Living with the Quantum 2

[Kencat]

I'm listening to music Cd's tonight that normally I would not. Just randomly picking Cd's from the storage rack.....looking and saying, "what the heck, haven't heard this in ages".

I've listened to a few now that have blown me away...ones that before never were mentionable or memorable. I am finding that with the Adcom GFA555 II and the Quantum 2's, I am hearing music in a completely new way. Some old favorites are sounding mediocre, while other "old junk" is awe-inspiring.

Two Cd's tonight that have prompted me to write are "Chris de Burgh - Beautiful Dreams", and "Dolly - Heartsongs (Live From Home)" (Dolly Parton dudes :thmbsp: )

The Chris de Burgh CD had a range of sound that was large. I don't remember this from previous listening. Orchestra violin and cello bass, clear vocals, nice! This was my wife's CD, and she could not tell me who it was when I asked her what was playing. It was so different from what she was used to hearing on the other amps and speakers. The tone and range is so great. I will listen to this again and more closely.

This CD from Dolly Parton is superb. The live aspect of this is just fantastic on the Q2's. Her voice is so real and dynamic...I have never heard this on the other electronics. Where normally Dolly's voice is kind of high, strident, irritating?...I'm now hearing a gorgeous smooth angelic voice, with inspired music accompaning her. Again, the range of the music from low bass to the highs is so large. Yet her vocals are there so clear and undersatandable and "real". Sounds like she is here in the living room.

It seems that everything I'm listening to now is "new", "different", "expanded".

I believe that the experience is a combination of the Amp (Adcom GFA555 II) and the speakers (Infinity Quantum 2). The Adcom made a big difference on the Realisic Mach 2's - wide soundstage, pin-point imaging, background "black noise" (deep black-hole type quietness is the only way I can explain this), control of the bass in a death-grip-like fashion. Put all this on top of a speaker that is 100-fold the quality of the Mach 2's in "largeness" factor. These Q2's are just so "large" in their sound. Effortless. The range from low to high just covers it, just does it. If it is in the recording, I believe you hear it.

Just put on a CD "The Patsy Cline Story" (MCA Records). Female voice so smooth and clear and crystal clear. Patsy's voice is somewhat deep for a female, or has a deep component to it. The background "Black Noise" is so evident. The string bass is sooo nice. Violin and orchestral accompaniment is so nicely integrated. BUT, the voice is forward of all, as it should be - crystal clear.

If this is a stepping stone in my audio journey, then I am in trouble. I don't think I can afford the the next up increment in sound nirvana. I think in terms of new speakers, to get this sound, it's in the thousands of $$$$. Maybe 10's of thousands of $$$$, I don't know. I'll have to get out and listen to more high end stuff.

More high end vintage Infinity???? Maybe. I quess I'll have to keep a look-out for some IRS Beta's going for a few hundred at a garage sale eh? Or another poorly presented Ebay ad that everyone else in the world is ignoring

Bottom Line - these Q2's are Sweeeeettt

 

[Negotiableterms]

Hmmm... contemplating your next step already, eh?

Here are some thoughts:

1. Recap your Q2s.
2. trade the adcom up to either some Mc or an adcom 5802.
3. trade up to a mc or FET preamp or maybe a tube pre.

The Q2s are really very good speakers. Your adcom is a good amp, but not a great choice for Infinity speakers with EMITs and a Watkins. EMITS like tubes, mc autoformers or FETs, and the 555 isn't really intended to work with very low impedences.

You can get 95% of the way with these changes, without spending a fortune.

 

[Kencat]

the 555 isn't really intended to work with very low impedences.

You can get 95% of the way with these changes, without spending a fortune.

Jeez, according to the manual this amp can take anything thrown at it including 2 Ohm impedances.

From what knowledge dost thou speaketh?

A tube preamp does sound very interesting BTW :scratch2:

 

[Negotiableterms]

Jeez, according to the manual this amp can take anything thrown at it including 2 Ohm impedances. From what knowledge dost thou speaketh?

When I first got my Betas, I had a 555-2 hooked up for the bass towers. Let's just say they didn't get along. When I had enough $, I got a Threshold S-550e. Same wattage as the Adcom, but it clearly had those cones by the throat in comparison. Bass really tightened up. Much later, as an experiment, I tried an Adcom 5802. Not as good as the Threshold, but way ahead of the 555-2.

Given that the two Adcoms are less than 1/3 the cost of the Threshold, they are both great amps!

I don't know whether your speakers present as difficult a load as the Beta towers, but those Watkins are famous for going low.

