Welcome to our QUAD Page, dedicated to one of our favorite products.
QUAD is one of the world's oldest & most respected high end audio companies. Quad began in England over 70 years ago. Audio reviewers say Quad is the best single brand system made today. Quad speakers are a world-class reference standard.
Editors of STEREOPHILE, ABSOLUTE SOUND & many European magazines own Quad. In 8/2009 STEREOPHILE, Editor At Large Art Dudley describes his living room system, including Quad electrostatic speakers & Quad II tube amps.
These magazines have published lists of the most significant audio products ever produced. Quad is the only company on everyone's "top 10" lists, plus the only firm recognized for totally different technologies, including speakers, tube amps & solid-state amps.
Quad is consistently praised for being a great value. Customers have chosen Quad speakers after comparing them with more expensive models from B&W, Boston, Canton, Dali, Dynaudio, Focal, Harbeth, JBL, KEF Reference, Klipsch, Paradigm, PSB, Sonus Faber, Spendor, Thiele & many more. Every time, customers have preferred Quad speakers. A recent Quad customer is the owner of a competing audio store, who decided that Quad is the best speaker for his own personal use.
"In their factory, the designer is virtually omnipotent. He doesn't use any off-the-shelf parts, nor does he have to wait six months to have a part custom-made. Instead, the on-site tool & die shop makes parts for him & he can redesign them as often as he wants. This gives him power over everything that goes into a Quad. It also lets him stuff products with high quality parts at a fraction of what it would cost elsewhere. This means you get better sound, because Quad's designers have long pedigrees & good ears. It also means you get unbeatable value." HOME THEATER 6/2010
Some competing electronics companies spend more on an amplifier's face plate than the entire cost of a Quad amp. The Quad amp will usually sound better than those for several times its price.
Customer comments on Quad include:
"Deeper bass; more three dimensional imaging"
Sounds as good as my B&W speakers for five times more."
"A piano just sounds more like a piano."
"It's just a nicer speaker."
A recording engineer thought our system with Quad electrostatics sounded better than others that cost over ten times more, or over $200,000. People often think the $1900 Quad 22L cost ten times more, since they sound better than many $20,000 speakers.
Gold Sound is Colorado's only QUAD dealer. There are no Quad dealers in Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Wyoming, plus North & South Dakota. Gold Sound is often your nearest Quad dealer. We are happy to ship to our customers.
QUAD CUSTOMERS INCLUDE the WORLD’S CULTURAL GREATS.
CONDUCTORS
COLIN DAVIS – over 200 recordings with these orchestras: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Bavarian, Boston, London, Russian, Vienna Phil. Orch. & more
NIGEL KENNEDY – English Chamber Orch.
NEVILLE MARINER – over 400 recordings with Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Cleveland Orch., L.A. Orch., Netherlands Wind Ensemble, Stuttgart Radio Orch. & more
RICCARDO MUTI - over 200 recordings with Berlin Phil., Philadelphia Orch., Rome Sym. Orch., Vienna Phil. & others
GEORG SOLTI - over 300 recordings with these orchestras: Bavarian, Berlin, Chicago, Cleveland, Israel, London, Paris Opera Or., Rome Opera Orch., La Scala, Vienna Phil. & more
CLASSICAL SOLOISTS
YEHUDI MENUHIN, violinist & conductor, over 200 recordings with Bach Festival Orch., Czech State Phil. Orch., English Chamber Orch., Menuhin Festival Orch., Royal Phil. & more
JESSYE NORMAN, soprano, over 80 recordings
MITSUKO UCHIDA, pianist, over 60 recordings
POP STARS
RAVI SHANKAR
ROD STEWART
TINA TURNER
MOVIE DIRECTORS
STANLEY KUBRICK – 2001, Barry Lyndon, Clockwork Orange, Dr. Strangelove, Lolita, Spartacus
DAVID LEAN – Brief Encounter, Bridge Over the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia, Oliver Twist
Quad, The Closest Approach
This 215 page, 12" by 12" book was written by Ken Kessler, the noted journalist who has written for over 120 magazines, including THE ABSOLUTE SOUND, FI, LISTENER, STEREOPHILE, AUDIO, GRAMMOPHONE, ROBB REPORT, plus SOUND & VISION. The book includes the 40 international awards won by Quad, including from the U.S., U.K., Japan, France, etc. There are many color photos.
