Quad 12L2 or 21L2: Detail vs. Fullness?


I posted a question about warm monitors for a hearing loss and due to all the great help here, I have narrowed my search down to the Quad 12L2 or 21L2, Dynaudio 52, Spendor 3/5 or possibly Vandersteen 2. I included the Quad floorstander because there are deals here on Audiogon but I have not heard it. I have found with some floorstanders that the the fuller bass seems to muffle the highs at even medium volumes. (This may be true for me specifically because of my hearing loss.) Does the 21L2 lose some of the detail I heard on the 12L2? I would also be interested in general comments on floorstanders vs. monitors on this subject. Thanks!
lalo23
I thought the Quad 12L monitors to sound a bit thin compared to the floorstanders. I liked the 21L the best (better than 22L also), more full range natural and balanced at least in the larger room where I heard them. In a small room, I might prefer the monitors and maybe add a separate sub if needed.

Note these are 12Ls I heard FWIW. I have not heard 12L2s and cannot compare those.

I tend to prefer monitors in general over floor-standers in most average sized rooms where you will listen from more of a near field postion. I tend to not like floor-standers in smaller rooms from a nearfield listening position when there is greater physical separation between drivers in that I think this negatively impacts imaging and phase coherency whereas closer proximity of drivers (approximating a point or line source as is typically the case more with monitors) enhances imaging and coherency in many rooms.

If you go with monitors though, plan to invest in a pair of decent speaker stands also.

For monitors, there are other lines and models I would chose over Quad 12L, but I believe they may also cost more. Dynaudio and Totem are two. Totem Arro is a very good choice for a wide range small-footprint floor stander that will work well in most any normal size room (with sufficient amplification).
Thanks for the detailed response. The Totems sound like a great choice but I need a small bookshelf to act as a center for dialogue from films. The Dynaudio 62s were one of those floorstanders that seem a bit muffled (compared to the 42s). I think the Contours are out of my price range.

BTW, my living/listening room is medium large - about 13 feet by 22 feet and there is a 7 foot opening at the side that leads to a 12 by 13 dining room.
hi. i just built a system using totem dreamcatchers. so far they are excellent at imaging and the highs are crisp but not harsh. midrange is smooth, tonally accurate, but maybe a hair thin, and i mean a hair. i am powering them with a jaton operetta @ 140 watts per channel. the center speaker on some recordings has a hint of boxiness(compared to my last center, an OM-C2 by mirage) but the LR mains are perfect on all recordings. however i do not yet have the center isolated from vibration. i would absolutely recommend and rate them as excellent speakers in their price range. for refernce i auditioned the highly acclaimed b&w 685's but these have more life to them in every respect imho.
btw, there was a review that said the dreamcacthers wash/flow the music over you. this is absolutley true and a very enjoyable experience.
Well, if they are more lively than the famously bright B&Ws, then that is not the speaker for me. (See above where I am looking for a warm speaker.) So you helped me decide against the Totems :- ). Seriously, Totems are well regarded but they are tough to find to audition and apparently, there is no "Totem sound." But I do love the names of their speakers and their cool website.

Actually, I pulled the trigger on a pair of used 12L2s from a vendor here on Audiogon. Thanks everyone for the help!
congrats on your purchase. i wouldn't necessarily equate lively with bright and i'm not sure the 685's really carry the signature B&W brightness, but i felt the dreamcatchers just had more bounce in their step. the B&W's sounded great, but i felt lacked a bit of air and accuracy with their imaging, maybe it was due to the equipment powering them at the shop. anyway, oddly enough, i had the quad 12l's as well-beautiful speaker. i found them more open and rich than the totem mites i had before them. but still, i prefer the sparkle of the dreamcatchers. good luck in any event you made a very good choice.
Thanks! Actually, the more we converse,the more I think we (and some others here) have in common about speakers in this price range. I liked the 685s and thought them very detailed but found the bass not very full and after listening to them for 10 minutes, their highs were just too accentuated for me. Of the 685, Paradigm 20, KEF IQ30, Dynaudio 42, Silverline Prelude and even wonderful Spendor SA1s, I found the 12L2s to have the most lively yet warm presentation. Sounds like maybe the Dreamcatchers are in that world too. Hopefully, my 21L2s will be too!