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THE QUAD 21L2 LOUDSPEAKER
I spent most of January and about half of February without any speakers in
my living room system. This was not a problem as my time was fully
engaged in listening to and writing about the Cullen Circuits DAC in my
main system.
I had sold my Infinity Primus 360s in December without knowing what
would replace them. I thought the Infinities were great speakers, especially
for what they cost, but the longer I listened to them, the less satisfied I
was with a couple of things. Both male and female vocals were well
centered with the 360s but set back further in the soundstage than I felt
sounded right. They also lacked the sort of transparency and
soundstaging that I wanted. So I sold them. I also sold the JBL L26
Decade speakers that I wrote about in my January 2008 article and my
Perpetual Technology DAC pair. When I got through, I ended up with
$1100 to go speaker shopping with.
There are a lot of speakers around this price point. I used the 2008
Stereophile Buyer’s Guide to put together a list of the companies and
models that looked most interesting—at least on paper. I did not rule out
buying used speakers either, if something exceptional turned up within my
budget.
I gave a lot of thought to purchasing Magneplanar MG 12 speakers, as I
mentioned in the December 2007 article. I am a very big fan of
Magneplanars and the 12s cost exactly what I had to spend. I had some
concerns about them performing optimally in my room, however. The living
room system is set up across the long dimension of the room. This does
not provide a lot of room for moving speakers away from the rear wall
without potentially bringing them overly close to the listening position. I
also have constraints on how far apart speakers can be placed. Further
concerns were the MG 12s fairly low efficiency, 86dB, and bass performance
within this space.
I never felt completely comfortable about the MG 12s—not because of them
so much, but because of my room and equipment.
In fairness, I was also wondering if it would not be a better idea to just go
with dynamic speakers in my living room. A small two-way cone speaker
would give me a lot more flexibility in set up, probably offer deeper bass
than the MG 12s, and probably be more efficient as well. A lot of
“probablies” but at this point I was working pretty much totally in
hypothetical terms. The nagging question was: could I find and afford
dynamic speakers that would get me the sort of imaging and transparency
that I wanted?
I was still in the research stage when my wife and I were out hitting estate
sales one Saturday in late January. I realized that we were going to drive
by Music for Pleasure, one of the few independent audio/video stores left in
the St. Louis area.
I had not been in Music for Pleasure in about nine years. I had visited them
shortly after we had moved here. They were selling primarily Naim and Linn
equipment at the time and I could not afford anything they stocked, even
cables. Like all the other audio stores, they seemed to be heading toward
home theater sales exclusively. Since we were driving right by, I figured it
was time to take another look. Maybe they would have something used or
demo that would work for me.
I told the salesman who waited on me that I was interested in a pair of
speakers in the $1000 per pair range. What did he have?
I was shown to a listening area that was amazingly like my own living room
in size and shape, only the furniture was better. The salesman began with
a pair of floor standing Focal Chorus 716 V speakers ($1295) as proxies
for the 714 V speakers ($995) that were actually in my price range but not
in stock. I liked the 716s a lot. They had a warm full bass that I found
very pleasant. The midrange was also lovely. My impression was that the
speakers were a little warmer/more romantic/less detailed than I was
looking for but they certainly were pleasant to listen to.
The salesman then substituted a Focal Chorus 807 V monitor ($995 w/o
stands) for the 716. The problem with this set up was the stands being
used—they were just too high. The 807s sat nearly six inches higher than
the 716 and it was hard to judge their sound while seated in my chair. The
807s sounded somewhat thin in this set up. What they lacked in bass,
though, they made up for in improved detail.
The 807s were then replaced with Dynaudio Audience 52 two-way monitors
($1100). This speaker pairs a 6.5 inch woofer/mid with an aluminum cone
tweeter. The bass was again less full than that of the Focal 716 but it had
better dynamics. The 52 also had noticeably better detail than the 716
(and possibly the 807). It sounded very transparent as well. I was
impressed. This is the first Dynaudio speaker I have actually had the
chance to hear. I liked it.
I do harbor some prejudices regarding small monitor speakers. Actually, I
harbor prejudices against their stands. The right stand is critical—it can
allow a small speaker to realize its full potential or it can undermine its
performance. A stand that is too high or low cannot soundstage properly
(relative to the listening position) and will sound unbalanced. The wrong
stand will not provide the stability the speaker needs to operate properly.
And then there is the cost. A quality stand can be a significant portion of
the speaker’s overall cost.
Given these concerns, I personally prefer a floor standing speaker. Good
or bad, you deal with the speaker as it exists. You are free from worrying
about whether you have gotten the speaker support right. The floor
stander also offers better bass performance, due to its increased cabinet
volume, and may offer slightly higher efficiency compared with the same
drivers used in a smaller cabinet.
