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Thread: Quad 22L's

  1. #1
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    Quad 22L's

    I posted a while back after purchasing a pair of Quad 22L's and initially having my doubts about whether or not they were going to live up to their rave reviews.While I had my doubts after setting them up they have broken in and they are nothing short of incredible.They replaced a pair of B&W 703's I was very unhappy with and this process has made me a believer of speakers needing the right amount of burn-in time.I have gone from wondering what all the fuss over the Quads is all about to feeling like these speakers have restored my faith in the rest of my components that were all selected with a great deal of thought.The Quads simply have that certain something that makes you want to listen to them long and hard.I play my music fairly loud and the more I crank these things up the sweeter they sound.I would highly recommend these floorstanders because they have no business sounding this good for $1600 with a cabinet quality that belies their price range.I have a feeling the Kevlar drivers are still breaking in and things can only get better from here.I had a pair of phenomenal Proacs at one point so my standards are quite high.These speakers put my $3000 B&W's to shame.

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    rockin' the mid-fi audio_dude's Avatar
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    heyy, nice little review there...

    the Quad's get a lot of recommendations here, and i guess, this just chalks up another satisfied customer
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    Good deal.

    How is music at low output level?

    JRA

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    I couldn't agree more BillyB. My Quads are getting better and better every day (Had them about a month now.) They do take a bit of time to fully break in it would appear. I have a pair of the 21L's -- which I happen to like even better than their bigger brother. Not trying to stir things up, or to bash your choice... I just felt that the 22L's could overwhelm my den -- which is where this particular system is located -- and believed that the single 6-1/2" Kevlar driver would be faster and cleaner in that space. I know I gave up a little low frequency extension, but in my system/room the bass is tight, controlled, tuneful, and highly communicative. I couldn't be happier with my purchase.

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    Quote Originally Posted by BillyB
    I posted a while back after purchasing a pair of Quad 22L's and initially having my doubts about whether or not they were going to live up to their rave reviews.While I had my doubts after setting them up they have broken in and they are nothing short of incredible.They replaced a pair of B&W 703's I was very unhappy with and this process has made me a believer of speakers needing the right amount of burn-in time.I have gone from wondering what all the fuss over the Quads is all about to feeling like these speakers have restored my faith in the rest of my components that were all selected with a great deal of thought.The Quads simply have that certain something that makes you want to listen to them long and hard.I play my music fairly loud and the more I crank these things up the sweeter they sound.I would highly recommend these floorstanders because they have no business sounding this good for $1600 with a cabinet quality that belies their price range.I have a feeling the Kevlar drivers are still breaking in and things can only get better from here.I had a pair of phenomenal Proacs at one point so my standards are quite high.These speakers put my $3000 B&W's to shame.
    Just wanted to add in respect to the many B&W fans and owners out there.They make a quality product and many speakers in their vast line more than get the job done.The 703"s just happened to be a disaster for me especially at their price point.They were terribly bright to the point of making me question my whole system which as I said was put together with a great deal of thought.The Quads have simply justified the expense of all the other components as they have become the perfect finishing touch.

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    Quote Originally Posted by The13thGryphon
    I couldn't agree more BillyB. My Quads are getting better and better every day (Had them about a month now.) They do take a bit of time to fully break in it would appear. I have a pair of the 21L's -- which I happen to like even better than their bigger brother. Not trying to stir things up, or to bash your choice... I just felt that the 22L's could overwhelm my den -- which is where this particular system is located -- and believed that the single 6-1/2" Kevlar driver would be faster and cleaner in that space. I know I gave up a little low frequency extension, but in my system/room the bass is tight, controlled, tuneful, and highly communicative. I couldn't be happier with my purchase.
    Glad you're enjoying your Quads as well.I actually saw a lot of reviews that stated the 21L was the best of the L series.My listening room is huge and the 22L's were definitely the right call for me.The bass improvement in just 3 months with the 22L's has been amazing.I heard these speakers take forever to break in and since I don't get that much time to listen to them I finally got smart and just started leaving them on all day while I was at work using different Cd's.That did the trick.Enjoy.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jrhymeammo
    Good deal.

    How is music at low output level?

