Are Ribbon Speakers The BEST? My Honest Take On The QUAD S2 SPEAKERS
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- Опубліковано 17 лис 2021
- Quad S2: shop-links.co/cf1VMcX25YQ
www.quad-hifi.co.uk/s-2/
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Quad S2: shop-links.co/cf1VMcX25YQ
www.quad-hifi.co.uk/s-2/
related videos:
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Sonus Faber Electa Amator III: ua-cam.com/video/yYIAWzSh1pQ/v-deo.html
Elac Vela 403 speakers: ua-cam.com/video/z0MAHhT0sAk/v-deo.html
Hey Jay, as an owner of the Quad S2 I found your review interesting. After many months of experimenting I have mine about 3 feet out into the room, toed in so they fire over my shoulders, with a subwoofer. THIS is when and where they shine. And in honesty, I wouldn't use them without a sub. The added bass gives grounding to the soundstage, which becomes huge, and makes it float out into the room. It also gives body to cellos and drums. And voices sound realistic, but the true strength in my opinion lies in strings and drums. Organic instruments just sound so real. I have spent half my life in rehearsal rooms and I know how the skin of a drum sounds. This is VERY close. The key to creating a deep and wide soundstage is to bring them out a bit, and then fine tune the focus with toe in. And then, yes, you need a sub. With the right DAC the soundstage is almost like being inside an aquarium of music. I am currently in pursuit of a new DAC and I have started the auditions. I can agree that these speakers sound more pleasing and right with warmer gear, and I am actually thinking of trying them with class A amps in the future. BUT, if one hasn't tried them with a sub, one hasn't experienced even half of what they are capable of. In my opinion :) Also my room is treated with diffusors on the wall behind the speakers, and absorbers on first reflection points (which is crucial for soundstage depth and imaging) as well as just dampening on the side walls.
Very true. I have a pair of S5's (floorstanding version) paired with Dual REL T9is and the soundstage that they create is stunning! Add to that the dynamism and punch that REL subs bring and you get goosebumps!
Good video Jay. Your reviews have improved greatly.
Another great review Jay. I am super excited about the Jay’s special edition Funk! I really want to put together a sweat little desktop system for working from home. A funk would be awesome.
I like that new Logo splash for the intro. .. Nice progress in rebranding your content .. Great stuff.
Jay, you're an amusing lad, and I like the Lee Cooper style logo. Appreciate you sharing your preference. Nice work 👍
Bought the Unity Audio Super Rock this week. First AMT Speaker i use and i'm impressed so far. The Mundorf AMT sounds amazing. Fast & Transparent
At some point in this video I couldn't help but burst out laughing xD This is like a parody of reviewers. haha
I remember hearing some apogee full range ribbon speakers, hooked up to a valve preamp with ss power.
It was so clear and liquid sounding.
I've used lots of quad hifi over the years, I'm using the Quad As 9 active dac mini monitors at the moment with a couple of subs, great sounding setup.
How many hours have the quads done? Friend of mine has a pair of quad S1 he thought thay will need at least a 100 hours.
Great , honest , clear and competent !
Got the S2’s about 7 - 8 months ago. Actually the best tonal balance, stage and detail I’ve ever experienced, and this is coming away from using Totem Arrows. Toe in is just over my shoulders, no sub, small room, with them about 7.5 feet apart, about 19 inches from the front wall. My amp is a Creek Evolution 50a which is pretty neutral, detail oriented. Sibilance is not there, nothing distracting, really balanced , engaging, wonderful. Same feels I get when listening to high end Focal in a shop listening room with proper treatment. Only at a minute fraction of the price.
My S2s produce good firm bass 18" from front wall...how do you find the bass with your set-up? My toe-in is near enough the same as your's , but speakers are 6' apart. I listen from 12' away. No unwanted sibilance either unless in the recording.
Once you listened to a pair of good ribbon tweeters, there is no going back.