In the case of the Dynaudio Audience 52s, the factory stands add $300 to
their cost for a total of $1400, exactly the same price as the Dynaudio
Audience 62 floor standing speakers. The 62 speaker uses the same
drivers as the 52. The difference in bass response is considerable,
however. The 62 offers bass down to 38 Hz, the 52 to only 52 Hz,
according to Dynaudio’s literature. From my perspective, the 62 looked like
the more “all around” sort of speaker that I was looking for. Unfortunately,
the Audience 62 was not in stock to actually audition.
The people at Music for Pleasure offered to check and see if they could find
a pair of B-stock 62s for me as they would come closer to fitting my
budget. This proved impossible and, despite their best efforts, I just could
not afford a pair of Audience 62s. I have to say that I could not imagine
better service than everyone at Music for Pleasure gave me. It was several
of the pleasantest hours I have spent in the ten years I have lived in the
St. Louis area. I certainly hope to see them again in the future.
The time I spent listening to the Focal and Dynaudio speakers was really
helpful. It led me to rethink another speaker that had caught my attention,
the Quad 21L2.
THE QUAD 21L2 SPEAKERS
Actually, it was a review of the Quad 22L in The Absolute Sound that made
me seriously consider the 21L2, its smaller and updated sibling.
The 22L (now the 22L2) has a second 6.5 inch bass driver, in a slightly
bigger cabinet for deeper bass, but otherwise uses the same drivers as the
21L2.
The review I read was by Jim Hannon in the October/November 2005 The
Absolute Sound. It was a very positive review and concluded thusly:
“The Quad 22L bears a strong sonic resemblance to the company’s pricier
electrostatics, and is among the most satisfying and attractive dynamic
speakers I’ve heard under $3000. If you value natural musical timbre, low
distortion, coherence, and a wide, deep, and precise soundstage, you
might be quite taken by the 22L, which is truly worthy of the Quad badge.”
This was exactly the sort of summary that I wanted to read. I am quite
taken with wide, deep soundstages.
This review preceded the upgrades made in September 2006 to the original
L series speakers resulting in the 2 series now being sold. Quad’s website
summarizes these upgrades as:
“Aluminium voice coils, a new profiled tweeter pod, improved chassis design
for lower mid-range distortion and improved terminals, spikes and plinths.”
Given these upgrades I had every reason to expect even better sound than
Jim Hannon heard. I also searched for information on Quad’s website. I
discovered several things in their information that I found interesting from
a technical perspective. www.quad-hifi.co.uk
First, Quad is a totally vertically integrated company. From the drivers to
the cabinets to the terminals, everything is made in their own factory.
Second, by making their own drivers, Quad is able to use a low-order
crossover. While the Quad information does not state precisely what order
crossover is used, it would appear to be a first order crossover (6dB).
Only a small number of companies, notably Vandersteen and Thiele, to my
knowledge, offer speakers with this type of crossover. Done correctly, a
first order crossover offers excellent driver integration and potentially
excellent imaging. As to the crossover components, Quad states they use
polypropylene caps and large gauge oxygen-free wire in all their inductors.
The crossovers look very simple, which is a good thing. If the crossover
needs a couple of dozen resistors to make things work, I tend to wonder
about how well designed the drivers are to begin with.
Third, the Quad literature also states that the Kevlar woofers have a
“complex cast alloy” frame. I cannot verify this for certain without opening
the speaker cabinet but, to me, it is another good indicator of driver quality.
All this information impressed me.
In the final analysis, however, my decision to buy a pair of 21L2s boiled
down to one major assumption. This was that the company making this
small, relatively inexpensive speaker would do so using the same sound
criteria they use for their electro-static speakers. If it is a Quad, then it
should sound as much like an ESL as the technology permits, or so I
hoped.
Interestingly, the Quad 21L2 is identical to the Dynaudio C 62 in almost
every respect—at least on paper. They both are two way speakers using a
6.5 inch woofer; they have nearly identical frequency responses; they are
virtually the same size and weight; and they cost the same amount,
$1400. The Dynaudio is made in Denmark and the Quads are made in
China. The really significant difference for me, however, was that the
Quads were available for right at $1000 from Underwood Hi Fi.
So I gave Wally Liederman, from whom I had also purchased my Cullen
Dac, a call*.
I assumed Wally was in Roswell, Georgia and that I was calling him at one
in the afternoon. It turns out he was in Hawaii and I was calling him at
eight in the morning. Sorry about that.
I went with the cherry finish. With shipping the Quad 21L2s cost $1070.
DESCRIPTION
It took about a week for the speakers to arrive. They arrived in one large
box with two smaller boxes inside. The packing was very well done.
The smaller boxes use dense foam to hold the speakers in position. Each
speaker comes in a bag as well to protect its finish. Included with the very
good owner’s manual is a pair of white gloves so that you do not leave
finger prints on the speakers while setting them up. I was impressed by
the gloves. Click here and here for photos.
