I thought the Quad 12L monitors to sound a bit thin compared to the floorstanders. I liked the 21L the best (better than 22L also), more full range natural and balanced at least in the larger room where I heard them. In a small room, I might prefer the monitors and maybe add a separate sub if needed.
Note these are 12Ls I heard FWIW. I have not heard 12L2s and cannot compare those.
I tend to prefer monitors in general over floor-standers in most average sized rooms where you will listen from more of a near field postion. I tend to not like floor-standers in smaller rooms from a nearfield listening position when there is greater physical separation between drivers in that I think this negatively impacts imaging and phase coherency whereas closer proximity of drivers (approximating a point or line source as is typically the case more with monitors) enhances imaging and coherency in many rooms.
If you go with monitors though, plan to invest in a pair of decent speaker stands also.
For monitors, there are other lines and models I would chose over Quad 12L, but I believe they may also cost more. Dynaudio and Totem are two. Totem Arro is a very good choice for a wide range small-footprint floor stander that will work well in most any normal size room (with sufficient amplification).
Note these are 12Ls I heard FWIW. I have not heard 12L2s and cannot compare those.
I tend to prefer monitors in general over floor-standers in most average sized rooms where you will listen from more of a near field postion. I tend to not like floor-standers in smaller rooms from a nearfield listening position when there is greater physical separation between drivers in that I think this negatively impacts imaging and phase coherency whereas closer proximity of drivers (approximating a point or line source as is typically the case more with monitors) enhances imaging and coherency in many rooms.
If you go with monitors though, plan to invest in a pair of decent speaker stands also.
For monitors, there are other lines and models I would chose over Quad 12L, but I believe they may also cost more. Dynaudio and Totem are two. Totem Arro is a very good choice for a wide range small-footprint floor stander that will work well in most any normal size room (with sufficient amplification).