Jay, you should take a look at the Aurum Cantus speakers. I own three pairs of the floorstanders. Fantastic speakers!
That's true until you hear some state of the art beryllium tweeters, these things are just insane. I've listened to Triangle Magellan Concerto tower speakers and now I can't listen to anything else and compared to those, nothing feels as clear or detailled
Looking forward to the special edition funk. I was about to pull the trigger on the original one, but now that there is a warmer one coming out I'll just have to wait a bit.
Had these speakers a few months now, excellent speakers, mine are not siblant at all. So much clarity and detail in all frequencies. Seen this review after I had ordered them and before they arrived, and was a little worried. I needn't have been.
Their look and color matches well with the stands and the background. Very photogenic.
Thanks for the video. When you quote speaker prices do you mean for just one speaker or is that price for the the pair?
looking forwards to hearing about your version of the funk. i have the funk, but was looking at the timekeeper 3i for desktop/small room use. do you think its a worthwhile upgrade to either versions of the funk?
I’ve had these exact speakers for several years. I think they are a good value speaker and I really like them. However, I have some 25 year old Sonus Faber Concerto’s which have a quite noticeable difference in sound, ie., better. The Sonus Faber’s in todays dollars, would be probably three times the price though, if not more than the S2’s.
I also have some Focal 1008 Be monitors and they sound better also. The Focals are my favorites. With that said, I’d buy the Quad S2’s again though. They are great speakers.
More than value for money in UK
It's this thing called refinement that few speakers possess in spite of otherwise detailed sound. Sonus Faber have it especially in their early designs. A friend had a pair of SF Extremas which I regarded at the time as one of the best I ever heard.
Hi Jay,
I really like the intro song you have used in this video. Can you share the name of the song or any link to get the song. Thanks..!!!
Have you tried Bryston amps? I would be curious if some of the entry level Bryston or the timekeeper 3i would be better for these speakers. Also... It seems Kinki has fallen off the planet. Is that because everyone seems to be catching up/surpassing it?
Your experience was similar to mine when I had these. I thought the treble sounded "splashy" and sibilant. And I use a "warm" sounding front end (Schiit Modi 3 and Denon PMA-2000IVR). I could not tolerate these for long listening sessions.
How do the Quad S2 compare to the martin logan 15i's?
Jay wait until you listen to the all new Quad Revela 2 speakers ! Quad's Best sounding speakers yet !... Best Kept Secret !!
I have the Quad Z1 speakers paired with the Hegel H360. They are no longer available but i think they are way better than the S2. It would be nice to see a review about them because they are great!
I also have mine poiting straigth forward, no toe in or out because is the right way to have this speakers for better soundstage and center focos. I think i know what you mean about the sibilance and maybe the Z1 shows that a litle bit depending of the recording, nevertheless i think not as much as the S2.
The Z1 are 2 meters apart and 2 meters from the listening point. About the Z1, Quad say’s the the speaker’s should be between 2-3 meters apart and that really makes an audible improvement.
did u use solid state or tube !!
Jay thank for this. I have the same problem on different speakers with the hard “S” sounds. What speaker avoids this but still delivers smoothness and clarity with deep strong bass? Does this speaker exist floor standing or otherwise?
great video. BTW, do you know which tweeter (fountek i quess) do they use in these speakers? thank you.
I believe it is a fountek tweeter,, but made to Quad's specifications, which means unlike the original founteks, the Quad tweeters don't go above 22khz.
Quad field has done a work, I am using it with pleasure 👌
Would these go well with Naim uniti Nova ?
I agree that the Velas are wonderful. I have 403s and 409s.
Great review Jay. Really enjoy your style of presentation and honest assessment. Your findings do slightly surprise me however, as a user of S2s for some 5 years now. I find them tonally warm rather than bright, and no sibilance whatsoever ......although as someone else commented, they do harden up when pushed hard. I can only attribute your issue to compatibility with partnering equipment, including (perhaps especially) cabling. In my other system with Dali Ikon 8s (also ribbons), I did experience sibiliance for several years - until I swapped out silver plated speaker cable for something pure copper. In a stroke it was gone and harmony returned. The S2's are generally renowned for having a lush vocal delivery and in the room realism, which I guess could never be achieved with sibilance sawing away at one's eardrums ;-). I'm using mine with a Quad Solus amp, btw.....