A smaller package in the bottom of each box contains the gloss-black
plinth. The plinth allows the speakers to be spiked to the floor. The brass
spikes have locking rings, caps to cover the exposed top threads, and
padded cups for use on wood floors. Screws for mounting the plinths are
included and this only took seconds with a Philips screwdriver. The plinths
have counter-sunk screw holes on both sides and are totally symmetrical.
They cannot be installed incorrectly. Click here to see the plinths.
The real wood veneer on the speakers is advertised as finished with seven
hand rubbed coats of lacquer. They certainly look like it. They are the best
looking speakers that I have ever owned. The fronts and sides of the
cabinets feature book-matched veneers. Click here for a photo of the
speakers and here for a photo of the living room system.
The Quads are also small, standing only about 33 inches tall with the spikes
and plinth in place. A small fabric grill covers the textile dome tweeter and
6.5 inch Kevlar-coned woofer/midrange. Each speaker weighs about 35
pounds; they feel much denser. Click here to view the drivers.
The stated frequency response is 35-28K Hz, +/- 6dB. Efficiency is rated
at 88dB and the impedance is nominally 6 Ohms. The 21L2 is a vented
speaker and is set up for bi-wiring.
DEJA DEJA DEJA DEJA DEJA DEJA DEJA DEJA DEJA VU
Once again, I had bought audio components without hearing them first. It
was just like, well, everything I own. The only components in either of my
systems that I actually heard prior to buying them were my Magneplanar
MG 10s. Every other single component I own has been bought unheard.
This is not because I think this is a great idea. Between a lack of dealers
and a limited budget, though, it is just the way things have worked out.
The question, as always, was: how did I do?
SET UP
The small Quads sit just under 7 feet apart, center to center, in my
listening space. Given their small size, they actually appear to be much
farther apart. My ears are about 8 feet from either speaker. The Quads
are slightly toed-in. I can still see the entire inside panel of each speaker.
It is 34 inches from the back wall to the front of the speaker.
Quad recommends that the tweeters be at ear level. This is pretty tough
to do with a speaker this small. Tilting them back slightly seems to work
fine, however. The speakers are very stable. I played with the tilt until I
was happy with the soundstage. I have left the toe-in where I started.
Quad recommends bi-wiring and that is the only way I have used the
speakers. Click here for a photo showing the amount of tilt. The front of
the speaker is to the left.
I did my critical listening with the grills off. Honestly, I did not hear any
notable difference this way but the design of the grills makes them look like
they could affect the sound.
The Quads were connected to my VTL 50-50 amplifier, Audio Experiment
preamp, and Sony SCD-C333ES SACD/CD player. I also listened using a
heavily modified Mingda MC-7R preamp, which I will write about soon. I
warm up both of my systems using the Isotek Burn-in and Rejuvenation
disc. Since it takes about 20 minutes for either system to sound its best,
and the Isotek track runs for about 30 minutes, this works out nicely.
Whether it breaks-in new equipment any more quickly, I cannot say but it
does seem to keep the system operating at its peak.
LISTENING
Right out of their boxes, the little Quads did an excellent job of imaging.
There was plenty of bass output and the treble was clean and shimmery
where called for. The midrange was excellent. After about four hours of
use, there was a noticeable increase in the volume of the system. Whether
this was due to the Quads breaking-in or to the whole system finally
getting warmed up again, I do not know, but the sound improved as well.
I did not start serious listening until I had well over 100 hours on the
Quads and the rest of the system. As always, I listened to a lot of
different CDs.
One of the first CDs that I listened to critically was Dead Can Dance’s Into
the Labyrinth, which I think would make a good break-in CD in its own
right. This CD is very spacious and with its variety of female and male
voices, drum beats, and high frequency sounds, it provides a lot of
information about any system’s performance. It is a disc that could easily
sound shrill.
Through the Quads it sounded great. The music floated above and
between the two speakers and was only attached to them by those sounds
coming from the extreme right and left of the soundstage. There was no
shrillness from any of the female voices. Drums had good impact and it
was easy to differentiate the types of drums being played. I thought the
bass sounded very tight given the small size of the woofers and the all-
tube electronics driving them.
Diana Krall’s Live in Paris CD sounded great through the Quads. Diana’s
voice was lovely with all the subtle inflections intact that she brings to her
vocals. Guitar, acoustic bass, cymbals and Diana’s piano were all solidly
located in the acoustic space and sounded absolutely realistic.
Track 12, “Just the Way You Are,” is a studio recording and it was easy to
hear the difference in atmosphere between it and the other 11 tracks.
At this point, I did some experimenting with the tilt of the speakers and
adjusted them downward slightly from where I had originally had them.
Interestingly, this adjustment raised the height of the soundstage slightly.
I have left the speakers in this position.