    JRA
    That's a hard question for me to answer accurately.I'm the type of listener who doesn't really listen at low levels like having the stereo on as background music.I usually wait until I have an empty house(not often enough) and then get down to some serious listening usually at fairly high volumes.I find listening to music loud becomes habit forming and at least for me I notice that I no longer really enjoy my music unless I can crank it up.I can only say that I was concerned about whether or not the 22L's would handle high volumes cleanly without distorting.They have handled everything I have thrown at them with flying colors.I don't abuse them but again I simply like to play music loud and feel that any good quality speaker should be able to handle that.I actually think these speakers still have some improvement left in them because as I said the improvement during the burn-in period has been startling.Sorry if I didn't address your question better but I can only say I'm obviously very excited by these 22L's.They are the real deal.

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    Yes, it seems...

    Quote Originally Posted by BillyB
    I posted a while back after purchasing a pair of Quad 22L's and initially having my doubts about whether or not they were going to live up to their rave reviews.While I had my doubts after setting them up they have broken in and they are nothing short of incredible.They replaced a pair of B&W 703's I was very unhappy with and this process has made me a believer of speakers needing the right amount of burn-in time.I have gone from wondering what all the fuss over the Quads is all about to feeling like these speakers have restored my faith in the rest of my components that were all selected with a great deal of thought.The Quads simply have that certain something that makes you want to listen to them long and hard.I play my music fairly loud and the more I crank these things up the sweeter they sound.I would highly recommend these floorstanders because they have no business sounding this good for $1600 with a cabinet quality that belies their price range.I have a feeling the Kevlar drivers are still breaking in and things can only get better from here.I had a pair of phenomenal Proacs at one point so my standards are quite high.These speakers put my $3000 B&W's to shame.
    ...my M20s took some time before settling down as well. There certainly are a lot of skeptics, but you'll have a hard time convincing me run-in doesn't exist.

    I'm glad you are enjoying your stereo now, but something is missing... hhmmm... a turntable! That's it! :^) Seriously, have you ever toyed with the idea? Infinity Records in Massapequa Park is a killer store, we even have Mr. Cheapo's right here in Commack for a quick fix. Used CDs as well.

    I have to get down to "The Den" to check out the Quads. I was joking around with an inmate from AA that we always go in, but never buy...lol. Both of us feel stupid.

    Have fun...

  9. #9
    Man of the People Forums Moderator bobsticks's Avatar
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    Hey BillyB,

    Good to see you around these parts again. Congrats on finding the solution for you and your room! The store I frequent occassinaly has some Quad product and I'm sure in the right setup they're fantastic...

    Cheers
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    If you can't run-walk. Bernd's Avatar
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    Congrats. on your Quads. Speakers need time to break in as you found out. I also very rarely listen to music at low levels.
    Anyway wishing you lots of musical fun.

    Peace

    Bernd
    "Let The Earth Bear Witness."

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    What kind of music do you listen to most? Through much listening lately I have put the
    22L on my short list. The sound was great all around and the speakers were great looking too. Although, I did think they weren't the best for heavier guitar music at louder levels. I also usually listen at louder levels so what is your experience with this - I realize there are good and bad recordings.
    Thanks.

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    Quote Originally Posted by pkats
    What kind of music do you listen to most? Through much listening lately I have put the
    22L on my short list. The sound was great all around and the speakers were great looking too. Although, I did think they weren't the best for heavier guitar music at louder levels. I also usually listen at louder levels so what is your experience with this - I realize there are good and bad recordings.
    Thanks.
    I listen to mostly pop and rock CD's with a lot of progressive rock (genesis,ELP,Yes,Rush,etc.) and so far I can only say that while these speakers are very revealing they aren't making these 30 year old mastered CD's excruciating to listen to.I was listening to Heart of the sunrise by Yes the other day and Chris Squires bass lines were so heavy and pronounced and the overall listening experience was so pleasing that I realized if my old stuff can sound this good than I have found a speaker that has the perfect balance between accurate yet not so revealing as to render my CD collection useless.The problem with the B&W 703's was that while they could sound stunning that only applied to about 5% of my Cd collection with the rest sounding brutal.If heavy guitar means heavy metal than yes this speaker might be too refined for you but if heavy guitar means Steve Howe,Frank Zappa,Alex Leifsen,or Steve Hackett than you will find the 22L's a pleasure to listen too.While I know many will disagree with me my opinion is that a truly well designed speaker will shine playing almost anything and they definitely hit the mark with the 22L so buy it and don't look back.Just believe it when you hear that this speaker can take 200 hours of burn-in before hitting it's sweet spot.