Hi Jay
I tot u might try the Quad S2 with Hegel.
I guess it should match well.
Like everything else, it's the execution that counts. There are good ribbons and bad ribbons just as there are good and bad dome tweeters and everything in the middle. I still love the old Decca ribbon tweeters. Detailed and open without sounding strident. Quad's very first HIFI speaker from the early fifties was a huge corner horn with a giant ribbon tweeter.
Hey Jay here’s my take on these speakers, I’ve had them for nearly 2 years now, in terms of positioning I have them a lot wider apart than most typical speaker setups, I think this helps with the siblance you described, also I think they need a really long time to relax that top end and take the edge off, I agree that they need to be closer to the wall for better bass, I have since paired them up with a rel t5x which allows me to have them more near field without sacrificing bass response, the sub also helped with the recessed midrange.
I think once these speakers have broken in and you position them correctly you get a fantastic setup for a great price, as you said instruments sound excellent on these, and given time vocals really shine, only the harshest recordings have sibilance for me now so they are very listenable to me. I think my favourite thing about these speakers are the airiness and the soundstage, try playing chocolate chip trip by tool, perfection on these, you can almost see the drums going from one speaker to the other it’s bizarre.
One other thing to note, I have used these with musical fidelity amps and now an atoll IN200 both air more on the colder detailed side I would say and they work well with these speakers so I wouldn’t dismiss more articulate amps over warmer ones, I think it depends on the listener and what they favour, for me though I am very happy.
Appreciate your view on them.
Nice Ty👍
How funny you mention Chocholate Chip Trip! It's one of my testing tracks (and one of my favorite bands in general). Have you noticed how the weird sound moves out into the room in a figure 8? Also, I'm curious of your thoughts on my comment above if feel like reading it.
Thanks
I've had the Quad S2's for around 6 months, paired with a Naim Nait 5si and Denafrips Ares II. The Naim is an excellent pairing with the Quads, and displays none of the exaggerated, "ssssss", "chhhh" sbilants however, sensible speaker cable matching is essential with these speakers.
I tried a pair of Witch Hat Phantoms with silver banana plugs and the sibelance was off the scale, absolutely horrendous. I had to send them back for refund.
I now use Tellurium Q Blue II Speaker cable with gold banana plugs. These are a fantastic pairing with the Quads; I use the Bluesound Node (2021); all that digital harshness is gone, as is the Quads tenancy to bite a little in the upper-mids, but not at the expense of detail and air.
Partnered with a well considered amp, such as the Naim, sensible speaker cables, be sure to stay away from silver anything with the Quads, and they sound glorious and sweet. I have mine toe'd in so they fire over my shoulders; in my small/medium size room, is optimal for me.
Thanks for the honest review Jay, love your channel.
Thanks for the valuable information
You cannot write off these lovely sounding speakers
No problem with sibilants either with my Exposure entry level amp amp, the 1010. Good firm bass with back of speaker 18," from wall, or pistonic as Jay describes it, which I prefer to exagerrated bass with less punch. My only issue with the Quad S2 is the recessed midrange. That said, I can forgive that particular foible for the speakers more positive qualities. I picked up my S2s for £550 new and see the regular UK retail price of £600 has just increased to £650. Still a good buy in my opinion though.
I’m with you on silver cables. Caused nothing but trouble in my systems. I use copper everywhere now, mostly by Mogami, and sibilance is a thing of the past. Don’t get me wrong, the treble is just as extended, with plenty of air in the sound, just without the splashy overtones.
My own experience 100%, Lyndon
Having the songs listed on screen is a good touch ..
