Quad 22 L

QUAD 22L2 Floor-standing Speaker Review

QUAD are a well known and highly regarded British audio company, associated for many years with high-end hi-fi. Respected throughout the world for quality products capable to produce the very finest audiophile quality reproduction of recorded music.

The 22L2 floor-standing loudspeakers are superbly finished, top of the range electromagnetic (or electro-dynamic) units and have already ...
...music reproduction.

Quad have taken a somewhat different approach to manufacturing then most of their competitors. From the beginning, they have sought to provide themselves with an advantage by producing ALL of their speaker’s components ‘in house’. Most other manufacturers simply ‘buy in’ the various components from independent manufacturers then assemble them to ‘create’ their ‘own’ finished loudspeakers. Quad’s approach does provide ... more

QUAD 22L2 Floor-standing Speaker Review

QUAD are a well known and highly regarded British audio company, associated for many years with high-end hi-fi. Respected throughout the world for quality products capable to produce the very finest audiophile quality reproduction of recorded music.

The 22L2 floor-standing loudspeakers are superbly finished, top of the range electromagnetic (or electro-dynamic) units and have already gained an enviable reputation amongst those who appreciate fine quality sound. They are a direct replacement for and development of, the previous model 22L loudspeakers which also enjoyed high regard in the world of hi-fidelity music reproduction.

Quad have taken a somewhat different approach to manufacturing then most of their competitors. From the beginning, they have sought to provide themselves with an advantage by producing ALL of their speaker’s components ‘in house’. Most other manufacturers simply ‘buy in’ the various components from independent manufacturers then assemble them to ‘create’ their ‘own’ finished loudspeakers. Quad’s approach does provide several advantages over this more common method of manufacturing.

In producing everything themselves, they are far more easily able to create a more integrated and sympathetic design, where each component is designed to work specifically with each of the others in the ‘overall’ design. From the speaker cones and chassis, to the crossovers, cabinets, internal bracing and fine finishing, every item at each stage of construction, is specifically designed and produced to compliment the subsequent step in the process. Put very basically, this means that Quad have total control over ALL stages of manufacturing, from research and development, through design to the final manufacturing and finishing of these fine loudspeakers.

This concept certainly shows in the listening experience. These superb speakers do NOT provide ‘over-the-top’ dynamics or colouration like many of the competitor’s offerings. If you value genuine ‘what-you-hear-is-what-is-there’ listening, then these really are the speakers for you. They really bring out the best of what is actually ‘there’ on the original recording, beautifully and with consummate clarity, detail, dynamics, imaging, staging and above all, ultimate musicality. I am a private individual and have absolutely no connections whatsoever with Quad or indeed, any interests in their business. In fact, my recent purchase of these 22L2 loudspeakers are my first purchase of any Quad products. However, I have owned and listened to many loudspeakers and in my opinion, if you value very high quality, uncoloured ‘natural’ sound, you will have to go to electrostatics to better them.

If you are wise enough to decide to purchase a pair of these speakers, the first thing you will notice upon unpacking is the absolutely superb finish. My speakers are in high-gloss lacquered real wood veneer, finished in glorious ‘piano black’ lacquer. I can confirm that the other veneer finishes are just as beautifully finished and have the same high gloss finish. Superb!

Unlike the previous 22L version, these speakers come with a beautifully finished plinth which being a little larger all round than the ‘footprint’ of the actual speakers, provides greatly enhanced stability. They also come supplied with high quality heavy duty carpet spikes and cups.

The speakers are quite large, 85cm H x 20.5cm W x 27.8cm D but have a fairly small footprint so don’t actually take up too much space in your room. However, they are NOT magnetically shielded (a little surprising?), so cannot be positioned too close to a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) type television without causing distortion/colouration. They are quite weighty at 19.05 kg each, so if you’re a small female or a bit frail, get some help in unpacking and setting-up.

Each box should contain a speaker, fabric grill (removable), plinth, adapter plate (already fitted), fabric cover with draw-string, cotton gloves (to help retain that super finish), set of four floor spikes and cups, instruction booklet and warranty card.

