Should I upgrade from B&W CDM 7SEs to Quad 22L2s

Whatever you do, if you want to learn how to make great sound from your system, I strongly suggest that you only change one variable out at a time! - otherwise you'll never know where you're really at!
I'd say that the biggest change (besides acoustical upgrades) would be the speaker change. If, overall, you like the sound of your current speakers, then I'd say try another amp, pre, cables, etc, yes. If you're not thrilled, the speakers will be the biggest change. Then, if you like the speakers you're working with, THEN try other associated gear, wires, power-conditioning, etc.
I say, if you got the upgrade itch, and you want to try the Quads, I recommend you follow that seed, and see where it takes you.
good luck

"Any thoughts?"

Save your money for things that matter much, much more, like speakers, front ends, and room treatments.

Until you have an A+ system in a well setup room, I'd leave the Blue Jeans cables in. They are well made, good sounding cables.

Don't want to be one that starts a thread and leaves it to die. I received an Odyssey Stratos Stereo Extreme SE last week and have been doing some prolonged listening. The improvement has been overwhelming to say the least. Many thanks to Bluelight988 for a wonderful transaction and heaps of good advice. I have the amp bi-wired into my speakers, and I am singularly impressed with the added warmth of the system. It has gone a long way in taming most of the high frequency energy. I still do feel a speaker change is in order. My B&W CDM 7SEs still seem heavily unbalanced to me in spite of the fact that the new amp provides improved bass, more rounded, 3d sound, deeper and wider soundstage and details galore. I do need to say though that I am impressed with what they do with this amp. I would never have believed they could sound this good. Unfortunately, this glimpse of the better life only makes me want to upgrade them. I am looking at the Quad 22l2s and Odyssey Loreleis. So, jdodmead, you might just be getting an email from me. I'll have to be patient though, I dont want to hear how good your's sound before I am ready to take the plunge. In the meantime I am looking to either upgrade my cables from Blue Jeans Speaker cables to the Greg Straley Reality cables. Any thoughts?

Hopefully, I'll be adding the Odyssey Stratos to my setup pretty soon. I feel like I should see how they fare with the B&Ws and, if bearable, patiently wait to fund the Quad purchase, or maybe some other speaker. Currently I am trying to wrap my head around the various aspects of the Odyssey Stratos amps. I would prefer to go for the Odyssey Stereo Extreme. Does anyone know exactly what upgrades are done to this model from the regular Stratos through the Stratos Plus. Thanks for all the advice.

I found that the Quad 22L and the Rotel made a good match. The Quads were laid back and the Rotel's power and aggressiveness seemed to match well.

With all due respect.... cables will not fix your problem. The B&W CDM series is bright. I don't think the tweeter integrates well with the mids, sounds like you don't either...

Yes, the Quads are much better speaker overall. More coherent, less bright (smooth soft done tweeter), and much more transparent. The B&Ws sound like a box with some drivers in it. The Quads sound much closer to real music.

Thanks for the invitation Jdodmead, I might take you up on that offer someday, if and when I have the budget for that much of a speaker upgrade.

I have a pair of 22L2s (bought them specifically to get away from harsh brightness I found with a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 8s). The Quads work very well with warmer solid state gear and present a nice soundstage and good bottom end response. Beautiful finish too.

A cheaper route might be to skip the Quads and buy several pairs of used upper end ICs and power cords and mix/match for a sound that suits your taste since the Quads can be a little bright with the certain gear. Just resell the ICs/cords you choose not to keep. I had to do that with the Quads i own once I switched amps from a Musical Fidelity integrated to a Sunfire TGA5200.

I agree, the Rotel will sound more bright with the CDM7's than the Odyssey, I live in MPLS and if you would like to hear Odyssey Lorrelei's with Odyssey mono's, send me an e-mail. I also have CDN7's in my 2nd system with Rotel.
Jeff

I have a pair of B&W CDM 7NT in my second system and have also experienced a little brightness in the treble. I think your new amp will help smooth out the treble and try experimenting with different speaker cables. I found the speaker cables tend to make more of a difference with the treble.