Could you add links in the description with time stamps when they are mentioned? May help for people that want to look them up .. make it faster.
Jay. How do you think these speakers will suit. The Denon pma 1700 ne amplifier
Jay, have you heard the floorstanders? Do you think that would fill out the bass and mid bass region? Where they might not sound as thin? I have the S2’s. And I love them! But I do agree with you about a tad thin in the mid bass region. And my findings with these speakers, straight on and no toe in at all is my favorite position. But I am looking into the towers. Wondering your thoughts?
I have a paid of S2 paired with a powernode 2i. They sound outstanding, Beautifully detailed, brilliant soundstage, fast, great tonality of musical instruments. I also have the KEF wireless II and these pretty much match and beat the KEF’s in many aspects. The volume is lower than the KEFs though. These speakers reveal the source material and are not overly bright or fatiguing at all. However for smoother top end for rock music etc I prefer my KEF Q series towers.
Ribbons are known for very good horizontal dispersion, you can look up the measurements of fountek (tweeter used in the quads). Verticall despersion is where ribbons fall shorts
I’m sure I’ve heard that they are designed like that to reduce floor to ceiling reflections
@@russellparker4568 The limited vertical dispersion is a function of the tweeter's dimensions. Fountek hands were tied, as its just a function of physics. The ribbon is longer than it is wide. The larger the radiating surface the worse it is at dispersing high frequencies. So it provides wide horizontal dispersion, but narrow vertical dispersion. If you calculate the wavelength of the frequency of the length of the ribbon, it will tell you what frequency it starts to roll off off-axis.
Of course there are ribbon arrays stacked six feet tall or very long ribbons or quasi-ribbons as in Magnepans. That helps vertical dispersion.
I have Fountek ribbons. Not impressed.
Slowly reviewers are taking note of this little hidden gem
Did you try to pair ribbons with that Doge 8 tube preamp and does it remove sibilance? To what extent do the characteristics of these Quad S2 applies to your SR1a (full range ribbon ear field monitors you reviewed as your best headphones)?
My SR1a headphones emphases "ch", "t", "s" in vocals to the point of it being too agressive/disturbing for my taste ; it is not an issue with every single recordings but a large portion of the "good recordings" are presented with too much of this spitting problem. Instruments are very good though ; imaging, details and soundstage are satisfying as well. The advantage of the SR1a is that you can attenuate the sibilance by changing the directivity when moving the baffle's angle. Reducing the volume help also. Bass is tight and of good quality but the quantity is not enough ; Raal is releasing a version with ear cups to add "room gain". All in all, I found my SR1a experience to be very close to what you are describing with these Quad S2.
Thank you for this great review where you are very well expressing the problems you found. Very educationnal!
My experience with my Martin Logan 35XT’s matches your experience with these as far the sibilance, and direction of the speakers.
I like Ribbons when done right. The Goldenear ribbon tweeter sounds awesome and is very well integrated with the midrange.
Right, my old Behringer B3030A active nearfield monitors sound the better the more I have listened with them. Crossover frequency is quite high, 3,6 kHz, but 6,75 inch woofer covers midrange nicely. They also deliver TV/documents/movies dialog very nicely. Plenty of bass when close, >one foot from front wall. Two narrow ports on front panel.
These are the one and only pair of Loudspeakers I bought without hearing them first. I saw on Stereophile these were class B. Read the review and bought them.. Placement is critical. Yes
had to break in. Still sounded good right out of the box. But wow, once I get them setup I had a class B rated speaker for mortals. I think it is one of the best buys in audio.. Its to bad Jay didnt like the detail. I am all about it. I think the S2s should be considered my anyone spending up to 6k on bookshelf to listen to them. This is not my only speaker though.
For me the draw to the S2‘s, which I am considering purchasing, are the lush vocals and mid range which are cited in other reviews. You didn’t mention them and I was wondering if you have a different take. It’s the lush mid range (think “wild is the wind” by Nina Simone) which is the attraction for me. Thank you.
