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Is It Possible?

Help!!!

Is it possible for a pair of Quad63 sounds better than a pair of Focal Utopia Scala I?  I am was using the Scala in my system and was very happy with the overall result, except for an occasionally bright sound on certain recordings.  I recently bought a pair of non-working Quad63 at a garage sale for $250, had them serviced for about $650.  I was going to use the quad in my office for background music, but I decided to have a A/B test against my beloved Scala.  I almost fell of my chair when heard what came out of the Quad. The vocals and the instruments just came alive, especially the female's voice.  The only advantage I gave to the Scala was the soundstage, which is wider and a little deeper than the Quad.  How can this be?  What am I doing wrong with the Scala?  How can a pair of $900 speakers sounds much better, in my opinion, than a pair of speakers that cost me almost $25,000?

myaudio168
whart's avatar
whart
3,217 posts
 
I owned a pair of Crosby-modified ’63s which I enjoyed several decades ago, after an even longer love affair with the original, a/k/a the ’57, which I’ve owned since 1973. I had those restored somewhat recently, after languishing in packing crates for years. They are now set up as a second system in our "front parlor." They are extremely forgiving, and despite their obvious limitations, make music in a way that is stunning. They are just so engaging to listen to; i could easily live with them as a main system notwithstanding their limits. They are far different in presentation than my bigger horn based system, but the focus is not on the WOW factor-- they pull you in.
I’ve known many Quad owners over the years who are recidivists--they eventually sell them, only to buy them again. I’m glad I have mine. I enjoy them immensely.
scorpio1951
189 posts
 
  Don't let the prices of the two speakers confuse you. It is how they sound that counts. The Quads are a great speaker. If you like them enough, sell your other speakers or use them in  a second system in your house. 
analogluvr
859 posts
 
@michael green.  I was being very sarcastic.  It was a shot against those who believe you need to have the latest greatest thing to get good sound. The longer I spend in the hobby the more I realize that this couldn't possibly be further from the truth. It's definitely related to the similar belief that  you need to spend a ton of money to get good sound. I mean obviously the review were's and advertisers need to convince us of that to sell us the latest most expensive crap.
My speaker system dates from the 60s and when I go to shows I really don't hear anything that I want to replace it with.  I believe one could augment the top and bottom of the quad 63's and have a state of the art world beater. 
myaudio168 OP
17 posts
 
I love the sound of the Quad,  just not the look.  Don't get me wrong,  the Scala performs very well on its own,  I am just floored how well the 63s does against it.  I'm glad I was able to picked them up for so cheap.  Now I can enjoy both of them. 
glennewdick's avatar
glennewdick
1,793 posts
 
I also was shocked at how good they sound. a good friend has an array of 6 with 3 stacked on top of one another in a custom rack. 3 per side gives a huge room filling experience and with 6 panels they have great bass too. mind you the need for 6 amp channels makes for an expensive ordeal (he has 6 quad amps fully updated). 
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