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    Hey BillB, I appreciate your reply.

    I also like my music loud, that;s why I ditched my B&W. My new pair sounds great at low level too. This is critical for me, since I stay up late studying and I like to have my music playing. I was never a big believer in breaking in speakers. I've always thought 20 hours was sufficient, but I not no more. I probably got 2-300 hours and I think they are finally starting to settle in. I totally agree with you on 700s. I really think they are the worst value in speakers. Just my preference.

    Good Luck,
    JRA

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    BillyB, sounds like we listen to alot of the same stuff. I do like to put on some Metallica and Pantera occasionally and its a drag when I turn it up and it sounds bad. I need speakers that are very versatile and sound great loud. I am trying to narrow things down a bit for home auditions and your input helps.
    Thanks

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy C
    ...my M20s took some time before settling down as well. There certainly are a lot of skeptics, but you'll have a hard time convincing me run-in doesn't exist.

    I'm glad you are enjoying your stereo now, but something is missing... hhmmm... a turntable! That's it! :^) Seriously, have you ever toyed with the idea? Infinity Records in Massapequa Park is a killer store, we even have Mr. Cheapo's right here in Commack for a quick fix. Used CDs as well.

    I have to get down to "The Den" to check out the Quads. I was joking around with an inmate from AA that we always go in, but never buy...lol. Both of us feel stupid.

    Have fun...
    Hi Jimmy C.I'm sure you probably remember us going back and forth about my decision to go with the 22L's and my initial disappointment with them.At the time your reply was not to get too caught up with being initially blown away by them.Your advice was sound as now that they have burned in I'm at a point where I'm enjoying my system as much if not more than when I still had my Proacs that were such outstanding speakers.The Quads are very revealing and yes there are times when you put something poorly mastered in and it's tough to listen too,but I can live with that because there are many other Cd's I put on where these Quads simply blow my mind.Unless they've changed their Demos the only Quads Audio Den keeps on hand is the 12L Bookshelf model.I can't tell you how happy I am to have such a great sounding pair of speakers after the 3 year nightmare the 703's were and the $1100 loss I took on the trade-in doesn't even bother me anymore because as I said to my ear the $1600 22L's put the $2800 703's to shame.Take care.

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    Well, I've never heard a speaker...

    Quote Originally Posted by BillyB
    Hi Jimmy C.I'm sure you probably remember us going back and forth about my decision to go with the 22L's and my initial disappointment with them.At the time your reply was not to get too caught up with being initially blown away by them.Your advice was sound as now that they have burned in I'm at a point where I'm enjoying my system as much if not more than when I still had my Proacs that were such outstanding speakers.The Quads are very revealing and yes there are times when you put something poorly mastered in and it's tough to listen too,but I can live with that because there are many other Cd's I put on where these Quads simply blow my mind.Unless they've changed their Demos the only Quads Audio Den keeps on hand is the 12L Bookshelf model.I can't tell you how happy I am to have such a great sounding pair of speakers after the 3 year nightmare the 703's were and the $1100 loss I took on the trade-in doesn't even bother me anymore because as I said to my ear the $1600 22L's put the $2800 703's to shame.Take care.
    ...that could NOT distinguish between a good and bad CD. Even my sh***y Insignias can tell the difference! I suppose it boils down to how grating on the ears some discs are - and certain transducers are better at mitigating the negatives... possibly at the expense of resolution, but that's another story :^P

    And, wow... I didn't realize the B&Ws were a 3-year "nightmare"...lol... guess you were ready for a change.

    You still didn't answer the "turntable" question...

    Inquiry minds wanna know...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy C
    You still didn't answer the "turntable" question...
    I didnt wanna say it since TTs are being hated so much around here and all.