SALK does ribbons right too ... you need to hear this brand !
Could you review Martin Logan X35i please... its also a ribbon speaker, would love to know your opinion how it stacks against Vela and S2 quads...
I have the Martin Logan 35XT. I think they can get a little too bright occasionally. Might be exceptional with a tube amp, but haven’t tried that.
Jay, you’re on fire!!
When is Steve going to review these
Funk SE!?! I have the original Funk paired with Buchardt S400, fantastic pairing! Very dynamic sounding and made S400s come alive in my small room.
I think the warmer sound of the SE won't pair as well with the S400 right? Please say yes LOL.
Hmmm did you have grills OFF ? If leave grills on it reduces Ssss just a tad.
ProAc Response D2R's are some of the best speakers I have heard. They're ribbon speakers. $4500/pair
If yr opening question was directed more towards the Alta audio spkrs, maybe yes! A much different league than the quads. It would've been interesting to contrast the Alta vs the Quad in construction & design application. Just a thought?
I think you will like the Borreson 01's they are like 20k bookshelfs
Like the new style, and listing the music used (and in a snappy fashion to boot!)
Always good to have a subjective report listing its subjective sources 😉
You should listen to the new Revela speakers from Quad.
What speaker stands are those?
Solidsteel S6
I liked the homage to zero fidelity in the intro!
Thank you very much for this review. I have owned almost all Quad speakers (S2, L12, L21, L22, ESL 57, 63, 989, 2905, 2912 ). S2 speaker is NOT an audiophile speaker. This is a home theater speaker. In this regard it is a quite good home theater speaker. But if you are an audiophile with limited budget I would suggest to go for Quad 12L or 21L. You will miss some top end and some precision, but overall experience will be much better. Z line may be better than S, I have not yet tested in my home. As Jay have pointed out correctly, those SSSS, ZZZ, and CHCHCHCH sounds that S2 makes on vocals are - deal breaking. No serious audiophile can consider this as "acceptable".
The S2’s are amazing stereo speakers
Jay, you used the term “true ribbon” a number of times in your review. A true ribbon tweeter is simply a strip of very thin metal foil suspended in a strong magnetic field. As that strip of metal is short and wide, it has an extremely low impedance compared to a long length of thin wire, such as in a voice coil in a typical dynamic speaker. That ribbon’s impedance is about 0.1 ohm, way too low to be directly connected to an amplifier, as the amp would see a direct short. In a True Ribbon tweeter a high quality transformer would be required to match the tweeter to the amplifier, a very expensive item likely not found in a $1200/pr speaker (even less expensive in the UK). Manufacturers touting ribbon tweeters are much more likely using a planar tweeter, a design where the “ribbon” is actually a thin foil wire attached to a non-metallic diaphragm, such as in a Magneplanar or the (now-discontinued) “ribbon” tweeters in the Monitor Audio Platinum and Gold series. AMT tweeters, or air motion transformers, too, are often misleadingly mislabeled as ribbon tweeters by manufacturers and reviewers alike. Oscar Heil, the inventor of the AMT, never referred to his invention as a ribbon, but as a pleated diaphragm.
Dan, thanks for your explanation. You read my mind insofar as your reply nailed the question I was mulling over. Many thanks. Jam old enough to have heard the Heil AMTs. Lusted after the AMT 1A's but could never afford them. Anyway, thanks again.
I do think these are real ribbons made by fountek?
how does it compare to JBL HDI 1600? they are on sale for $800/pair
For another $200.00 I could order a pair of Magnepan .7 speakers. Long ago I fell in love with the Quad ESL 63s. I've always been a fan of Quad. But for as much as I'd love this speaker in my 24 X 24 family room, I'm thinking the Maggie might be a better choice. But...for my office....
From what I have heard, ribbon speakers with tube amps can sound really good.
Isn't it the case that the speakers lay everything bare that's on the recording, including sibilance?
That's my findings with my set-up. Bass is very good too for a standmount.
