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Quad S-2

Recently acquired a pair of these speakers to replace my trusty 14 year old Castle Richmond 3i's.  According to the manual they need 50 hours run in before sounding their best. I've got about 30 hours on mine to date, but am already really impressed with them and they are a significant upgrade on the Richmond 3i's, which were very well regarded in their day.  I haven't owned or heard many speakers in my lifetime for comparison, but these do sound extremely good to my ears and are highly regarded by the few owner reports that I've come across.  So, I'm a little puzzled as to why they don't appear to be very popular, at least I rarely see them mentioned on hi-fi forums.  I wonder if the reason could be that Quad are not a go to speaker brand like KEF, B&W or Dynaudio to name a few? Or, perhaps more likely, that people, especially those in the UK, tend to shy away from what was originally a UK manufactured speaker that is now a part of the IAG group and manufactured in China? Then again, the answer could be simply that the S-2 simply doesn't appeal to many folk, perhaps due to a dislike of ribbon tweeters?
moffer
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,847 posts
 
As we stated previously Mofi distribution is slowly increasing distribution.

The issue today is there are not a lot of brick and mortar stores left and many stores dont actively pursue bringing in new prodocts especially ones which may outperform their older established brand partners.

Our philosophy is to actively pursue what we feel are exceptional products.

We got the Quad S series after reading Ken Metcalfs review in Stereophile and we love ribbon tweeters.

Also we wanted to offer our clients something that looked more conventional then the Kef LS 50

So yes the Quads are hard to find but they are worth seeking out.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,318 posts
 

Yes, it you want some competent, modern, mainstream sound from loudspeakers, you could do worse than, say, the Z4.  Thousands less than other speakers that sound very similar.

At CAF, Tenacious Sound,  that's TENACIOUS SOUND,  a store with various branches, was featuring them heavily.


audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,847 posts
 
Yes twoleftears, Tenacious is one of their dealers so are we. I think your post was directed as stab against, us hence you nice use of bold type. Tencacious was and is free to write on these posts as well. 

We wiil be exhibiting at CAP next year.

There is one major differnce between us and them which is we sell most of the competitive brands in the price range, and so we are in unique position to answer questions on not just the Quads, we sell KEF, Dali, Legacy, ELAC, Paradigm to name a few. 

Which is one of the reasons we mentioned the new KEF line will be a fascinating comparison vs the Quads as they are getting huge accolades in the UK as the new speakers to beat at this price range. 

Twolefteares and of course Mr. Feil, it is because we sell most of the major players in each price range is why our posts are considered valuable by many people.

We will agree with you that the Quads are superb for the money, the Z4 were originally $5k at their new price of $4k they are a bargain.

The only issue with the Z4 and Z3 is they don’t go extremely low in the bass other than that they are rather extraordinary.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ


goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot
1,383 posts
 
Sorry about getting to this thread at such a late time. I own the Quad 2905 ESL's and I'm having a panel replaced in one, right at this moment. I've had two panels per speaker replaced previously but not because of how these were constructed but because of an accidental gain surge via Amarra SQ+.Quad ESL's have always been thought of as high maintenance women and from my experience, the 2905's are consistent with that claim. However, these are made very well with comparison to the 57's and 63's albeit a compromise to the mid-range given the added protective coat over their circuit board. I believe the 63's to be a little richer in the mid-range.
When my repair guy Russ in Northern Ohio spoke with Music Direct/MOFI, given that they recently hired a new sales rep, the rep told Russ that only thirteen pairs of full range Quad ESL's were sold last year in the USA.
My personal view of this is that there's a lack of interest in buying these types of speakers in general, as well as poor marketing from IAG. As for their build quality having come from China, I have no complaints. The Chinese can build a Hubble telescope if you pay them to do it and the 2905's are sturdier than Quad's previous models. Also, coming from China, the cost for these is probably lower than if they were still made in the UK.
Will I buy another pair of Quad's in the future? It's hard to say although as far as there sound, there's nothing to object to. The only reason that I would hesitate on buying Quad ESL"s in the future is the audiophile masochism that comes from owning them. I'll , also add that they are very particular in how they're positioned but I guess that's the price one pays for reference speakers at $14,000 a pair.
I have no experience with Quad's dynamic speaker line but I'd certainly like to hear a pair. It will be interesting to see how the Quad company develops towards the future. My hope is that they'll offer newer breakthroughs in home audio, surpassing the legacy they've already created for themselves.

bugeyed
2 posts
 
I am considering the purchase of either Z1 or Z2. I will be using them with a Rel G2 subwoofer. Can someone compare the Z1 to the Z2? Other than frequency response, how do they compare. Is the midrange the same? I’m a bit concerned with running my Rel at such a high x-over point, but this is not based on experience. I currently have a floorstanding speaker & x-over below 40 Hz. Any advice is welcome, especially from dealers who have compared them with the competition. Also on short list are Elac AS61.
Thanks,
Kev
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