quad 22L2 or B & W 684 speakers

Hi,
Could any one help me to finalise between quad 22L2 and B & W 684 speakers,
i listen to fusion and classical.

Both are very good speakers. For your kind of music, I would suggest the Quad.

What is the rest of your setup? May I add Dali IKON to your audition list?

I have not finalised the amp and the cdp,
I will be gratefull if you can recommend these.
I have not listen to dali ikon,

I would recommend a Rotel RA-04 for the amp and any entry level NAD CDP. Or, for a better synergy, an all NAD system, NAD amp, NAD CDP.

I suggested Dali IKON because they are a great Jazz/Classic/Country/Soft Rock speakers. Over and above they are great all rounders. Excellent VFM.

Hi Nandkumar,
Both are good. But as unleash suggested the quad should suit u better.

For a cdp please try the Marantz sa 7001 or if finances permit the 7001KI. Better than anything in this price in my opinion.

For amplification i feel both these floorstanders require a bigger amp to shine. If its a rotel integrated try the Ra 1070 or else the pre powers. If opting for the nad then i guess the pre/power is the way to go. I had the 603 from b&W and the 684 is its replacement and in my experience they do sound much better with a big ,stable amp.

Try and audition ur proposed combo thoroughly to avoid any heartburn later.
Regards

QUADs are known to be Rock speakers. Classical music requires a slightly different kind of speakers.

Hi Ranjeet,
I disagree that the quads are classic rock speakers. In fact we demoed them with tons of classical and found the quads pretty accurate with complex orchestral peices.
I am referring to the 22L have not heard the new avatar but i guess it must be very similar.
Both these speakers would not be my speaker of choice but i guess they are both versatile enough to suit various needs.
REGARDS

Hi mate,

No worries. We can have different opinions and still be friends

Actually Quad have a reputation as a Rock speaker. And the B&W that nandakumarhv mentioned uses a aluminium dome compression driver. IMHO, not good for classical.

nandakumarhv seems to be setting up a system from scratch and I didn't want him to go the wrong way.

I too am surprised to hear the Quad characterized as "rock speakers" since they are a bit removed from this. While pretty decent with rock, they excel at Classical and perhaps even jazz and make excellent partners for tube amps. When I first heard it 2 years ago it was partnered with a restored Quad tube amp (that could go for about 5-6 lakhs) and it is one of my more memorable listening experiences. Bit smooth for rock but definitely has the bass extension necessary to work well without a sub. I have not heard the new range either but do not think there will be stark differences as there are no major design changes. Hope they have retained that superb lacquer finish that made the older one look so classy!

I do not think it should be compared to B&W 684 at all. That is B&W's next-to-entry-level series and it gets better only from 700 series and up. But yes, price-wise in India it seems much costlier due to mark-ups.

If you are in Mumbai, I would suggest listening to Totem speakers at LaKozy at Chowpatty as well (do not know if they are in the showroom, I had heard them at Boom-a-rang at Juhu). They excel especially at percussion and are a pleasure to listen to Jazz on - perhaps it would do well with Classical or Fusion as well.