True story. I researched the heck out of these things after seeing mostly positive reviews and ended up buying them. As they were shipping I came across this video and thought, "Ah crap...hope this isn't the case with mine". They arrived and I swapped them for my old Dalis and had a listen. They sounded exactly like you said, very sharp and siblant to the point of giving me a headache. I was super bummed!
Then I read somebody saying to give your ears a few days to get used to ribbon tweeters...which I did. The first few days were headache-inducing and I was getting ready to send them back...and then it happened. I don't know what the hell it was, but they just stopped sounding sharp and began sounding unlike anything I'd ever heard. I don't think it was any kind of 'break in' because I got them used...I think it really was just my brain adjusting. I put the Dalis back on and they sounded nice, warm, and cozy, but nothing like the S-2s. Jay, I gotta wonder if you had given these a few weeks if you might have changed on them too. I will admit that they can sound harsh on shitty recordings (they don't cover anything up) but aside from that, I'm not sure I've ever heard nicer sounding speakers. Mine are here to stay...glad I gave them the time they (I?) needed to settle in.
These speakers need good matching with a warmer sounding amp. I have had them for almost a year and I wouldn't say that they have a thin midrange. Quite the contrary. Again positioning and system matching matter. These are not a take it home -place them wherever and let them sing- kind of speakers.
If I may know what electronics you are using
@@padmeshsethuraman5617 i use them wth a SMSL su-9n DAC and a Rega Brio amp. thye are 50 inch apart and no toe in. Excellent sound coming out of them
@@padmeshsethuraman5617 I've used them with an Audiolab 6000a (class AB), which recently I put in preamp mode and coupled with an XTZ Edge A2-300 power amp (class D). The latter, to my ears, doesn't change the sound signature, but adds some dynamics, weight and authority. I think, IMHO, you'd find the bare 6000A pretty good, it doing justice to the outstanding detail and soundstage/imagery of the S2s.
I've also added a decent external DAC (the Earmen Tradutto), which, good as the internal DAC of the 6000A is, takes it to a new level. But you'd have to add at least £700-800 to get that.
I have these speakers for more than three years with an audiolab play 6000 and have heard other speakers of this price range and can confirm that these speakers have No sibilance or a piercing treble, it's actually the opposite. You can listen to them for hours without listening fatigue. I added a subwoofer after 1 year and it's just perfect.
which sub did you choose
Agree.
I have it..good speaker but no customer support answering the emails.
😢
how about the Quad S-5?
I have these speakers. 1-3 feet from the wall based on preference and room. I run mine with 0 toe. Use the grills. They are very sensitive to placement so you you must experiment. They can sound wildly different from not much difference in position. If you push these speakers with lots of volume the ribbons will start to harden up. You can hear it. I don't really notice sibilance. Then again I listen to nothing like what is in your play list. Mostly the issue with these speakers is the economics of buying them in the US. They are £599 in the UK. I got a mint open box set for £530. $999 USD puts them in the wrong bracket for where they should be. These were also reviewed by Stereophile and the subjective reviewer loved them. Measurements are pretty dang good if that is your thing.
Thank you
I had DuKane Ionovacs for years. Even better than ribbons.
I made an inexpensive stereo system out of a professional rack mount preamp and a pair of Samson Rubicon 5a ribbon monitors.
The sound from that inexpensive system was incredible.
Ribbons are simply so much better than dome tweeters.
Dome tweeters are cheap so they are popular. But no dome tweeter can approach a ribbon in sound quality.
You should review MartinLogan ribbon speakers (if not already)
I don't question what you said you heard, but it's not what I hear with my pair of S2's. A few thoughts come to mind. First, did you run them in? Because they do need a fair amount of time. Second, mine sound best a good 2-3' from the wall. Third, there's plenty of chest impact with the bass on appropriate tracks such as Chris Jones' "No Sanctuary Here", for example. Fourth -- I don't notice excessive sibilance. Overall, IMHO they have musicality with outstanding tonality, separation and imagery.
