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Quatro CTs too much for my room? (11' x 15')


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Y'all,

I currently have 2CE Sig IIIs and love them. I have them on the long (15 foot) wall in my smallish dedicated room. I have come very close to getting Treo CTs (bear with me, those of you who have advised me here and elsewhere). I just found a super clean 5-year-old pair of Quatro CTs for sale about 5 hours from me and the seller prefers pickup. $10,800 with crossovers (and I could never afford new ones) so about the same as a new pair of Treo CTs. 

I know the Treo CT isn't too much for my room bass-wise, and I don't listen to a whole lot of bass-heavy music (ie, hard rock) though I like reggae and soft rock (Jackson Brown, CSNY, Joni, Dylan, etc). Mostly I listen to acoustic (and sometimes electric) blues, jazz, chamber and classical music, female vocals, bluegrass and variants, Celtic/Irish traditional, and people like John Prine, Jason Isbell, etc.  Once in a while I like to crank some Zeppelin or the like, but don't need (require?) a ton of deep bass. 

I know the Quatro CT is fantastic in terms of being able to tune the bass to the room, and the bass is more and better than the Treos. BUT—even if dialed in, will or could the Quatros overwhelm my room with bass energy?

The other advantage the Treo has, IIRC, is that they really are designed to be put very close to the front wall, which is ideal and preferable given the room's 11 foot width. My 2CEs are further out, about 24 inches.  I recall that the Quatro CTs would be further out into the room than the Treos. 

The other concern is that the rest of my system isn't up to par for Quatros, and those upgrades to amp/preamp would be too expensive, in addition to the speakers.  Odyssey Audio Khartago++ amp, Audio Alchemy DDP-1 DAC/preamp.  Source is all digital, primarily streaming through a Small Green Computer Sonictransporter Roon server and sometimes, CDs. 

Thank you for any help and advice. PD

Edited by Patrick D
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8 minutes ago, Patrick D said:

Y'all,

I currently have 2CE Sig IIIs and love them. I have them on the long (15 foot) wall in my smallish dedicated room. I have come very close to getting Treo CTs (bear with me, those of you who have advised me here and elsewhere). I just found a super clean 5-year-old pair of Quatro CTs for sale about 5 hours from me and the seller prefers pickup. $10,800 with crossovers (and I could never afford new ones) so about the same as a new pair of Treo CTs. 

I know the Treo CT isn't too much for my room bass-wise, and I don't listen to a whole lot of bass-heavy music (ie, hard rock) though I like reggae and soft rock (Jackson Brown, CSNY, Joni, Dylan, etc). Mostly I listen to acoustic (and sometimes electric) blues, jazz, chamber and classical music, female vocals, bluegrass and variants, Celtic/Irish traditional, and people like John Prine, Jason Isbell, etc.  Once in a while I like to crank some Zeppelin or the like, but don't need (require?) a ton of deep bass. 

I know the Quatro CT is fantastic in terms of being able to tune the bass to the room, and the bass is more and better than the Treos. BUT—even if dialed in, will or could the Quatros overwhelm my room with bass energy?

The other advantage the Treo has, IIRC, is that they really are designed to be put very close to the front wall, which is ideal and preferable given the room's 11 foot width. My 2CEs are further out, about 24 inches.  I recall that the Quatro CTs would be further out into the room than the Treos. 

The other concern is that the rest of my system isn't up to par for Quatros, and those upgrades to amp/preamp would be too expensive, in addition to the speakers.  Odyssey Audio Khartago++ amp, Audio Alchemy DDP-1 DAC/preamp.  Source is all digital, primarily streaming through a Small Green Computer Sonictransporter Roon server and sometimes, CDs. 

