Which Quads: 12L2 or 11L Monitors?

I cannot provide opinion on the Quad 12L2. But in 2005, I listened to the 11L and the 12L. I was impressed with the 12Ls. Nothing wrong with 11L, but I felt the 12L had more bass impact over 11L and everything else remained the same. I believe that the 12L2 should be an improvement over 12L. Give the Quads at least 500 hour break-in time to sound their best. What is your amp?

Five hundred hours? Wow, that'll take a while. But it should be worth it. I have a recently-bought Arte Forma integrated amp.

Thanks very much.

I think that the 12L is the better speaker all else being equal. Especially with male vocals which seem to lack a little weight with the 11L. The 12L also nails piano which is something I pay close attention to.

I can't recall thinking the 11L did anything better which makes sense as long as the 12 has adequate juice to control the 6.5 incher.

The 11L is not much smaller for what it is worth either. I feel it is a no brainer.

You might want to consider going active too...

Rob, you're right abut piano. The 12Ls are wonderful for piano music.

Thanks.

Masswineguy,
The 500 hours is a rough estimate based on my personal experience. But I certainly luv the Quad dynamic speakers. You would be hard-pressed to find a competition in their range that can do music better. I have mentioned in my posts before. The Quads were never in my shortlist when I wanted to put together a good system. But one listen to the Quad 12Ls and I was hooked. I went back and researched on the difference between 12L and 21L and came to a decision that I wanted the floor-standers. I got the 21L sight unseen, sound unheard (though familiarized by 12L).
And look at it this way - either 11L or 12L you are gonna have a winner :-) Oh, I am so waiting to get my audio room back :-(

I had the 12L for a while and liked them. The tweeter was very good and overall a nice clean sound. That being said, I found them to have a recessed midrange compared to several other speakers I had on hand. I always wondered if the 11Ls had more explicit mids (or if the next generation 12L2), especially since I used them with a sub.

I have the 12L2s and have never had an issue with crispness on the mid range. For the price point, they are pretty incredible. The bass is signifinaclty better than the 11L2s.

Also, they do take a while to start sounding their best.

As a testamanet to the quality of the Quad dynmaic speakers, they are the main "value" d speakers sold by Overture in Delaware - arguably the best high fi shop on the east coast.

Mine are the 12L2 model. I'm hanging on to them.

Dangelod, it's curious that Overture's Website has no listing of Quad as one of their product lines.

It can be found under the High-Performance Audio (Brands) link:

http://www.overtureaudiohometheater.com/high-performance-audio/high-performance-audio-brands

Oops! Now I see. Thanks. It's good to know that such a fine shop likes my speakers, too.

My experience is similar to Blkadr when it comes to the midrange and highs. I have the 12L2. The mids are a bit recessed, at least compared to my Tannoy DC6. But even before I had the Tannoy to compare them to, I suspected it. The highs are nice and clean, but do not sparkle like the highs on the DC6. This is all subjective stuff though. Some here may enjoy the more forgiving highs and the somewhat recessed mids.

The bass is huge on the 12L2. It can sometimes overwhelm. This was not the case on my old speaker stands, but it is on my new stands. So this will clearly vary depending on what you put the speaker on. The DC6 is a smaller speaker and seems to be a more natural fit in my room. So given the OP has a small room, I could easily see the 11L being a more ideal fit. But if you put the 12L2 on the right stand, it will probably be fine. Like with many things I'm finding in this hobby, you can tackle a problem a few different ways and yield good results.

I have owned both and currently own the 12L2 in a bedroom system with an Arcam integrated and CD player. The cable is Nordost Super flatline 2. I agree with earlier comments that there is sometimes more than enough bass with these speakers. While they are overall very smooth on top. I have had the experience of individual piano notes sounding way too bright. Perhaps it was the recording- I don't know for sure. Bottom line to do better than these speakers you have to drop a lot more money on a Spendor, Harbeth or ProAc. The 11L2 doesn't have the oomph in the bottom end but in most rooms of moderate size- it will suffice.

Have the 11L and 12L. Auditioned L2 versions of both and found them a little too rough in the midrange.
I would look for a used pair of 12Ls.