I have a pair of Quad 12L's with a NAD C352 & NAD C542. At first I thought the setup was sounding a bit thin. But now, after about 60hrs, I'm absolutely loving it! On the occasional track though, I still feel what would really complete the picture would be slightly more bass.
I'm now considering moving to the Quad 21L to get slightly better bass extension and low end warmth. I'm pretty sure the 21L would give me exactly what I want. However, a couple of things are holding me back.
Firstly I have quite a small room (13' x 9'). Would the speakers need more room around them, than the 12L's do, to prevent them from "booming".
Secondly, There are a few obstructions in the room, a bed, desk and bookshelves. At the moment I have the Quad 12L's mounted on 80cm stands to lift them above the obstructions. It also brings the tweeters just slightly above my ear level when listening.
The 21L's are only about 80cm's tall. So the only way I can see this working is by mounting them on small, say 30 to 40cm tall, stands to lift the drivers and tweeters to the right level. Is this a ridiculous idea?
Some floorstanders are fine despite being off axis because of their lack (or excess) of height relative to the listening position (i.e., tweeter ~ ear level). I think many floorstanders are built to account for this.
I would try them without first. Small, platform type stands may be the ticket if you don't get the results you're looking for. And as always, experimenting with positioning yields different results since every room is unique.
At what price do you intend to sell the 12L's? Or would this be a trade in...
Frank, that's interesting. I'm surprised you found that though. As the 21L uses the same driver / tweeter setup as the 12L, I would have thought that aspect would be pretty identical. I could definitely imagine that being the case with the 22L though. Thanks for letting me know anyway!
Tevo, yep. I would definitely try them without the stands to begin with. No point in spending the extra if it's not needed. I just wondered if using a stand with a floorstanding speaker was considered a "no no". But I couldn't see any reason why that should be the case, other than cosmetics. The main problem is obstructions physically blocking the sound, rather than listening axis though.
If I did decide to upgrade, I would like to sell the 12L's for around £450 as they're in absolutely "as new" condition without a mark on them. About a month and a half old. They've only ever been played a low volumes and treated with complete respect. Still have their original boxes and lint-free bags with manual etc.
I never really considered trading them in, though thinking about it perhaps that's an option.
Alternatively I may hold on to them as part of a future theater system.
I will probably stick with the 12L's for a little longer, as I still feel they're improving with time. I then hope to demo the 21L's.
I hope I'll be able to listen to a pair of 21Ls that have been fully run in as I know that the Quads benefit from it to an astounding degree.
I even considered the 22L, though I thought that would be overkill for my small room
If anyone else has an opinion on the 21L situation please do comment.
In fact, as far as I'm concerned, it gets worse the further up you go. The 21L seems to suffer from too much cabinetry, giving a slightly uncontrolled bass but also a bit more bloom courtesy of the resonating cabinet. The 22L definitely overeggs the whole thing and shows the (beautiful) cabinet to be a bit too flimsy for the amount of energy being pumped out by the extra drive unit.
Regards, Frank.
Anonymous
Posted on
Richard,
May I suggest you try a different interconnect before you change speakers. I have not tried 'The Name' that you have but have tried the C5 and D102 and the first thing I noticed was the improvement in bass weight/depth also it seems smoother too. The D102 is a bit pricey retail but you can pick up a good one off ebay to try. If you don't like it you can simply put it back on ebay for little loss. Look for one with VDH plugs and ground end stickers to be sure you are buying a genuine factory terminated cable. If however you don't mind non factory items then look for one with Eichmann Bullets as this will also improve resolution too and IMO the best way to use any interconnect but unfortunately these ones are very rarely offered. Like I said I have not tried the name but am pretty sure from what you are saying the D102 will give you what you want.
Thanks anon. I was also considering the VDH Thunderline cables. Apparently they are good for strong bass reproduction. But again, it's an expensive option. Possibly worth it though.
Eichmann Bullets rock! I've heard them on several cables now and each time they have been an improvement over the stock plugs. Unfortunately, they're quite delicate and can break quite easily, but in terms of sonic performance, they're really stunning (silly that a connection should make so much difference). WBT have also introduced new plugs, similar in concept, if not design. I haven't heard them yet, but I imagine they'll be pretty good too.