Thank you for any help and advice. PD

Back them up against the wall and dial the bass and all be perfect by design.  Some smaller rooms work with the Quatro CT and not with the Treo CT because the bass is adjustable to the room.  RV

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39 minutes ago, Richard Vandersteen said:

Back them up against the wall and dial the bass and all be perfect by design.  Some smaller rooms work with the Quatro CT and not with the Treo CT because the bass is adjustable to the room.  RV

Thank you, Richard! 🙏

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@Patrick D pull the trigger on the Quatro's and you won't regret it. My Quatro's are less than 8 inches from the front wall which is 12 ft wide and 12 inches from the side wall and there is absolutely no negative impact on the sonic signature. The tunable bass as well as the overall integration of the bass within the same enclosure is mind bending and makes you wonder how does the speaker do it. As far as your equipment is concerned, I am currently powering my Quatro's through my solid state gear comprising of a 51 year old preamp and a 25 year old amp and the music sounds as engaging as it does when I run them through my newer/tube equipment. 

Snag the speakers before someone else beats you to it.

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+1, Vandy's don't overwhelm a room, despite their size.

I saw that listing on HifiShark and wondered if anyone on the forum would be interested. Thankfully, you are!

 

I own the Treo's with a pair of Sub 3's. If I had the room, I would get the Quatro's in a heartbeat.

B

Edited by GdnrBob
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@Patrick D my listening room is the same size as yours (15x11 feet). I own the Quattro CT, and it sounds fantastic in my room. I just had to put the speakers close to the front wall , as Richard has suggested, and tune the bass with the band EQ.

In my view, just  to go for the Quattros. It will be a major upgrade.

Leo

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Another (strong) vote for the Quatro CTs.  If you were cross shopping Treo CTs and NON-ct Quatros, my vote would reverse.  As the Quatros you are looking at have the carbon tweeters, it's a no-brainer to go Quatro in my opinion.  You can dial in every parameter of the bass so I don't think you should worry there!  Good luck.

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3 hours ago, DividedSky said:

Another (strong) vote for the Quatro CTs.  If you were cross shopping Treo CTs and NON-ct Quatros, my vote would reverse.  As the Quatros you are looking at have the carbon tweeters, it's a no-brainer to go Quatro in my opinion.  You can dial in every parameter of the bass so I don't think you should worry there!  Good luck.

With how many people bitch-n-moan about hard it is to get a subwoofer integrated, it is hard to make a cogent argument against it.

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7 minutes ago, Holmz said:

With how many people bitch-n-moan about hard it is to get a subwoofer integrated, it is hard to make a cogent argument against it.

@Holmz It's not that integrating subs is hard. It's the ability to tune a broader spectrum as accurately as one can on the sub which makes the difference. Once you hear the Quatro's you get that 'oh, so that is how it is supposed to sound' revelation. I am sure that the new Sub Three would probably get you closer than the traditional 2WQ's with the same frequency adjustment feature but I doubt if you would be able to replicate the same sonic signature of the Quatro's.

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@stratocaster yeah no…
I see a lot where someone has the best speaker in the world <Insert brand here>…
Then they get a REL or JBL, or <gawd knows what> subwoofer. ..

And then after a few months of product support calls they remove the sub.
Some of it might be higher order harmonics from the sub, but it is not as easy as just plug in any ol sub.

So it must be somewhat difficult, or we see only the skewed responses from people that cannot do it?

Hence… it is hard to overlook the Quatros.

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2 hours ago, Holmz said:

@stratocaster yeah no…
I see a lot where someone has the best speaker in the world <Insert brand here>…
Then they get a REL or JBL, or <gawd knows what> subwoofer. ..

And then after a few months of product support calls they remove the sub.
Some of it might be higher order harmonics from the sub, but it is not as easy as just plug in any ol sub.

So it must be somewhat difficult, or we see only the skewed responses from people that cannot do it?

Hence… it is hard to overlook the Quatros.