    JRA

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    Turntable

    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy C
    ...that could NOT distinguish between a good and bad CD. Even my sh***y Insignias can tell the difference! I suppose it boils down to how grating on the ears some discs are - and certain transducers are better at mitigating the negatives... possibly at the expense of resolution, but that's another story :^P

    And, wow... I didn't realize the B&Ws were a 3-year "nightmare"...lol... guess you were ready for a change.

    You still didn't answer the "turntable" question...

    Inquiry minds wanna know...
    In all honestly while I've always been very passionate about music I'm very much a late bloomer with become an audiophile.Because of that my Vinyl collection wasn't very well taken care of so while I didn't throw them away they aren't in what I would call playable condition.If you invest in a good turntable are there still places to get new or near new quality Vinyl LP's.I like mostly older music so that probably helps in that regard.I know there are many purists who still say that nothing sounds as good as Vinyl on a high quality turntable,but again where do you find the high quality LP's if you don't already own them.I'm open to this idea but at best it would have to wait a while as my wife is still recovering from my speaker debacle.She's no dummy so of course she realized we took a nice hit on the B&W exchange.I don't know how true it is but I hear that the truly great(and expensive)CD players approach the warmth of Vinyl playback.My Arcam73T which I've grown to like quite a bit can be upgraded to an upsampling player but it's not cheap.I still may consider it now that I'm sure I have a speaker that will reward me for the investment.I've heard this upgrade from Arcam takes the 73T to the next level and the beauty of it is my wife doesn't have to see a new component coming through the door.We'll see.Talk to you soon.

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    Oh?

    Quote Originally Posted by jrhymeammo
    I didnt wanna say it since TTs are being hated so much around here and all.

    JRA
    I didn't realize that was the case in this neck of the woods!

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    Well, I won't get into the...

    Quote Originally Posted by BillyB
    In all honestly while I've always been very passionate about music I'm very much a late bloomer with become an audiophile.Because of that my Vinyl collection wasn't very well taken care of so while I didn't throw them away they aren't in what I would call playable condition.If you invest in a good turntable are there still places to get new or near new quality Vinyl LP's.I like mostly older music so that probably helps in that regard.I know there are many purists who still say that nothing sounds as good as Vinyl on a high quality turntable,but again where do you find the high quality LP's if you don't already own them.I'm open to this idea but at best it would have to wait a while as my wife is still recovering from my speaker debacle.She's no dummy so of course she realized we took a nice hit on the B&W exchange.I don't know how true it is but I hear that the truly great(and expensive)CD players approach the warmth of Vinyl playback.My Arcam73T which I've grown to like quite a bit can be upgraded to an upsampling player but it's not cheap.I still may consider it now that I'm sure I have a speaker that will reward me for the investment.I've heard this upgrade from Arcam takes the 73T to the next level and the beauty of it is my wife doesn't have to see a new component coming through the door.We'll see.Talk to you soon.
    ..."which format is better" debate, both , as you know, can sound great or... err... not so good. For me, it's also about FUN.

    We're lucky here on Long Island, many used vinyl stores. You like the oldies? There's a place in E. Islip that does mainly 50's stuff (if that's what you mean). There is Record Stop in Ronkonkoma (messy, but cheap), actually two Mr. Cheapos (Commack, Mineola), and the cream of the crop, like I said earlier, Infinity (www.infinityrecords.net/) - amazing selection, organization, and condition. This store is all one really needs.

    It was sort of in jest I mentioned vinyl, but I have a friend with a barely-used Pro-Ject 2.1... he bought a V.P.I. Scout and he has about 25 LPs... aarrrgh.

    Lemme know when (if) you're ready... we'll give it a test drive.

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    Glad to hear you're enjoying your Quads. Mine are still wonderful. The best value in loudspeakers.

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    [QUOTE=Jimmy C]..."which format is better" debate, both , as you know, can sound great or... err... not so good. For me, it's also about FUN.

    We're lucky here on Long Island, many used vinyl stores. You like the oldies? There's a place in E. Islip that does mainly 50's stuff (if that's what you mean). There is Record Stop in Ronkonkoma (messy, but cheap), actually two Mr. Cheapos (Commack, Mineola), and the cream of the crop, like I said earlier, Infinity (www.infinityrecords.net/) - amazing selection, organization, and condition. This store is all one really needs.