Ray Brown’s double bass had very good impact and depth on The Very Tall
Band CD. The woody resonances coming off the instrument were easy to
hear and the overall sound was very realistic. I would never claim that his
upright bass had the kind of impact and loudness that would be available
from a speaker with larger woofers but it never sounded in any way
deficient either.
This is where having a floor-standing speaker, even a small one, pays off.
It is my opinion that speakers with a low end response above 50 Hz imply
bass output, while those having output below 50 actually provide it.
Getting back to the VTB CD, Milt Jackson’s vibraphone solo on Track 6
sounded very good but lacked the left-to-right solidness that I get with my
main system. Given the Quads excellent and substantial center-fill, I am
not sure why this was the case. The reverb that builds up in the room like
pressure was also slightly diminished.
Jackson Browne’s voice on his Solo Acoustic Vol. 2 CD was reproduced
extremely well. The crowd comments were easy to understand and locate
within the venue of the recording. The depth on this CD was excellent.
The solo guitar and piano both sounded very realistic.
Track 1 on Holly Cole’s new CD, “The House is Haunted by the Echo of
Your Last Goodbye” has a bass saxophone solo that is wonderfully rich,
deep, and physical. It simply demands your attention. Holly’s voice is
lovely with plenty of low-level detail. I am not crazy about her version of
“Charade” but she makes up for this on “Be Careful Its My Heart.” This
lovely song was in Holiday Inn, where, sung by Bing, it was kind of a ‘throw
away” number, in my opinion. Holly sings it beautifully. I was also very
smitten with the other Irving Berlin song on the album, “Reaching for the
Moon.” Holly extracts every emotional crumb that the song has to offer.
SUMMARY
In summarizing the performance of the Quad 21L2s via conventional
categories, here is how I would describe them:
Treble—very clean and extended. I never heard any shrillness and nothing
ever sounded rolled off. I used all tube amplification with the Quads but I
would not expect them to sound markedly different with solid state
amplification. The treble never draws any attention to itself, which I
consider a very positive aspect of its performance.
Midrange—was beautiful on both male and female voices but really made me
want to listen to every female artist’s CD that I have. Jane Monheit,
Madeleine Peyroux, Tierney Sutton, and Alison Krauss all sounded
wonderful. The Once soundtrack was beautiful vocally and instrumentally.
I expected a great midrange and the Quads delivered it.
Bass—this is the area where these speakers have actually exceeded my
expectations. The small Quads go deep enough with enough output to
render drums, acoustic and electric bass, cello, piano, and other
instruments with a low end below 50 Hz, realistically. I never felt that the
bass was ever deficient; in fact, I was surprised by the bass output on a
number of CDs. At the same time, the detail within the bass was
excellent. Out of curiosity, I took some measurements of the bass output
within my living room using the Stereophile Test CD and my Radio Shack
meter. Here is what I measured at my listening position:
Hz dB
100 72
80 78
63 68
50 71+
40 70
31.5 66
These are very good measurements. I am sure that the output at 80 Hz
benefits from a room mode and, while the measurement of the 31.5 Hz
frequency looks surprisingly high in level, in reality it was nearly inaudible.
The measured output at 40 Hz is very good, however, and supports my
subjective impression regarding the bass output. This also correlates well
with what Quad quotes for low-frequency extension.
Top-to-bottom, the Quads are very well balanced.
Soundstage—for me, the soundstage is what listening is all about. I feel
that if a system soundstages well, it is an indication that it is doing
everything well. The Quad’s soundstaging abilities are absolutely
wonderful.
CONCLUSION
For my needs and for my preferences, these speakers have turned out to
be exactly what I hoped for. They image fabulously, have a terrific
midrange, and offer excellent top to bottom continuity. They also look nice.
I am extremely happy with them.
Should you buy a pair?
I think listeners whose tastes run to classical, jazz, opera or acoustic music
will be delighted with these speakers. If you are into rock, disco, or rap,
they will not have the level of bass output needed to be satisfactory on
their own (which is why Quad offers the L2 series subwoofer as well.)
Given all the competition at this price point and the limited number of
speakers that I have actually heard, I would not be foolish enough to claim
these are the best speakers that you can buy. I would, however, say that
anyone looking for speakers of this type and at this price would be foolish
not to check out the Quads if they have the opportunity to hear them.
Other speakers in this price range may be just as good but it is hard to
imagine any of them being appreciably better.
Having said that, I do not believe that I have actually gotten the full
measure of the Quads yet. For now, I think they are being limited by the
rest of my living room system. I plan to make some changes in the system
and, as I do, I will come back and report how the sound of the Quad 21L2s
is affected. I think these speakers would be right at home—and by no
means embarrassed—in a system where every component costs several
times what they do. Seriously.
Hear them if you get the chance.
Kent Johnson
April 15, 2008
Associated Equipment
*I just want to point out that I have no connection with Wally Liederman or
Underwood Hi Fi in any way—personal, professional, whatever. I paid the
same price for these speakers and got the same service as anyone else
would.