I'm a Brit and we don't go as much for bass extension as people seem to in North America (USA/Canada) - probably just a cultural thing because we tend to live in closer proximity to neighbours. Anyway, I don't personally enjoy gut-churning bass. I like it clean, fast and tight and don't use a sub.
I have difficulties squaring your review with Tharbamar's several reviews (for which he's done sound samples, too, which I think give at least a fair impression), nor with my own personal experience. Maybe it's your room, or the cables you use, or maybe your personal taste - who can say.
Whatever, and with due respect, my opinion differs from yours, and at the price (£599 [$809] in the UK), I'd say the S2's are exceptional value and very satisfying. As always, I'd advise people to give them an audition and decide for themselves -- after all, we don't all like the taste of Marmite, do we?
One last thing -- to my ears they're don't sound thin, so much as lacking in frequency smearing effects that can maybe sometimes give a superficial impression of fullness.
Thanks 🙏🏻 👍
He’s got em placed wrong for sure, moving mine into the room a bit did wonders for that slight siblance
You don’t re come de these close to the wall then? I don’t want to put them more than 12 inches from the wall.
At £600 S2 is definitely a bargain. Thanks
No longer £600...UK retail just increased to £650 but stil good value imo. Agree with you about the bass....Jay seems to prefer bass extension or more of a full bass sound. edit....solid mass loaded pillar stands rather than the open type Jay uses may help with the bass too.
Interesting review. Have to ask... did you listen with grills OFF ? Because grills on removes some sibilance. And break in also reduces sibilance.
close to wall is thing with 5" drivers. had same stuff and just hang it on wall. bass guitar sounds like a thunder
wait till the LSA 100 's come out,,,,check them out
it really seems like ribbons are best implemented into three-way (or more) designs that have a small midrange which can play high frequencies without breaking up
What do you mean by 'breaking up''? I'll have a listen for it with my S2s if you tell me what to look for.
You have hi-end amps and DAC that’s already revealing and bright, have you tried it with something basic?
He did point the Denafrips setup was warm. He showed the Doge 8 though, which should be even warmer. I don't know if he tried witht his preamp.
Ask them for the 2912s.
Is it possible that the QC standard was poor? The model S-2 is the same, but some people receive speakers making too much SSS, while others receive speakers making balanced sound
The unit that Jay had could be very different. Recall the product-by-product difference of screen uniformity of computer monitors. Also consider the disappointing pair matching dB figures HiFi News publish for "hifi" speakers.
I agree Jay. I don't like ribbon tweeters. I tried to like them but they just sound horrible. Plus, I have measured a lot of them and they have a lot of distortion, especially at higher levels. They seem to be ok above about 7khz but then you still have the siblance, smearing and dryness.
I had Apogee Stages (Full Range Ribbons.) Uncanny realism (no kidding). Too bad they were prone to ribbon failure.
I've never thru out my hifi journey experience any great speakers with ribbon and woofer together, it's either ribbon by itself e.g. ESL63 .....even Genesis one don't put them together.
Ribbon tweeters can sound v different too..
Had these in my system for awhile. Very resolving, lots of detail. I found them kind of dry sounding, very matter of fact but not very musical for music, to me. They were good for movies, but music sounded kind of lifeless. The worst was a very flat soundstage. I get depth from Focal, Triangle, among others. But it was exactly a 2D experience which a previous reviewer stated as well. Sent them back.
We all hear things differently.
I’d even more say we are all have different electronics, Rooms (and cables).
@@dudemastermaster8944 Absolutely.
@@dudemastermaster8944 Tried them on a variety of amps, from cheap class D, a SoundArtist integrated which had overly bright upper mids and highs and a Hegel H160. Still didn't work out but the brightness of the SoundArtist made them twitch...meaning added a bit of life but still lifeless. For me anyhow. My Focals with a bit less detail and resolution trounced them in every other respect.
