Trying to decide between Quad S2 and Ascend Sierra 2 EX


Looking for a dealer in Chicagoland to audition the Quad S2, also interested in the Sierra 2 EX. Latter is about the top of my limited budget. Anyone have an opportunity to compare both, with their proprietary ribbon tweeters? My room is roughly 18 x 16, I don't mind a touch bright, currently running a 60 watt Rotel integrated, possible upgrade coming on that as well, though it has served me very well up until now. Low to a  moderate listening volume. I value (what I consider) purity of timbre, fairly wide soundstage, clear and unmuffled high end. Appreciate any and all thoughts. 

sifter

I believe ProMusica is a Quad dealer so you may be able to hear the S2s there. They also apparently carry Totem and ProAc and I’d highly recommend giving those a listen while you’re there as both are excellent. If it was me and I was planning on upgrading the Rotel at some point I’d consider saving up a little more for something like the Fritz Carbon 7SE, Revival Atalante 3, or the Reference 3a MM DeCapo BE that I’d feel more confident would scale up with and not be outclassed by better amplifiers. Just some thoughts FWIW, and best of luck.

two very different animals. I would be curious to know how you narrowed down your search to these.

Decooney, had the fritz, also had discussion with Hilde once aboult it, an excellent speaker, something in the high end bothered me just enough for me to rotate it out. Nothing glaring at all, just a subtle softness or lack of 'pop' that I noticed the more I listened to it. 

Grislybutter, I originally saw two somewhat similar designs, both the EX 2 and S2 have ribbon tweeters and similar sized woofers in small-ish cabinets. Thus my ask. Upon further reflection, I should probably be asking more like the Quad S2 vs perhaps a Revel m16, as I think I need to cap my budget under $1000, and I have access to both speakers in the high hundreds. That would be a better comparison due to budget constraints.

I can suggest a little collection of data in that case

https://speakerchoices.com/

I think there is a wide rage in value for the same $ based on who/what/where/marketing/hype/etc.