I spent most of January and about half of February without any speakers in
my living room system. This was not a problem as my time was fully
engaged in listening to and writing about the Cullen Circuits DAC in my
main system.
I had sold my Infinity Primus 360s in December without knowing what
would replace them. I thought the Infinities were great speakers, especially
for what they cost, but the longer I listened to them, the less satisfied I
was with a couple of things. Both male and female vocals were well
centered with the 360s but set back further in the soundstage than I felt
sounded right. They also lacked the sort of transparency and
soundstaging that I wanted. So I sold them. I also sold the JBL L26
Decade speakers that I wrote about in my January 2008 article and my
Perpetual Technology DAC pair. When I got through, I ended up with
$1100 to go speaker shopping with.
There are a lot of speakers around this price point. I used the 2008
Stereophile Buyer’s Guide to put together a list of the companies and
models that looked most interesting—at least on paper. I did not rule out
buying used speakers either, if something exceptional turned up within my
budget.
I gave a lot of thought to purchasing Magneplanar MG 12 speakers, as I
mentioned in the December 2007 article. I am a very big fan of
Magneplanars and the 12s cost exactly what I had to spend. I had some
concerns about them performing optimally in my room, however. The living
room system is set up across the long dimension of the room. This does
not provide a lot of room for moving speakers away from the rear wall
without potentially bringing them overly close to the listening position. I
also have constraints on how far apart speakers can be placed. Further
concerns were the MG 12s fairly low efficiency, 86dB, and bass performance
within this space.
I never felt completely comfortable about the MG 12s—not because of them
so much, but because of my room and equipment.
In fairness, I was also wondering if it would not be a better idea to just go
with dynamic speakers in my living room. A small two-way cone speaker
would give me a lot more flexibility in set up, probably offer deeper bass
than the MG 12s, and probably be more efficient as well. A lot of
“probablies” but at this point I was working pretty much totally in
hypothetical terms. The nagging question was: could I find and afford
dynamic speakers that would get me the sort of imaging and transparency
that I wanted?
I was still in the research stage when my wife and I were out hitting estate
sales one Saturday in late January. I realized that we were going to drive
by Music for Pleasure, one of the few independent audio/video stores left in
the St. Louis area.
I had not been in Music for Pleasure in about nine years. I had visited them
shortly after we had moved here. They were selling primarily Naim and Linn
equipment at the time and I could not afford anything they stocked, even
cables. Like all the other audio stores, they seemed to be heading toward
home theater sales exclusively. Since we were driving right by, I figured it
was time to take another look. Maybe they would have something used or
demo that would work for me.
I told the salesman who waited on me that I was interested in a pair of
speakers in the $1000 per pair range. What did he have?
I was shown to a listening area that was amazingly like my own living room
in size and shape, only the furniture was better. The salesman began with
a pair of floor standing Focal Chorus 716 V speakers ($1295) as proxies
for the 714 V speakers ($995) that were actually in my price range but not
in stock. I liked the 716s a lot. They had a warm full bass that I found
very pleasant. The midrange was also lovely. My impression was that the
speakers were a little warmer/more romantic/less detailed than I was
looking for but they certainly were pleasant to listen to.
The salesman then substituted a Focal Chorus 807 V monitor ($995 w/o
stands) for the 716. The problem with this set up was the stands being
used—they were just too high. The 807s sat nearly six inches higher than
the 716 and it was hard to judge their sound while seated in my chair. The
807s sounded somewhat thin in this set up. What they lacked in bass,
though, they made up for in improved detail.
The 807s were then replaced with Dynaudio Audience 52 two-way monitors
($1100). This speaker pairs a 6.5 inch woofer/mid with an aluminum cone
tweeter. The bass was again less full than that of the Focal 716 but it had
better dynamics. The 52 also had noticeably better detail than the 716
(and possibly the 807). It sounded very transparent as well. I was
impressed. This is the first Dynaudio speaker I have actually had the
chance to hear. I liked it.
I do harbor some prejudices regarding small monitor speakers. Actually, I
harbor prejudices against their stands. The right stand is critical—it can
allow a small speaker to realize its full potential or it can undermine its
performance. A stand that is too high or low cannot soundstage properly
(relative to the listening position) and will sound unbalanced. The wrong
stand will not provide the stability the speaker needs to operate properly.
And then there is the cost. A quality stand can be a significant portion of
the speaker’s overall cost.
Given these concerns, I personally prefer a floor standing speaker. Good
or bad, you deal with the speaker as it exists. You are free from worrying
about whether you have gotten the speaker support right. The floor
stander also offers better bass performance, due to its increased cabinet
volume, and may offer slightly higher efficiency compared with the same
drivers used in a smaller cabinet.
