Large room floorstanders

[kilinrax]

Hi. I've recently moved out to the suburbs with my girlfriend, and have found that my Quad 12L bookshelves really struggle to fill the increased space (17' x 32') of our lounge.
Can anyone recommend speakers that will fill the room adequately, whilst matching the clarity of the Quads? I've auditioned the 22Ls and they didn't strike me as significant of an upgrade. I appreciate that powerful and high-quality is an exacting - and likely expensive - remit, so recommendations of speakers to look for second hand are especially welcome.

In case it's relevant; they're run off a Nad 752 surround receiver along with a MJ Acoustics Reference 1 mk II sub.

[Worf101]

Besides size of room, some other information is needed.

1. 2 Channel or HT or both?

2. Sub-woofer? The addition of one might make your bookshelves or another model viable again.

3. Budget?

4. Proximity of REAL Audio equipment store with in home try-outs.

5. Listening habits, jazz vs. classical vs Rock etc...

6. GAF - :"Girlfriend Acceptance Factor", some of the best sounding speakers in the world are also some of the ugliest. Best not to have your sonic goodies run afoul of what she's willing to look at every day.

Answer these questions and more for yourself and then we might be better able to give you recommendations.

Da Worfster

[blackraven]

Thiels would be first on my list then Dynaudio's, B&W's!

[nightflier]

The Quad 22L's are voiced from the higher end electrostatics that Quad makes. Maybe a used pair of ESL 989's? Alternatively, a pair of Magnepan 12's or 1.7's ought to do the trick in a larger room. If you cross-over the sub well, the sound will be quite amazing.

Just a quick question: have you considered speaker placement? Some bookshelf speakers really benefit from wall re-enforcement when moved to a larger space. I used to own 22L's and they were very picky about placement.

[Ajani]

Hi. I've recently moved out to the suburbs with my girlfriend, and have found that my Quad 12L bookshelves really struggle to fill the increased space (17' x 32') of our lounge.
Can anyone recommend speakers that will fill the room adequately, whilst matching the clarity of the Quads? I've auditioned the 22Ls and they didn't strike me as significant of an upgrade. I appreciate that powerful and high-quality is an exacting - and likely expensive - remit, so recommendations of speakers to look for second hand are especially welcome.

In case it's relevant; they're run off a Nad 752 surround receiver along with a MJ Acoustics Reference 1 mk II sub.

When you say the 22Ls weren't a significant upgrade, where you talking about sound quality OR their ability to fill a room with sound? Speakers in the same line often sound essentially the same, just that you get deeper bass and greater sensitivity as you move up the line... So the 22L might actually be what you are after (assuming you haven't tried them in your room and your goal is just to fill the room with sound)...

In the Sub $2K price range, I'd suggest checking out the Revel Concerta F12 (they would have no trouble filling your room with sound) and the Monitor Audio RX8.... If you are buying used, then you could check out Revel's Performa and Monitor Audio's Gold Lines...