 

[Kencat]

When I first got my Betas, I had a 555-2 hooked up for the bass towers. Let's just say they didn't get along. When I had enough $, I got a Threshold S-550e. Same wattage as the Adcom, but it clearly had those cones by the throat in comparison. Bass really tightened up. Much later, as an experiment, I tried an Adcom 5802. Not as good as the Threshold, but way ahead of the 555-2.

Given that the two Adcoms are less than 1/3 the cost of the Threshold, they are both great amps!

I don't know whether your speakers present as difficult a load as the Beta towers, but those Watkins are famous for going low.

Thanks NG.

So far I haven't seen any of the distortion lights flashing at me (on the Adcom) at the volumes I'm playing, so it must be alright, and the combination sounds good.

There is always something better out there though eh?

 

[rstsgsas]

Nice review

It is not surprising how sweet the Q2s are.My Q3s are the best speakers I have ever heard.i would suggest getting a bryston mono bloc pair to drive them.(they are really expensive)I was lucky to get mine really cheap.But with that said,the more power you throw at them (headroom) the better they sound.I originally used a Soundcraftsmen Ma5002 (250 watts rms) and it was sweet but the 500 watt mono blocks really let the Quantums breath.The dual voice coil watkins woofer becomes the most crisp ,controlled subwoofer around.I have 2 sets of Quantum 3s.they are a nasty load too.I read an article sometime ago that stated the Quantums can dip into the low 3 ohms and possibly 2s during really deep lows.Some people complained about this because they kept blowing amps.I believe it was Mr Watkins himself who said he designed the woofer to never go below 3.2 ohms.But with a underpowered amp ,that spells smoke.I am glad you got yours going.You will never go back to any other speaker (as long as you got the power to drive them).The finest sounding speaker IMHO .I will never part with mine.I even bought some extra drivers as spares in case of failures so I would not be without. Nice job :thmbsp:

 

[bocoogto]

I also have Quantum 2's and 3's. It's a hard call, since they are both outstanding speakers, but I find myself using the 3's instead of the 2's lately. Someone replaced the square midrange domes on my 3's with round Infinity ones. I don't know what model the are from, but this may have been an improvement over the original midranges. There are numbers on the back of them, so with some research, the origin could be found.

There has never been a speaker in my home that is so uncannyly (real word?) realistic sounding. I often hear things on my old LP's and CD's that I never knew were there. On programs like "24", American Idol, many PBS broadcasts, my wife and I both are astounded at the reality of voices and other sounds. These HD programs that are broadcast in Doby Digital 5.1 are sometimes outstanding in sound and picture quality.

I am now driving the Quantums with a Pioneer 1014X, which can be driven into overload if low frequency levels are very high such as later Star Wars, Monsters, Inc., etc. Using my Hafler 500 to drive them yields more output, but not better sound.

You can't help but wonder how these Quantum systems stack up against some of the newer high end speakers like B&W and some other extremely high-dollar systems. It's hard to imagine more accurate reproduction.

 

[Kencat]

It is not surprising how sweet the Q2s are.My Q3s are the best speakers I have ever heard.

I've read little bits here and there that may indicate that the 3's may be the magic combo in the QLS series. Bocoogto just mentioned he gravitates to the 3's. I've read here that the QLS-1 are too large a volume for the Watkins, and perhaps the Q2 is as well, with the Q3 being "just right". I don't think I'll pass up a set of 3's if I come across some

i would suggest getting a bryston mono bloc pair to drive them.(they are really expensive)I was lucky to get mine really cheap.But with that said,the more power you throw at them (headroom) the better they sound.I originally used a Soundcraftsmen Ma5002 (250 watts rms) and it was sweet but the 500 watt mono blocks really let the Quantums breath.

Bryston :drool: I hear ya. The company is right here in my town too...about a 5 minute drive from the house. Wonder if they have a factory outlet and sell seconds :scratch2: or maybe I need to don the ninja suit and do some dumpster diving some night.......if you don't hear from me for a while I'll be in jail

snip...You will never go back to any other speaker (as long as you got the power to drive them).The finest sounding speaker IMHO .I will never part with mine.I even bought some extra drivers as spares in case of failures so I would not be without. Nice job :thmbsp:

I've found that my thirst to acquire more speakers is way down, at least for the time being. These are so nice, I don't know if they can be topped without getting into big money. What I paid for these was a steal, and the same thing would have to come along for some AR9's or carvers or whatever other vintage speaks would possibly be better. Unfortunately, the others are well known and command the huge prices. I think the Infinities are still flying under the radar.