In the case of the Dynaudio Audience 52s, the factory stands add $300 to
their cost for a total of $1400, exactly the same price as the Dynaudio
Audience 62 floor standing speakers. The 62 speaker uses the same
drivers as the 52. The difference in bass response is considerable,
however. The 62 offers bass down to 38 Hz, the 52 to only 52 Hz,
according to Dynaudio’s literature. From my perspective, the 62 looked like
the more “all around” sort of speaker that I was looking for. Unfortunately,
the Audience 62 was not in stock to actually audition.
The people at Music for Pleasure offered to check and see if they could find
a pair of B-stock 62s for me as they would come closer to fitting my
budget. This proved impossible and, despite their best efforts, I just could
not afford a pair of Audience 62s. I have to say that I could not imagine
better service than everyone at Music for Pleasure gave me. It was several
of the pleasantest hours I have spent in the ten years I have lived in the
St. Louis area. I certainly hope to see them again in the future.
The time I spent listening to the Focal and Dynaudio speakers was really
helpful. It led me to rethink another speaker that had caught my attention,
the Quad 21L2.
THE QUAD 21L2 SPEAKERS
Actually, it was a review of the Quad 22L in The Absolute Sound that made
me seriously consider the 21L2, its smaller and updated sibling.
The 22L (now the 22L2) has a second 6.5 inch bass driver, in a slightly
bigger cabinet for deeper bass, but otherwise uses the same drivers as the
21L2.
The review I read was by Jim Hannon in the October/November 2005 The
Absolute Sound. It was a very positive review and concluded thusly:
“The Quad 22L bears a strong sonic resemblance to the company’s pricier
electrostatics, and is among the most satisfying and attractive dynamic
speakers I’ve heard under $3000. If you value natural musical timbre, low
distortion, coherence, and a wide, deep, and precise soundstage, you
might be quite taken by the 22L, which is truly worthy of the Quad badge.”
This was exactly the sort of summary that I wanted to read. I am quite
taken with wide, deep soundstages.
This review preceded the upgrades made in September 2006 to the original
L series speakers resulting in the 2 series now being sold. Quad’s website
summarizes these upgrades as:
“Aluminium voice coils, a new profiled tweeter pod, improved chassis design
for lower mid-range distortion and improved terminals, spikes and plinths.”
Given these upgrades I had every reason to expect even better sound than
Jim Hannon heard. I also searched for information on Quad’s website. I
discovered several things in their information that I found interesting from
a technical perspective. www.quad-hifi.co.uk
First, Quad is a totally vertically integrated company. From the drivers to
the cabinets to the terminals, everything is made in their own factory.
Second, by making their own drivers, Quad is able to use a low-order
crossover. While the Quad information does not state precisely what order
crossover is used, it would appear to be a first order crossover (6dB).
Only a small number of companies, notably Vandersteen and Thiele, to my
knowledge, offer speakers with this type of crossover. Done correctly, a
first order crossover offers excellent driver integration and potentially
excellent imaging. As to the crossover components, Quad states they use
polypropylene caps and large gauge oxygen-free wire in all their inductors.
The crossovers look very simple, which is a good thing. If the crossover
needs a couple of dozen resistors to make things work, I tend to wonder
about how well designed the drivers are to begin with.
Third, the Quad literature also states that the Kevlar woofers have a
“complex cast alloy” frame. I cannot verify this for certain without opening
the speaker cabinet but, to me, it is another good indicator of driver quality.
All this information impressed me.
In the final analysis, however, my decision to buy a pair of 21L2s boiled
down to one major assumption. This was that the company making this
small, relatively inexpensive speaker would do so using the same sound
criteria they use for their electro-static speakers. If it is a Quad, then it
should sound as much like an ESL as the technology permits, or so I
hoped.
Interestingly, the Quad 21L2 is identical to the Dynaudio C 62 in almost
every respect—at least on paper. They both are two way speakers using a
6.5 inch woofer; they have nearly identical frequency responses; they are
virtually the same size and weight; and they cost the same amount,
$1400. The Dynaudio is made in Denmark and the Quads are made in
China. The really significant difference for me, however, was that the
Quads were available for right at $1000 from Underwood Hi Fi.
So I gave Wally Liederman, from whom I had also purchased my Cullen
Dac, a call*.
I assumed Wally was in Roswell, Georgia and that I was calling him at one
in the afternoon. It turns out he was in Hawaii and I was calling him at
eight in the morning. Sorry about that.
I went with the cherry finish. With shipping the Quad 21L2s cost $1070.
DESCRIPTION
It took about a week for the speakers to arrive. They arrived in one large
box with two smaller boxes inside. The packing was very well done.
The smaller boxes use dense foam to hold the speakers in position. Each
speaker comes in a bag as well to protect its finish. Included with the very
good owner’s manual is a pair of white gloves so that you do not leave
finger prints on the speakers while setting them up. I was impressed by
the gloves. Click here and here for photos.
