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

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!