Will the Quad 22L fit my room and other equipment?


I am about to upgrade my speakers. I am considering the Quad 22L model and would appreciate opinions as to whether they will provide a good "fit" acoustically with my listening room, music preferences and associated equipment. I won't have a chance to audition them at home beforehand.

My room size is 14' x 21' with 8' ceilings and has hardwood floors, large area rugs and an average amount of living room furniture. The speakers will be situated along the sort wall, about 6 ½ feet apart and 3 ½ feet from each of the side walls. My listening position is about 10 feet from the fronts of the speakers. Unfortunately, the fronts of the speakers can be at most 30" into the room, which means that the speakers will be fairly close to the wall behind them. Most of my other equipment has been upgraded within the last year:

NAD C370 integrated amp (120W, high current)
Sony CDP-CA70ES CD changer (will also buy a SACD player in the future)
Marantz st6000 tuner
Van den Hul D-102 III hybrid interconnects
Kimber 4PR cables (Plan to upgrade these soon. Will likely go to a bi-wire setup.)

I listen to jazz music almost exclusively (vocalists, small groups and smooth jazz) at a comfortable listening volume.

Will the Quad 22L provide a good fit for my situation? If so, what speaker cables should I match with them? If not, is there another brand/model in their price range that would fit better? Thank you.
9hcp

Showing 1 response by rapogee

Hello there 9hcp!

Brief intro:

Well I down graded my speakers since I need the money for other use! I am not sure how the NAD works but for me I went from the Sonus Faber Electa Amator mk1 to the Quad 22L leaving my other components the way it is!
(Krell amp/theta source and Synergistic Designer Ref cabling). Speaker are the least expansive on my system (the other way around :() and the Quads can play with the big boys well! Room size is 20 by 30 and height is around 11 feet.

Problem:
I was toying around for a few weeks and finally got it right. Its a bitch to set up sometimes but has to be at least 4 feet away from all sides of the wall to get it the way it should be. Lateral imaging depending on the distance of course.

Peter Gabriels "Shaking the Tree" was not boomy at that 4 feet distance. 3 feet and you can her it booming a little so what I am saying is...YES!
You can make it work in your room by toying around alittle. These thing is kind friendly to set up, unlike my Apogees believe me. Great sounding as well for the money and looks to go with!

I have the Birds Eye Maple Piano but if you are a decor nut, go Piano Black! The Bird's Eye Maple Piano is stunning but not quite easy for all decor! The Piano Black is much easier to please the other half of yours if thats important.
Depending on your decor the Birds Eye may stand out like a sore thumb depending on your decor. Earthy colours and darker hard wood and you are rocking with either finish!
Its a good choice for sure, nothing out there at this price thats going to sound like it! I miss my $6000 Sonus Faber Electa Amator but this thing goes a little lower in the bottom end than my reference speakers (bookshelfs) and it dose it well. The Sonus Electa was difficult to set up as well for a bookshelf compared to this floorstander!

Buy it, you wont regret, I was looking around for a while to replace my reference for the time being until I encountered this, jumped at it. It wont be my reference for sure but its pretty darn good for what you pay trust me comming from someone who is used to listening to speakers in the $6000 and above market!

Rapogee