I own the 21Ls :)
I did not have the opportunity to audition the 22Ls at the time of purchase and they were also not within my budget at the time.
First off these speakers are not bright at all, what they are is very neutral and completely unforgiving. Some poorly recorded rock albums are now completely unlistenable on my system (modest as it is) because the Quad simply plays it like it is. Everyone's response when they hear my system is "It sounds so clean" This is the same description I have heard from 10+ people who I sit down and play them some of their own music or some of the tunes I like to demo with.
These speakers are however a great deal of fun, I listen to a very eclectic range of music(electronica, rock, rap, jazz, classical, etc) and everything is supremely enjoyable. The bass on these speakers has always been good, but now approaching the 6 month mark they have gone to a new level, bass is always quick clean - never overdone or uncontrolled.
I lack the adjectives and experience to properly describe the joy these speakers have brought me. I'll sum it up like this. I sit down, I put in some of my favorite music, and an uncontrollable grin spreads across my face and I just - enjoy.
I have detailed information on my auditioning process in under my system thread so check that out and feel free to e-mail me with any questions if you'd like me to give you a specific impression of some specific music let me know.
Hope this helps,
Nathan
