Thoughts on the Quad 2905?

[David Matz]

I'm off to do a serious audition tomorrow pm of the Quads... let's see what they're made of.

Joey,

You should bring your Summits to the room or vice versa to compensate for the equipment and room issues. I am not sure whether you will be hearing "just the speakers" at the dealer.

 

[Joey_V]

Joey - listen to the Maggie 20.1s... if you get a chance - and tell me what you think... I had an opportunity to hear them in 1 place - and the summits about 20 minutes later in another.

Have heard up to the 3.6R, but not the 20.1... when I get the chance to, I definitley will and I'll keep you in mind and report back. What did you think of the 20.1s?

 

[David Matz]

Have heard up to the 3.6R, but not the 20.1... when I get the chance to, I definitley will and I'll keep you in mind and report back. What did you think of the 20.1s?

Joey,

If you are around Evanston, stop by Audio Consultants. They have a pair of 20.1's driven by Classe monoblocks, the amazing new Ayre KX-R preamp, and dCS transport/ dac combo. The room is large and treated pretty well. Generally speaking, the system was warmer and slower than many of the Logan systems I have heard. The system sounded excellent.

If you have your minivan or an SUV, I would love to hear your Summits in that system.

 

[C.A.P]

Joey - listen to the Maggie 20.1s... if you get a chance - and tell me what you think... I had an opportunity to hear them in 1 place - and the summits about 20 minutes later in another.

I sat in the same room with the 20.1 and the Summit with the same ampand pre on both speakers. The 20.1 although good couldn't hold a candle to the Summits in clarity and openness. They sort of where in the way of them selves

Read the link and look at the pics !

 

[timm]

Have heard up to the 3.6R, but not the 20.1... when I get the chance to, I definitley will and I'll keep you in mind and report back. What did you think of the 20.1s?

I thought the 20.1s were awsome - to be honest... even though I am a ML bigot. they were hooked to arc gear.... I heard a transparency that was fantastic and - they are so big - they image incredibly well. Seemless - of course because there is no woofer. I would say they were a bit warmer than the Logans. A bit more transparent. The Summits were punchier - and more likely to play rock better I think - but piano on the 20.1s - and large orchestra or jazz....vocals... Wow..... Go hear them.

 

[timm]

I sat in the same room with the 20.1 and the Summit with the same ampand pre on both speakers. The 20.1 although good couldn't hold a candle to the Summits in clarity and openness. They sort of where in the way of them selves

Read the link and look at the pics !

Interesting - you may be right - but the 20.1s , to me, sounded less like a speaker. I did hear the two at two seperate locations on the same day.. The 20.1s on ARC and the Summits on Mac.... The Summits had some magic going on - but the 20.1s did as well. I thought they had tons of openness without any glare at all... However, I could listen again and change my mind - both speakers sounded very good..... I feel like I would need them side by side to really tell what I liked best...

 

[Joey_V]

Man.. couldn't make it tonight.. busy busy.

Tomorrow, I will try again! :bowdown:

 

[Joey_V]

Heard the 2805 today along with the Dynaudio C4. Got to see and "touch/caress" the new Sonus Faber Cremona M and Auditor M... that was a nice surprise.

C4 was good, definitely a lean and clean speaker. Very good spatial arrangement and top notch staging. I liked it, but sounded more hifi and less "natural".

The 2805 was surprisingly good, so much so that I'm very interested in actually hearing the 2905. The dealer played a track recorded in a 2-mic process to replicate real stereo... I ended up buying the CD to test on my Summits at home. In the end, I actually felt that the 2805 were more musical than my Summits.

The 2805 had a more natural presentation and I actually preferred the manner at which it replicated the bass notes. My friend even mentioned that the 2805 had more "meat" in the audio reproduction compared to my Summits - more "hollow" he called mine. Staging comparisons was a wash, not sure which did which better. Imaging was similar...

In addition, I felt that the 2805 was physically short and that this may have affected the stage some.... I really am interested in the 2905 and seeing what a 40% taller panel can do.

 

[kwr]

H
The 2805 was surprisingly good, so much so that I'm very interested in actually hearing the 2905. The dealer played a track recorded in a 2-mic process to replicate real stereo... I ended up buying the CD to test on my Summits at home. In the end, I actually felt that the 2805 were more musical than my Summits

The 2805 had a more natural presentation and I actually preferred the manner at which it replicated the bass notes......

I think you are beginning to hear the magic of Quads - they are a musical speaker not a PA system. Peter Walker referred to the domestic reproduction of music as "a window on the original event" and under reasonable domestic conditions this is what you get with a Quad.

We sold our ESL 63 and replaced them with Monoliths as we found the speaker was dictating our musical choice - a lot of chamber music and small group jazz. The 63 remains a better speaker in many respects but the Monolith is capable with a wider range of music. The 2905 reputedly has excellent bass reproduction and the ability to provide the dynamic contrast that the 63 certainly was not great at.

The Quads are like well balanced cars ( all the car buffs feel free to shoot the analogy down) eg the original Mazda MX5 (Miata?) not a powerhouse but a beautifully balanced car with a level of fun factor that redefined convertibles. The 2905 will certainly be different to the Summits - whether you find them better.....??

Kevin

 

[Bernard]

I think you are beginning to hear the magic of Quads - they are a musical speaker not a PA system. Peter Walker referred to the domestic reproduction of music as "a window on the original event" and under reasonable domestic conditions this is what you get with a Quad.

Peter Walker (God rest his brilliant soul) also stated that all competently-designed amplifiers should sound the same, which is strange considering that his speakers easily revealed the differences.