These speakers are not only ‘suitable’ for bi-wiring or bi-amping, they are positively ‘designed’ for it! Each speaker has four binding posts, two for each channel, connected via metal connecting plates. These plates must be removed prior to bi-wiring or bi-amping so that the lower set of terminals (binding posts) serve the LF (Low Frequency) range and the upper ones the HF (High Frequency) range independently.

If you’re not already a believer in bi-wiring, these speakers will I am sure, almost certainly convert you. It really does make a difference! I am not entirely sure just what additional benefits might be provided by bi-amping. I haven’t tried this – as yet!

Talking of amplifiers. These speakers require quite a reasonable amount of power to drive them efficiently. Quad recommend amplifiers with between 50 and 300 watts. My Cyrus 8vs2 provides around 85wpc into the nominal 6 Ohms impedance of these speakers and while this seems perfectly adequate, I feel they might be even better with more power. Possibly an excuse for me to try bi-amping a little later?

Ultimately of course, the perceived listening experience will vary considerably depending upon such things as the size and shape of the listening room, how and where the speakers are positioned within the room and the type of décor, soft furnishings and carpeting. Each and every one of these things will effect the sound quality and overall audio experience.

Obviously, a room with minimalist furnishings, laminated wood flooring, plain painted (non-papered) walls and Venetian blinds will produce exceedingly bright, even harsh, sound quality while thickly carpeted rooms with heavy flock (God forbid!) wall paper, thick velvet curtains and large, heavy fabric covered chairs and sofas will produce much ‘heavier’, ‘duller’ sound quality. Something between these extremes is perhaps ideal. However, these are a bass-reflex (rear ported) design and positioning, can have a considerable effect on the overall sound quality. The most important thing to remember when setting-up these speakers is to not be afraid to experiment with positioning. I have been amazed just how much difference even really quite small changes in positioning can make.

Unfortunately, Quad are not able to provide a great deal of help with advice on setting up much beyond the (obvious) basics – speakers between 2 and 3 metres apart, equidistant from the listening position, angled in (toe in) slightly toward the listening ‘sweet spot’ and with the tweeters at approximate ear level. This latter advice is a bit pointless as most of us would I am sure, prefer to listen to our music whilst sitting at which time, the tweeters ‘are’ quite naturally at ear level.

They (Quad) also go on to say “The most uncoloured sound will be obtained when the loudspeakers are at least 200mm from the rear walls and 300mm from the side walls”.
DO NOT take this advice lightly and DO be prepared to experiment within these guidelines. I was initially extremely disappointed with my new speakers when I first fired them up (so to speak). Having read other reviews on these loudspeakers, I initially set them 350mm (35cm) from the rear wall, around 2.5 metres apart and angled in slightly to provide ‘line-of-sight’ with the ideal listening position. I could not believe just how BAD the speakers sounded. They were simply awful and for a while there, I thought I might be selling them on ebay! However, there a couple of things that I had not considered or indeed, even thought about, at this stage.

Firstly, these speakers utilise woven Kevlar for the bass and mid/bass speaker cones and this material, whilst superb for their purpose, notoriously requires considerably extended ‘break-in’ time – between 75 to 200 hours! Disregarding what others have said, these speakers DO NOT sound great straight out of the boxes!

Fortunately, whilst the overall break-in period is certainly long, things do improve fairly quickly. After the initial 5 hours listening, they had improved to the point where I no longer considered flogging them and by the time 20 hours of use had been reached, they were actually beginning to sound quite ‘listenable’, even ‘pleasant’ dare I say.

Unfortunately, even after 35 hours use, I was still not entirely satisfied with the sound, let alone ‘impressed’. It was difficult to define exactly what the problem was or what was causing it but somehow, the musical experience was simply not cohesive. All the elements seemed to be there but were for some reason, just not coming together to produce music that ‘involves’ the listening. I am known for my pathetic, even ‘weird’ involvement in music and for me, it really does have to move me, usually to tears. This is totally a genuine and involuntary reaction and one which in some ways, is a bit of a nuisance – not to mention, an embarrassment! However, at this stage of events, this was simply not happening. Something was obviously wrong. I have listened to less expensive and far less highly regarded loudspeakers which were far more involving. Surely, this just couldn’t be right?

