And I agree, the Quads squash (compress) dynamic range, and most of the music sounds like its at the same level all the time. I know exactly what you mean, not loudness, but rather the CONTRAST between dynamic crescendo and low level passages. SO many people mistake dynamic range with "loudness spl level". Anyhow, on another topic if you feel the urge to crank them and arc a panel by accident (it happens), be prepared to hand over up to $250-$450 to a Quad shilling tech for a repair- that's for one for one panel. And they are light in the deep bass department like many panels, and those that do go deep typically have moderate high distortion, with Sound Labs being the primary exception. There's no replacement for cubic displacement, as they say. But they cost alot.
There has been little advancement in speaker technology in over 30 years, be it dynamic speakers or panels. That's obviously reflected in the measurements and the subsequent sound. What has changed (when there actually is a change) is better average cabinet design, lower cost speakers that perform better than medium high priced speakers of the past, better average balance, and more uniform dispersion which is important in a reflective room. But, the good speakers and the Quad 57 and 63 that were good back then are still up on top today, with obvious normal maintenance. If the 2905 can be auditioned in the future and its doing it for you, it might be worth the freedom of re-paneling headache and questionable re-workmanship. If you find a good 989 that has been serviced and is packaged properly on a pallet for shipping (accept them no other way than on a pallet!) then this may offer perfect value.
You can add additional bass panels to virtually any stat and simply (well, its not that simple to do) extend the stators and charge the diaphragm off the same EHT output, size and panel number matters not to the hipot DC-DC converter. There are numerous routes here to take to get what you want, but let it be your ears that make the final decision.
There has been little advancement in speaker technology in over 30 years, be it dynamic speakers or panels. That's obviously reflected in the measurements and the subsequent sound. What has changed (when there actually is a change) is better average cabinet design, lower cost speakers that perform better than medium high priced speakers of the past, better average balance, and more uniform dispersion which is important in a reflective room. But, the good speakers and the Quad 57 and 63 that were good back then are still up on top today, with obvious normal maintenance. If the 2905 can be auditioned in the future and its doing it for you, it might be worth the freedom of re-paneling headache and questionable re-workmanship. If you find a good 989 that has been serviced and is packaged properly on a pallet for shipping (accept them no other way than on a pallet!) then this may offer perfect value.
You can add additional bass panels to virtually any stat and simply (well, its not that simple to do) extend the stators and charge the diaphragm off the same EHT output, size and panel number matters not to the hipot DC-DC converter. There are numerous routes here to take to get what you want, but let it be your ears that make the final decision.