A smaller package in the bottom of each box contains the gloss-black
plinth. The plinth allows the speakers to be spiked to the floor. The brass
spikes have locking rings, caps to cover the exposed top threads, and
padded cups for use on wood floors. Screws for mounting the plinths are
included and this only took seconds with a Philips screwdriver. The plinths
have counter-sunk screw holes on both sides and are totally symmetrical.
They cannot be installed incorrectly. Click here to see the plinths.
The real wood veneer on the speakers is advertised as finished with seven
hand rubbed coats of lacquer. They certainly look like it. They are the best
looking speakers that I have ever owned. The fronts and sides of the
cabinets feature book-matched veneers. Click here for a photo of the
speakers and here for a photo of the living room system.
The Quads are also small, standing only about 33 inches tall with the spikes
and plinth in place. A small fabric grill covers the textile dome tweeter and
6.5 inch Kevlar-coned woofer/midrange. Each speaker weighs about 35
pounds; they feel much denser. Click here to view the drivers.
The stated frequency response is 35-28K Hz, +/- 6dB. Efficiency is rated
at 88dB and the impedance is nominally 6 Ohms. The 21L2 is a vented
speaker and is set up for bi-wiring.
DEJA DEJA DEJA DEJA DEJA DEJA DEJA DEJA DEJA VU
Once again, I had bought audio components without hearing them first. It
was just like, well, everything I own. The only components in either of my
systems that I actually heard prior to buying them were my Magneplanar
MG 10s. Every other single component I own has been bought unheard.
This is not because I think this is a great idea. Between a lack of dealers
and a limited budget, though, it is just the way things have worked out.
The question, as always, was: how did I do?
SET UP
The small Quads sit just under 7 feet apart, center to center, in my
listening space. Given their small size, they actually appear to be much
farther apart. My ears are about 8 feet from either speaker. The Quads
are slightly toed-in. I can still see the entire inside panel of each speaker.
It is 34 inches from the back wall to the front of the speaker.
Quad recommends that the tweeters be at ear level. This is pretty tough
to do with a speaker this small. Tilting them back slightly seems to work
fine, however. The speakers are very stable. I played with the tilt until I
was happy with the soundstage. I have left the toe-in where I started.
Quad recommends bi-wiring and that is the only way I have used the
speakers. Click here for a photo showing the amount of tilt. The front of
the speaker is to the left.
I did my critical listening with the grills off. Honestly, I did not hear any
notable difference this way but the design of the grills makes them look like
they could affect the sound.
The Quads were connected to my VTL 50-50 amplifier, Audio Experiment
preamp, and Sony SCD-C333ES SACD/CD player. I also listened using a
heavily modified Mingda MC-7R preamp, which I will write about soon. I
warm up both of my systems using the Isotek Burn-in and Rejuvenation
disc. Since it takes about 20 minutes for either system to sound its best,
and the Isotek track runs for about 30 minutes, this works out nicely.
Whether it breaks-in new equipment any more quickly, I cannot say but it
does seem to keep the system operating at its peak.
LISTENING
Right out of their boxes, the little Quads did an excellent job of imaging.
There was plenty of bass output and the treble was clean and shimmery
where called for. The midrange was excellent. After about four hours of
use, there was a noticeable increase in the volume of the system. Whether
this was due to the Quads breaking-in or to the whole system finally
getting warmed up again, I do not know, but the sound improved as well.
I did not start serious listening until I had well over 100 hours on the
Quads and the rest of the system. As always, I listened to a lot of
different CDs.
One of the first CDs that I listened to critically was Dead Can Dance’s Into
the Labyrinth, which I think would make a good break-in CD in its own
right. This CD is very spacious and with its variety of female and male
voices, drum beats, and high frequency sounds, it provides a lot of
information about any system’s performance. It is a disc that could easily
sound shrill.
Through the Quads it sounded great. The music floated above and
between the two speakers and was only attached to them by those sounds
coming from the extreme right and left of the soundstage. There was no
shrillness from any of the female voices. Drums had good impact and it
was easy to differentiate the types of drums being played. I thought the
bass sounded very tight given the small size of the woofers and the all-
tube electronics driving them.
Diana Krall’s Live in Paris CD sounded great through the Quads. Diana’s
voice was lovely with all the subtle inflections intact that she brings to her
vocals. Guitar, acoustic bass, cymbals and Diana’s piano were all solidly
located in the acoustic space and sounded absolutely realistic.
Track 12, “Just the Way You Are,” is a studio recording and it was easy to
hear the difference in atmosphere between it and the other 11 tracks.
At this point, I did some experimenting with the tilt of the speakers and
adjusted them downward slightly from where I had originally had them.
Interestingly, this adjustment raised the height of the soundstage slightly.
I have left the speakers in this position.
Ray Brown’s double bass had very good impact and depth on The Very Tall
Band CD. The woody resonances coming off the instrument were easy to
hear and the overall sound was very realistic. I would never claim that his
upright bass had the kind of impact and loudness that would be available
from a speaker with larger woofers but it never sounded in any way
deficient either.