    It was sort of in jest I mentioned vinyl, but I have a friend with a barely-used Pro-Ject 2.1... he bought a V.P.I. Scout and he has about 25 LPs... aarrrgh.

    Lemme know when (if) you're ready... we'll give it a test drive.[/QUOTE

    When I say oldies I mean older Van Morrison,Genesis,Yes,Tull,ELP,Zappa,and a whole ton of stuff from the early 70's to about the mid eighties.I do like some of the new bands but my heart is definitely tuned into a period of music that was magical and to me nothing will ever compare to classic Yes or Genesis Or Zappa.The brilliance of this era will never be repeated and While I love Dave Mathews and Pearl Jam and Third Eye Blind they'll never replace the bands I call supergroups I grew up listening too.I would imagine you can get them on Vinyl if you put enough effort into it but I have to say the durability and convenience of Cd's is hard to argue with.I'm quite serious about the Arcam upgrade as I've heard from serious Audiophiles that it makes the 73T much more forgiving when playing these older Cd's which is really the stuff I enjoy listening too the most.Thanks for the feedback.

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    [QUOTE=bigfanga]Glad to hear you're enjoying your Quads. Mine are still wonderful. The best value in loudspeakers.[/QUOTE

    Thanks.We were conversing back and forth after I initially bought my 22L's new and was initially very disappointed.I'm well aware of speaker burn-in but the difference in these Quads as they finally started to break in has been mind boggling.Initially they were lifeless as if there was a blanket over them.After about 200 hours of run-in I came home one day and finally decided to stop babying them and just lit them up at some serious volume.I was playing Old Yes that I wouldn't even consider a great recording and they came to life in a way that really caught me off guard.I don't want to come off as one of these people who is just being partial to their own equipment.I had no problem admitting there was something truly off with my sound when I had my 703's and I'm extremely critical when it comes to this stuff.These 22L's are simply that good as my system has never sounded better.Continue to enjoy yours.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bobsticks
    Hey BillyB,

    Good to see you around these parts again. Congrats on finding the solution for you and your room! The store I frequent occassinaly has some Quad product and I'm sure in the right setup they're fantastic...

    Cheers
    Thanks.I was literally in audio limbo as I was trying to determine if I had made the right decision with the Quads.Once they broke in and literally came to life I just wanted to let everyone know my opinion on these 22L's.I don't want to sound like I'm blowing my own horn but rather endorsing a product I think is so good that you simply need to hear them and forget what they cost because my previous speakers cost almost double and aren't even in the same league as these 22L's.
    The amazing finish and build quality are just the icing on the cake.

  25. #25
    Demoted to Low-Fi Carl Reid's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BillyB
    I posted a while back after purchasing a pair of Quad 22L's and initially having my doubts about whether or not they were going to live up to their rave reviews.While I had my doubts after setting them up they have broken in and they are nothing short of incredible.They replaced a pair of B&W 703's I was very unhappy with and this process has made me a believer of speakers needing the right amount of burn-in time.I have gone from wondering what all the fuss over the Quads is all about to feeling like these speakers have restored my faith in the rest of my components that were all selected with a great deal of thought.The Quads simply have that certain something that makes you want to listen to them long and hard.I play my music fairly loud and the more I crank these things up the sweeter they sound.I would highly recommend these floorstanders because they have no business sounding this good for $1600 with a cabinet quality that belies their price range.I have a feeling the Kevlar drivers are still breaking in and things can only get better from here.I had a pair of phenomenal Proacs at one point so my standards are quite high.These speakers put my $3000 B&W's to shame.
    Just out of curiosity, what equipment do you have driving the Quads?

    I haven't had a chance to listen to the B&W 700s or Quads yet.... but I have heard a number of people complain about how bright the 700s are....

    So I'm always interested to know what electronics were connected to speakers that people found to be extremely bright...

    For example.... I have a friend who paired a set of B&W CM1s with a Yamaha Receiver... and though I really liked the sound of the CM1s when I heard them in the store driven by Rotel Seperates.... I find the B&W Yamaha combo to be offensively bright.....

    Anyway, congrats on finding the right speakers for your setup...

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