The evidence can be seen in the marketplace.  If a designer could design a small speaker at any price with world class components and a companion subwoofer successfully none of us would be messing around with large heavy full range speakers!  Can you add bass to a small pair of speakers?  Yes, but it is not easy, and the results rarely would be classified a SOTA.  When all the math is penciled, the facts are you need to start with a full range speaker in order to properly add a subwoofer.  This is why we do not make a monitor speaker only a true bookcase that works best between books on a shelf.  RV  

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1 hour ago, Richard Vandersteen said:

The evidence can be seen in the marketplace.  If a designer could design a small speaker at any price with world class components and a companion subwoofer successfully none of us would be messing around with large heavy full range speakers!  Can you add bass to a small pair of speakers?  Yes, but it is not easy, and the results rarely would be classified a SOTA.  When all the math is penciled, the facts are you need to start with a full range speaker in order to properly add a subwoofer.  This is why we do not make a monitor speaker only a true bookcase that works best between books on a shelf.  RV  

Agreed.
Hence it is easy to endorse the question/answer of whether a Quattro would be good choice.

Most the other competing methods of adding a sub from some other manufacture seems like hit-n-miss, with mostly miss.
But that could be because it is easier to find the “misses.”

Edited by Holmz
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My Quatro CTs are in a room 13’5” wide and 13’10” deep. I have them set 12 inches from the wall behind them and I recently switched to zero toe angle. I like the bass response as-is. I am wanting of some softer upholstery and materials in the room but that’s a different budget.
 

At no time have I ever thought I have too much speaker for the room and in fact I am sure I can make room for Kentos when the time comes. 

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Rutan has my Quatro CT's right up against the side and back walls. I freaked out at first. I still am not sure it's better than where I used my Treo's (dialed in, they were just amazing sounding).  I dont' have any suck out in the middle of the soundstage though, so I leave them there.  I can't move things around by myself anymore anyways, so I won't be experimenting anytime soon. 

I'd get the Quatro's all day long.  

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11 hours ago, ctsooner said:

….  I can't move things around by myself anymore anyways, so I won't be experimenting anytime soon. 

I'd get the Quatro's all day long.  

You can do it Pete…



 

IMG_1802.jpeg

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Thanks guys.  Off to NIH today for the rest of the week. Guinea pig time.  Thursday is spinal tap ((wish it was the band/movie) and a 2.5 hr MRI with contrast. Just so much fun. 

Bob, in time I'll take you up on that possibly.  I just don't feel the need right now to move them from the corners as they are sounding pretty darn good. We will see.  

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Spinal tap should be a piece of cake. I had one done years ago( though the 'Doctor' mislead me into getting one-something I should have sued for). The MRI will be challenging as you can't move for such a long time. I had one for my slipped disc, and keeping still for the few minutes was undoable.

Hopefully, you'll be able to relax. Perhaps they can pipe in some music or I can supply you with some home grown. ☺️

As always, the offer stands for moving speakers...

Bob

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my ARRN who does it is the best.  I have to take at least 6 MRI's yearly along with at least 2 LP's.  Been like this for 18 years now.  It all went well (finally). They only ordered .5 mg of Adavan.  It wasn't enough, so I had to get another 1mg ordered and then wait for another 3 hours in my wheelchair waiting for the machine to open up again.  Got in around 4:30 and out by 7 or so.  I signed up for another study there and it uses a T7 MRI which is a bit more difficult, but I'll just enjoy the Adavan and deal with it.  They now have a new test to see if my infusions are working to curtail the advancement of the MS and Transvers Myelitis.  Hope it's working, lol.   NO music in their MRI"s btw.  It affects the brain they said and per the study, everything has to be the same including the machine for all participants. 

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21 hours ago, ctsooner said:

my ARRN who does it is the best.  I have to take at least 6 MRI's yearly along with at least 2 LP's.  Been like this for 18 years now.  It all went well (finally). They only ordered .5 mg of Adavan.  It wasn't enough, so I had to get another 1mg ordered and then wait for another 3 hours in my wheelchair waiting for the machine to open up again.  Got in around 4:30 and out by 7 or so.  I signed up for another study there and it uses a T7 MRI which is a bit more difficult, but I'll just enjoy the Adavan and deal with it.  They now have a new test to see if my infusions are working to curtail the advancement of the MS and Transvers Myelitis.  Hope it's working, lol.   NO music in their MRI"s btw.  It affects the brain they said and per the study, everything has to be the same including the machine for all participants. 

Very true and like listening to digital or low rez background music it blows up our brains filling in the blanks!  Not what you need for an accurate MRI.  RV

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