This is where having a floor-standing speaker, even a small one, pays off.
It is my opinion that speakers with a low end response above 50 Hz imply
bass output, while those having output below 50 actually provide it.
Getting back to the VTB CD, Milt Jackson’s vibraphone solo on Track 6
sounded very good but lacked the left-to-right solidness that I get with my
main system. Given the Quads excellent and substantial center-fill, I am
not sure why this was the case. The reverb that builds up in the room like
pressure was also slightly diminished.
Jackson Browne’s voice on his Solo Acoustic Vol. 2 CD was reproduced
extremely well. The crowd comments were easy to understand and locate
within the venue of the recording. The depth on this CD was excellent.
The solo guitar and piano both sounded very realistic.
Track 1 on Holly Cole’s new CD, “The House is Haunted by the Echo of
Your Last Goodbye” has a bass saxophone solo that is wonderfully rich,
deep, and physical. It simply demands your attention. Holly’s voice is
lovely with plenty of low-level detail. I am not crazy about her version of
“Charade” but she makes up for this on “Be Careful Its My Heart.” This
lovely song was in Holiday Inn, where, sung by Bing, it was kind of a ‘throw
away” number, in my opinion. Holly sings it beautifully. I was also very
smitten with the other Irving Berlin song on the album, “Reaching for the
Moon.” Holly extracts every emotional crumb that the song has to offer.
SUMMARY
In summarizing the performance of the Quad 21L2s via conventional
categories, here is how I would describe them:
Treble—very clean and extended. I never heard any shrillness and nothing
ever sounded rolled off. I used all tube amplification with the Quads but I
would not expect them to sound markedly different with solid state
amplification. The treble never draws any attention to itself, which I
consider a very positive aspect of its performance.
Midrange—was beautiful on both male and female voices but really made me
want to listen to every female artist’s CD that I have. Jane Monheit,
Madeleine Peyroux, Tierney Sutton, and Alison Krauss all sounded
wonderful. The Once soundtrack was beautiful vocally and instrumentally.
I expected a great midrange and the Quads delivered it.
Bass—this is the area where these speakers have actually exceeded my
expectations. The small Quads go deep enough with enough output to
render drums, acoustic and electric bass, cello, piano, and other
instruments with a low end below 50 Hz, realistically. I never felt that the
bass was ever deficient; in fact, I was surprised by the bass output on a
number of CDs. At the same time, the detail within the bass was
excellent. Out of curiosity, I took some measurements of the bass output
within my living room using the Stereophile Test CD and my Radio Shack
meter. Here is what I measured at my listening position:
Hz dB
100 72
80 78
63 68
50 71+
40 70
31.5 66
These are very good measurements. I am sure that the output at 80 Hz
benefits from a room mode and, while the measurement of the 31.5 Hz
frequency looks surprisingly high in level, in reality it was nearly inaudible.
The measured output at 40 Hz is very good, however, and supports my
subjective impression regarding the bass output. This also correlates well
with what Quad quotes for low-frequency extension.
Top-to-bottom, the Quads are very well balanced.
Soundstage—for me, the soundstage is what listening is all about. I feel
that if a system soundstages well, it is an indication that it is doing
everything well. The Quad’s soundstaging abilities are absolutely
wonderful.
CONCLUSION
For my needs and for my preferences, these speakers have turned out to
be exactly what I hoped for. They image fabulously, have a terrific
midrange, and offer excellent top to bottom continuity. They also look nice.
I am extremely happy with them.
Should you buy a pair?
I think listeners whose tastes run to classical, jazz, opera or acoustic music
will be delighted with these speakers. If you are into rock, disco, or rap,
they will not have the level of bass output needed to be satisfactory on
their own (which is why Quad offers the L2 series subwoofer as well.)
Given all the competition at this price point and the limited number of
speakers that I have actually heard, I would not be foolish enough to claim
these are the best speakers that you can buy. I would, however, say that
anyone looking for speakers of this type and at this price would be foolish
not to check out the Quads if they have the opportunity to hear them.
Other speakers in this price range may be just as good but it is hard to
imagine any of them being appreciably better.
Having said that, I do not believe that I have actually gotten the full
measure of the Quads yet. For now, I think they are being limited by the
rest of my living room system. I plan to make some changes in the system
and, as I do, I will come back and report how the sound of the Quad 21L2s
is affected. I think these speakers would be right at home—and by no
means embarrassed—in a system where every component costs several
times what they do. Seriously.
Hear them if you get the chance.
Kent Johnson
April 15, 2008
Associated Equipment
*I just want to point out that I have no connection with Wally Liederman or
Underwood Hi Fi in any way—personal, professional, whatever. I paid the
same price for these speakers and got the same service as anyone else
would.