I have S1s. I don;t understand why you pay so much in the US. About double the price in the UK.
£600.00 in 🇬🇧
I bought a brand new pair for £550. Lucky to get them for that price though.
@@windymiller6908 that’s a big difference to 1200 usd!
Recent UK price increase to £650 retail. Still good value imo. Wonder if US price has also increased?
@@windymiller6908 These speakers are made in China, and the import tariff from China to U.S. on electronics are high. Additionally, Quad has multiple distribution networks in U.K., but contracts with only Mofi distribution to exclusively sell the speakers in U.S. Therefore, the U.S. price is indeed higher.
Unfortunately, Quad no longer exists. Once Quad was sold off, the beautiful music that was once Quad has disappeared.
Quad is bankrupt?
Oh really, have you heard all of the gear being presently being made under the Quad name?
WRONG.... the Artera kit is excellent and the monos are the best amps Quads ever made tbh. Their new Platina and Revela models blew me away at North West Audio Show UK and i am very much hoping to try the Revela 4 at home
Seems like quite a few true ribbon designes do suffer from that "ch-sh" issue.
First
I've been doing hi-fi for 66 years and have forgotten more than some folks know. You know what you are getting with Quad - quality. There isn't a speaker on the planet that will provide deep bass for a small bookshelf...FACT. They are designed for subtle hi-fi in your 1 bedroom box room. If you move them into your more spacious living room then you will need a sub woofer...FACT. The claims of the ribbon tweeter are clearly subjective but I personally like them in comparison to my BW FS units or JBL monitors. Positioning, agreed, can make or break a speaker. My conclusion is use them with a SW and you will achieve a sound balance that doesn't provide listening fatigue. Finally, depending on your input/recording i.e. CD or vinyl choice - crap in = crap out...
Bye
Speaker I owned from best to worst
1. Quad s2
2 wharfedale denton 85
3 wharfedale 12.2
4 triangle bro 5
5 q acoustic 2050i
6 Buchardt s300 the biggest disappointing ever
Great Jay!
One note. When looking at "Specs".
"Bass extension (-6dB): 37Hz"
To specify at -6dB it is just to get a more impressive and lower frequency number and anything else.
When we know since the 1933 paper from Fletcher-Munson research and today ISO226:2003 that the sensitivity of our hearing is VERY low at 37Hz and the dB need to be about at least (!) +25dB @ 40Hz (depending on the listening level).
So we will hear it as equal loudness as @1000Hz..
So by specifying a data point that is over -30dB LOWER than we perceive as equal loud as @1000Hz for us humans hearing that science has proved long time ago. Is rather pointless.
We should actually instead have a unorthodox "bass extension" reading @+25dB instead that would tell us what we ACTUALLY are able to hear.
But @37Hz and -6dB it has nothing with human hearing to do it has only with measurements generating low Hz reading.
Yeh, I know that bass drops off the lower end of the frequency band. But that is a hard physical issue for the speaker manufacturer to solve.
And it is misleading to specify 37Hz when humans will not be able to perceive it. Yes we can compare speaker Y and X at -6dB but that is just academic when we can not hear that low level @ that frequency..
Only my two Satoshi. 🎵🎶💖
That track church bell's seems a very unnatural vocals even on headphones the sibelance is horrific compared to most other cleanly recorded vocals
Your intro song sounds like 'Dude perfect' videos..i hate that channel so much 🤣
/s/ = unvoiced labial alveolar fricative /t/ = unvoiced labial alveolar stop/plosive
I should have trust your review! I bought these speakers and they are not good at all! No bass no dynamics... 🤷♂
Couldn't get on with these, paired them with my Hegel H120 and found them to be really silibant on vocals and uncomfortable at loud volumes when watching movies. much prefer my ls50 meta's to these.
One particular reviewer on youtube really raved about these and did a comparison video saying how much better they were than the ls50 Meta's.
I have no idea how he came to this conclusion but each to their own i guess?
Overall very disappointed...