The speaker wire supplied by Quad with my 57s (long sold) was so skinny that it made zipcord look like "monster cable".

 

[kwr]

Hi Bernard,

I don't think for a second that Peter Walker was the font of all knowledge with regard to audio but his comment about a window on the music has a resonance with me. We hear a fair bit of classical music and I am always conscious of how inadequate both our systems are after attending a concert. Home audio is a different experience and often just as enjoyable as a concert but it is different - a "window on the event"

Kevin

 

[C.A.P]

The Quads are like well balanced cars ( all the car buffs feel free to shoot the analogy down) eg the original Mazda MX5 (Miata?) not a powerhouse but a beautifully balanced car with a level of fun factor that redefined convertibles. The 2905 will certainly be different to the Summits - whether you find them better.....??

Kevin

Great analogy ! I stand by my original post in the fact that in the right room these may be a lateral move for the CLX. I am excited to hear them in the new store demo room. They should be done in a month !

 

[MiTT]

Joey, part of what you heard was the magic of a full range electrostat without the presence of a crossover. Martin Logan also made one of those - I just bought a set. You really should listen to a well set up set of CLS's before you go jumping ship on us. I loved my ReQuests, but never enough to dump them in favor of the Summits. I have no regrets now that the CLS's have been set up.

 

[Joey_V]

Joey, part of what you heard was the magic of a full range electrostat without the presence of a crossover. Martin Logan also made one of those - I just bought a set. You really should listen to a well set up set of CLS's before you go jumping ship on us. I loved my ReQuests, but never enough to dump them in favor of the Summits. I have no regrets now that the CLS's have been set up.

I'd never jump ship figuratively, Tim... this place has too much meaning for me. IF I could, I'd have the Summits forever, but alas, I can only have 1 pair at a time.

There's nothing that the Summits do wrong, but I'm interested if the Quad 2905 does something better than the Summits. From my audition with the 2805, I think this is a very fair possibility.

You're right, I can see the allure of the CLS.

 

[Joey_V]

Great analogy ! I stand by my original post in the fact that in the right room these may be a lateral move for the CLX. I am excited to hear them in the new store demo room. They should be done in a month !

Only issue is the CLX is 2-2.5x the price of the 2905....

If they brought out the CLX at an even $10,000.. I'd have preordered by now.

 

[timm]

Heard the 2805 today along with the Dynaudio C4. Got to see and "touch/caress" the new Sonus Faber Cremona M and Auditor M... that was a nice surprise.

C4 was good, definitely a lean and clean speaker. Very good spatial arrangement and top notch staging. I liked it, but sounded more hifi and less "natural".

The 2805 was surprisingly good, so much so that I'm very interested in actually hearing the 2905. The dealer played a track recorded in a 2-mic process to replicate real stereo... I ended up buying the CD to test on my Summits at home. In the end, I actually felt that the 2805 were more musical than my Summits.

The 2805 had a more natural presentation and I actually preferred the manner at which it replicated the bass notes. My friend even mentioned that the 2805 had more "meat" in the audio reproduction compared to my Summits - more "hollow" he called mine. Staging comparisons was a wash, not sure which did which better. Imaging was similar...

In addition, I felt that the 2805 was physically short and that this may have affected the stage some.... I really am interested in the 2905 and seeing what a 40% taller panel can do.

Uh-oh.... don't pull any triggers until you audition the 20.1s then. I have never heard the Quads - but your description is very similar to my feeling on the Summit/Maggie 20.1 comparison - 'cept the 20.1s have HEIGHT and go down to 23 or 24 HZ. I just couldn't put it into words. I'd really like to hear your impressions because I keep thinking that I was just interested in them because the ywere 'different' - and I was playing mind games with myself. Anyway - go listen to them... I GOTS TO KNOW!!

 

[Joey_V]

I could pull the trigger on the 2905, but several things concern me...

1. I really enjoy ENJOY my Summits. The presentation I feel is "cleaner" than the Quads at the expense of perhaps being too lean. The Quads presented less hifi and more natural.
2. I know my Summits inside and out, I've played with them endlessly and I've tried so many amps, preamps, and sources on them. I know what they like to my ears... going with something new like the 2905 would bring me back to noobie level - which isn't a bad thing, but I'm comfortable with my Summits as they are.
3. Reliability of my Summits have been proven, whereas I've read several failures on the Quads. Even though my potential 2905 is brand new from an authorized dealer, 2 years is the extent of the warranty. And after this recent debacle with my rectifier tube, I sure as heck don't want to deal with system downtime.
4. If I get the 2905, I can't get the 805C.. nor do I think it would be smart to get such an amp on a speaker that is relatively inefficient at 87db. AND - with all the hoopla regarding the 805C, if they can take my Summits to another level, that would be AWESOME.

I'm mulling it over.... do I get the 2905? Do I stick with the Summits and see how it does with the 805C?

Too many questions this week... life was simpler last week.

 

[Joey_V]

Oh, I thought of 2 more...

5. I'm moving to a new place and I wonder how this will affect either speaker.
6. The Summits look much much sexier than 2 large tombstones.

 

[Rich]

I'm moving to a new place and I wonder how this will affect either speaker.

I think you will be quite impressed with how much better your Summits sound with a little room to breathe.

 

[Joey_V]

I think you will be quite impressed with how much better your Summits sound with a little room to breathe.

That's the thing, Rich... I still have room to untap hidden potential with my Summits. I'm not ready to write them off just yet.

Only problem is that the 2905 offer wont last forever, it's not everyday I can get one for $8.5K new with full warranty.