I then began to think about this problem and thought back to a Bose Accoustimass AM5 speaker system I once owned. This ‘was’ very involving, especially with it’s combination of direct and reflected sound, albeit with some shortcomings. However, I did recall how it was possible to influence both the bass extension and overall integration between the LF (Low Frequency), MF (Mid-range) and HF (High Frequency simply by moving the bass sub-woofer unit either closer to or further away from a wall. Further variations were possible by positioning the unit either closer to the corners of the room or further away from them.

I applied this theory to the Quad 22L2’s, moving them closer to the rear wall until the rear of the speaker (and the reflex port) was just exactly 200mm (20cm) from the wall, taking the measurement through the centre line of the speaker to the wall. This produced an immediate and profound improvement in quality. Suddenly, the sound became both more coherent and cogent – SUPERB! What a transformation!

I subsequently moved the speakers a further 2cm from the wall (total distance from wall through centre line of 22cm) which improved things still further. Yes, just 2cm! Now, all music, both vocals and instrumentals, from classical to progressive rock (yes, I still love it!) and even heavy rock and jazz etc, all have a magical and beautiful eloquence so hard to define yet so obvious when missing. It is difficult for me still to comprehend that such minor adjustments could have created such a transformation. Almost a metamorphosis as distinct as that created by the changing of a chrysalis into a beautiful butterfly. Amazing!
These loudspeakers deserve good components feeding and driving them. They demand quite a lot of power also so don’t buy them if you’re going feed them and drive them with cheap upstream components. They will be extremely unforgiving. But, give them decent quality gear and they WILL reward.

My speakers are partnered with Cyrus CD8x CD Player with Cyrus PSX-R Regulated Power Supply or Cyrus FM7 Tuner through a Cyrus 8vs2 Integrated Amplifier. I am extremely pleased with the sound quality I am experiencing although I suspect, I might be seeking more power to drive these speakers in the not-too-distant future.

Specification:

Power Handling:
150 watts (continuous)
Recommended amplification:
50 to 300 watts
Sensitivity:
89 dB
Nominal Impedance:
6 ohms
Magnetic Shielding:
None
Size:
85cm x 20.5cm x 27.8cm (HxWxD)
Weight:
19.05 kg (each speaker)
Frequency Response:
30Hz to 28,000Hz
Crossover Frequency:
150Hz and 3kHz
Biwireable?:
Yes
Connections:
4mm Gold-Plated banana plugs/binding posts
Bass Port?:
Rear Reflex Port
Drivers:
HF: 25mm (1”) soft-dome tweeter with Neodymium magnets and aluminium voice coil
MF: 170mm (6.5”) woven Kevlar
LF: 170mm (6.5”) woven Kevlar
Cabinet:
25mm (1”) thick eucalyptus mdf construction with internal bracing
What’s in the box?:
Removable grills, adapter plate (fitted), plinths, floor spikes/cups, protective fabric bags, cotton gloves and instruction booklet
Finish:
Piano Black, Birds Eye Maple, Cherry or Rosewood real wood veneer, finished with a 7 coat, high gloss, hand lacquered finish

PROS:

Extremely revealing, spacious, three-dimensional sound stage with superb imaging of instrument/vocal detail and commendably neutral (uncoloured) sound. Great presence, with excellent and controlled bass. Suits both solid state and valve amplifiers but these must be of good quality and suitable power. Can be played very loud with little or no distortion (poor neighbours!). Superb finish and detail. Small footprint.

CONS:
Contrary to what others say (including Quad), these speakers provide best results with careful placing/positioning. Long break-in period before they are at their best (75 to 200 hours). Those pesky little specks of dust that seem to inevitably be attracted to the high gloss finish.
 

...less