My interest is shifted to the electronics and money is probably best spent there now to get the best out of the Q2's. Spare parts collecting is probably worth keeping up on as well, as you say.

Thanks for the feedback and tips :thmbsp:

 

[Kencat]

snip..... You can't help but wonder how these Quantum systems stack up against some of the newer high end speakers like B&W and some other extremely high-dollar systems. It's hard to imagine more accurate reproduction.

At least for the Price/Performance ratio eh? As long as you can pick up the Qs for a few hundred bucks, you'ld have to be wanting a better sound real bad to fork out a few (maybe 10?) grand .

But then, for those with money to burn, why bother with 30 year old, hard to maintain beat up speakers. Depends what side of the fence one lives on I suppose. I don't even bother going to high end shops to look or listen to new stuff, cause I can't take it home. Should do it though to get a better perspective on things. I'm afraid I may not like the outcome though :sigh: .

 

[SicMan]

I'm with you Kencat I have 4 Q3's and 2 Q5's and run other speakers mixed in with them and for the price/performance you can't beat them. Now that I'm getting close to completing the refurb they are sounding better and better. Also the more power the better is the best. Maybe if I fix and sell enough stuff I can look at some newer high end stuff... maybe.

John

 

[bolly]

Bottom Line - these Q2's are Sweeeeettt

saweeeeet kencat! :thmbsp: BTW, when you're in them dumpsters... grab me some mono-blocs too!

 

[Kencat]

New Preamp

I picked up a new (well, old new) preamp today. Kenwood Basic C2. Perhaps paid Ebay top dollar, but I don't get the chance to fall into these any other way. (Check out the Vintage Solid State forum where I'm going to post some pics)

I very happy so far. The sound is very smooth, with a quiet background which compliments the Adcom. The voices (lower midrange?) are more subdued than the HK AVR45 (acting as pre), but the drums are more defined and the highs much more crystalline...not bright, just crystal-like and clear. Turning up the midrange pot on the Q2's restores this dip.

Not fatiquing, so I guess the defining word would be warm? Instruments fade in and out with neat clarity, and you can distinguish different instruments playing at the same time.

I am amazed at the differences I am able to pick up with different pre-amps. Each has it's own signature. I know the Kenny C2 is not a hi-end unit ( it does get good mention here on AK though), but it isn't shite either I don't think. I can see that there will be a constant quest now for that magic Pre-amp

Compared to the Nikko Beta II I had for awhile, which was harder and harsher, more exciting perhaps, this C2 is smooth and easy. With the comments here about the Quantums being suited to Tube Amps and FET's etc, I think the C2 is fitting into this group. It is very complimentary to the speakers. From what I have read, and the fact I am hearing these differences in different preamps, I tend to think the Adcom amp is pretty much invisible in the circuit.

So, Kenwood Basic C2 + Adcom GFA555 II + Infinity Quantum 2 = some damn fine listening pleasure

 

[Vitopanch]

I am amazed at the differences I am able to pick up with different pre-amps. Each has it's own signature. I know the Kenny C2 is not a hi-end unit ( it does get good mention here on AK though), but it isn't shite either I don't think. I can see that there will be a constant quest now for that magic Pre-amp

Congrats on the C2 Kencat. I just looked it up and it I like the look of it. I have found that Pre-Amps, much to my surprise do have distinct signatures. For years I used Phase Linear pre-amps exclusively, being a Phase Linear fanatic. One day, several months ago, I had occasion to swap in a Hafler Pre-amp temporarily and was truly surprised at the difference. I subsequently picked up a Carver Pre-Amp and replaced one of the Phase Linears with it. Although I did notice a difference, it really was not anything that I considered an improvement. It was a little tamer sounding than the Phase Linear, however, all that it really did was pique my curiousity. I tried out a friends Acurus RL 11 and whoa, I fell in love with it. The biggest difference was in the high frequencies which lost all shrillness at high volumes. The music was all there but it was so much smoother sounding. The other difference was that using program material that I was very familiar with, I heard the instruments more distinctly.

I ended up buying two used ones, one for my RSIIA setup and one for the RS4.5 setup. Absolutely the best upgrade that I have done in awhile.

So, my experience has been similar to yours in that they do have a noticeable impact uopn the output. good to hear your report of the C2 because I have been looking around for awhile for another Pre-Amp for one of the systems. I am going to keep my eyes peeled for a good one to pickup.

Vito

 

[Kencat]

Vito,

And I will stay tuned for an Acurus as well. :thmbsp: