I can’t say my Quads are particularly polite but i get where y’all are coming from. The highs can be a little out there as they do tend to crave attention over the other frequencies. On the other hand, it’d be a stretch to call them harsh or sibilant either.
Longest upgrade time
- Thread starter firearm12
- Start date
polite dont mean no highs. polite in the sense that are little laid back with smooth sound, they dont throw music at the face as almost all other speakers do.
I think its time to rejig my line up then. Except for the KEF, the others are definitely more laidback than the Quads.
Eight1zero
Active Member
i see you have a newer generation quads. that maybe the reason for the sound signature. i have not heard so can't comment .
Which speakers didnyou compare them with? I think if you compare with Dali, dynaudio, b&w, monitor audio, elac, kef, then quad is definetely polite.
Eight1zero
Active Member
i totally agree
Boston Acoustics A26 and Wharfedale Evo 4.2. I found the Q acoustics Concept is similar in “brightness” or “politeness” to the Quads, albeit, with a different presentation. This is after living with all the abovesaid speakers for some time and having powered them through a pm6006, sr6013 and crown xls1502.
the kefs arent bright at all, in fact lesser so than the quads but as you said, they do throw sound i.e. they have an exciting presentation.
D
Deleted member 15865
Guest
Hmm... that (laid back, polite sound) seems to be a common factor across speakers that are keepers. Whenever I consider upgrading my CK2, I am unsure if a better speaker will ensure that - a) long listening without fatigue; and b) make even poor recordings sound decent. The British polite speakers do that and they grow on you.
Are we seeing any pattern amongst the amplifiers on this thread yet? The Japanese (reliability) may be?
I seem to hold on a long time these days !
Speaker : Tannoy Kensington : 7 years and counting. before that merlin TSM for 4 years and many more earlier.
Amp: Leben CS600 10 years, Sugden A21a 5 years, quite a few before that but 2 months on a Quicksilver integrated currently
Phono Leben Phono 4 years..looking for a good option but in no hurry
Turntable : Lenco L75, 7 years buts lots of modding.
Speaker : Tannoy Kensington : 7 years and counting. before that merlin TSM for 4 years and many more earlier.
Amp: Leben CS600 10 years, Sugden A21a 5 years, quite a few before that but 2 months on a Quicksilver integrated currently
Phono Leben Phono 4 years..looking for a good option but in no hurry
Turntable : Lenco L75, 7 years buts lots of modding.
My Quad 12L2's are definitely more polite and more forgiving to bad source. My Quad S2's are not. Feed them good quality music and they really shine but can sound bad with low quality music. If I remember right, the Quad Z2's were more polite than the Quad S2's.
Coming to the topic,
The first equipment on which I listened to music was on my Dad's giant valve radio. I think it had something like 15 to 20 big valves in it and it was almost 3 feet wide !!! My Dad was never the one to change something if it was working, so radio it was in my childhood.
I was later gifted a national mono cassette player by my aunt. I think this was in the early 80's and this stayed with me for a long time. I think almost 8 years. I don't remember what happened to it.
My next upgrade was after I got my job. I bought myself a Sony Mini I think in 1990's. I think I must have used it for almost 15 to 20 years before a lizard got into it and fried the motherboard. I had upgraded to custom speakers for the Mini somewhere during the Mini years.
Then in 2012 came the Quad 12L2's. I still have this speaker although I now use it for surround. It was my main speaker till 2019. In 2019, I upgraded to Quad S2's.
In the amp front, after the Sony Mini came the Topping TP60 which I still have.
Upgraded to Marantz SR7010 in 2016 which has now gone for repair so I am back to Topping.
Nothing special. But I don't change my equipment often. Usually, only if something gets spoilt. Quad S2's were to complete my Home Theater 5.1.2 setup.
The problem with the Quads, especially the Z series is that and I think you have also mentioned it, it is not a speaker that will wow someone at first listen. Listen to it for a while and it will definitely impress.
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Eight1zero
Active Member
its good to see so many forum members are using quads 
Now I have a axe to grind 
Unlike @raghupb Iam not a serial hoarder. But somehow folks never buy my stuff for sale. So I end up holding onto everything, much to my wife's chagrin. Every time I succeed to sell some thing we have a mini celebration at home hosted by my wife
But on a more serious note. The single component I love the most has to be my Qacoustics concept 40 speakers. Absolutely lovely for the money. I will never sell them. And when ever they eventually die ( Iam praying that it be sooner than later ), I will simply and blindly buy the Qacoustics concept 500's to replace them. Easy peasy...no auditions required either
Second comes my parasound halo integrated. Lovely bloody amp for the money. But I've parted with it, as I've not been using it lately. But awesome value for money, even at the full mrp of USD 2450/- that I paid for it.
And now coming to the answer to the question, the oldest component I have is a blue sound power node gen 1. Was my first ever hifi purchase. And still sounds very good. I can never sell it. But will be gifting to my sister along with some spare speakers I have under the bed. But will not sell it
Unlike @raghupb Iam not a serial hoarder. But somehow folks never buy my stuff for sale. So I end up holding onto everything, much to my wife's chagrin. Every time I succeed to sell some thing we have a mini celebration at home hosted by my wife
But on a more serious note. The single component I love the most has to be my Qacoustics concept 40 speakers. Absolutely lovely for the money. I will never sell them. And when ever they eventually die ( Iam praying that it be sooner than later ), I will simply and blindly buy the Qacoustics concept 500's to replace them. Easy peasy...no auditions required either
Second comes my parasound halo integrated. Lovely bloody amp for the money. But I've parted with it, as I've not been using it lately. But awesome value for money, even at the full mrp of USD 2450/- that I paid for it.
And now coming to the answer to the question, the oldest component I have is a blue sound power node gen 1. Was my first ever hifi purchase. And still sounds very good. I can never sell it. But will be gifting to my sister along with some spare speakers I have under the bed. But will not sell it
D
Deleted member 15865
Guest
Guys, the thread title is longest ‘upgrade time’. Technically that means the number of years you have been ‘using‘ the product. Some of us upgrade, but don’t sell for various reasons - we either give it to some family/friends or just hoard it. Can understand the sentiment behind this, but the fact is, one has upgraded (or downgraded/side-graded) the moment it’s taken out of one’s current listening systems. Strictly speaking, even if one moves a component from main system to second system in another room (repurposed - thanks for introducing the term @raghupb), one has upgraded with something else in the main system.
P.S. Actually the thread (as explained by @firearm12 in first post) is about the entire system, and not components. But we’ve written about components. I wonder what is the longest serving system in use by a FM!
P.S. Actually the thread (as explained by @firearm12 in first post) is about the entire system, and not components. But we’ve written about components. I wonder what is the longest serving system in use by a FM!
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This is correct. I actually started the thread to know longevity of entire system rather than speaker or amp, spanning the time when being actively used before changing a major component or being repurposed. It would have been more helpful that way i think. Responses do show that speakers are of more priority and may tend to serve longer.
D
Deleted member 15865
Guest
What might be the reason/s? I can think of the following:
- Speakers contribute most to the sound signature of a system
- Speakers are the most visible (and immediate) component to the listener
- We audiophiles engage with the speakers more (positioning, stabilising, toeing etc.)
- They last the longest
- Speaker technology evolves much slower than the electronics
Any other?
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