stand out. They’re not obtrusive or bulky like some rivals, but instead boast a minimal, classy design in a black, white or walnut finish that should appeal to most people.

Why we’re excited about the Q Acoustics M40 wireless speakers

We’ll need to test the Q Acoustics M40 audio system ourselves to see if these impressive-looking tower speakers deliver the audio quality we’re expecting from the best stereo speakers in a range of different environments. But for now, there are several reasons we’re excited to try them and think they’ll be a hit for anyone looking to upgrade their home audio system.

The design of the Q Acoustics M40 has major appeal. At just 71cm (27.95 inches) tall, these tower speakers are incredibly compact – especially considering the powerful sound they’re capable of pumping out – and they have 2 x 100 watts of built-in amplification, which means no extra boxes are required for them to work.

This means not only do they look good and will be unobtrusive in a range of different environments, but they might work well for anyone looking for an audio system to suit a smaller or more awkward space who hasn’t had look with large speaker systems so far.

Sound-wise, Q Acoustics promises a “powerful, precise and engrossing sonic performance”. The company says there’s a C3 Continuous Curved Cone design within the mid/bass driver. This is what’s going to deliver smooth tweeter integration, as well as outstanding, controlled bass performance.

The Q Acoustics M40 speakers boast high-resolution, reliable wireless streaming via Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX HD compatibility and aptX Low Latency technology. This means high-resolution sound (up to 24bit/48kHz) can be streamed from any compatible device.

Because the speakers work with many connectivity options, you have the freedom of using the M40 with any sound source, whether that’s a TV, games console, turntable with a built-in preamp, CD player, set-top box, network streamer or subwoofer if you want big, booming sound.

The system is designed to be easy to set up. You can assign the powered speaker as either the left or right channel for easier access to the mains, and an EQ switch tells the system if the speakers are positioned against a wall in the corner of a room so the audio performance can be optimized.

The Q Acoustics M40 speakers are available now from qacoustics.com for $999 / £749.

You might also like

• Step aside Sonos Move – the Brane X portable speaker is bringing the bass
• Hearing Cambridge Audio's new network player reignited my love of stereo speakers
• Dali’s custom-install outdoor Phantom speakers are surprisingly affordable