QUAD Dynamic Speakers
11L Bookshelfs, $799/pr, Product of the Year, BEST BUY, above B&W, Dali, Focal, Tannoy & others. WHAT HI-FI "Exceedingly involving, transparent, powerful, performance on all music. Excellent frequency extension for their modest size & price point, they have a slight warmth, which contributes to their uniquely intimate & cozy charm." ABSOLUTE SOUND 11/07
22L Towers, $1898/pr "Closer to my beloved electrostats than any other speaker under $2000. Excellent imaging, vivid & 3-D soundstaging, very low distortion; high accuracy." ABSOLUTE SOUND EDITOR'S CHOICE 3/10
Lite System, 4 satellites, center & sub, $2199 total,THE BEST $2000 HOME THEATER SPEAKER SYSTEM. "Sounds incredibly refined & rich in textural details - drop dead gorgeous woodwork." PERFECT VISION, 1/08
PRODUCT of the YEAR. 5 STARS, TOP-RATED, above Bose Acoustimass, B&W, Canton, Dali, KEF, Tannoy & more; "impressive, top-performing." WHAT HI-FI, 8/08
"Natural clarity & vibrant, lifelike textures. Like other great Quad speakers, they had an uncanny ability to reveal subtle details without over-emphasizing them. Its clear natural sound is incredibly engaging & compelling; a fine performer" ABSOLUTE SOUND 11/07
"The British firm Quad, revered for 50 years, [for] groundbreaking design, mind-boggling clarity & sonic purity. Exceptional build quality; truly beautiful woodwork. Remarkably clear sound, energetic, sure-footed & authoritative. Delivers clarity & gusto. Class leading sub; great power, clarity & bass that goes very deep. Reproduces instruments & voices with natural clarity & vibrant, life-like textures. Guests asked if they could buy the review samples. TOP-RATED in transparency, focus, tonal balance, bass pitch definition & value. RECOMMENDED by PERFECT VISION, 7/07
QUAD ELECTROSTATICS
HI-FI CHOICE chose the top hi-fi of all time. Quad is the highest ranked speaker. "The British Gold Standard; first practical full-range electrostatic; wide dynamics & delicate transparency weaves an unmatched spell." Models can have black grills & tops; or in classic finish with gold weave grills & solid mahogany wood tops.
ESL988, A rated, $6499/pr, black; $7149/pr, classic; in same class as $39,000 models.
"World class resolution, superb soundstaging, spectacular transient response" STEREOPHILE RECOMMENDED 10/07
5 Star, top rated, above B&O, B&W, Bose, Dali, Dynaudio, Revel & more. WHAT HI-FI, 12/05
"It will play at natural levels with a purity & accuracy will spoil you." ABSOLUTE SOUND EDITOR'S CHOICE 10/07
ESL2805, A rated, SPEAKER of the YEAR, in same class as $39,000 models.
$9,499/pr, black; $11,449/pr, classic; "I know of no other speaker I'd rather own, regardless of price. The fiest hi-fi purchase you could ever make in terms of performance & value. Supremely transparent, free of coloration; phenomenally quick, utterly nonfatiguing." STEREOPHILE, 10/09
"The best ESL yet from Quad speakers; compelling realism & naturalness." ABSOLUTE SOUND 2/08
GREATEST BARGAIN, ABSOLUTE SOUND 5/08
"Realism & naturalness that are compelling & addictive." GOLDEN EAR AWARD, ABSOLUTE SOUND, 07 & 08; PRODUCT of YEAR, 07 & 08; EDITOR'S CHOICE 3/10.
"One has the feeling of being right in the room with the performer. They play considerably louder than older models; cleaner & faster bass." Hi-Fi + 10/07
GOLD AWARD, "There's something quintessentially right about a Quad electrostatic. Rear braced for extra stiffness & mass-loaded for extra rigidity [with] unparaIled midband clarity & neutrality, Quad ESLs are the benchmark by which all other speakers are judged. No other design is such a paragon of musicality & neutrality combined. A clear winner!" HI-FI CHOICE, awards 2008
ESL2905, $11,999/pr, black; $14,499/pr, classic; "Possibly the world's best speaker."
HI-FI CHOICE 1/07
PRODUCT OF YEAR, ABSOLUTE SOUND 1/09
"Sounds real, incredibly detailed & ravishingly beautiful on virtually any music." BUYER'S GUIDE, ABSOLUTE SOUND Spring 2010; EDITOR'S CHOICE 3/10
5 STARS, TOP-RATED over Dali, Focal, Spendor
& more. "Truly world class speaker."
WHAT HI-FI AWARDS 2008
QUAD SOLID STATE ELECTRONICS
99 Remote control Preamp, $1099, top choice
for price, WHAT HI-FI AWARDS 2008
"Dandy MM & MC phono stage; tone correction works like a charm" ABSOLUTE SOUND
EDITOR'S CHOICE 3/10; GOLDEN EAR AWARD
BEST BUY HI-FI CHOICE 2/08
"The 99 has superb performance at a reasonable
price, intelligently chosen features for real world music playback in the home, user friendly design & ergonomics, novel styling of understated elegance & a compact footprint approaching that of mini-components. I've recommended the 99 preamp / 909 amp combination to well over a dozen friends. All remain happily satisfied with their performance. I've heard from at least as many TAS readers who did the same & any number of on-line chat groups. I always keep this combination, both as a price / performance reference & because I just enjoy using & listening to them [for their] tonal neutrality, the complete absence of edginess, glassiness, hardness, or grain; the same involving musicality & naturralness sweep all before it."
"Despite the presence of electronics much costlier than these, I often reinstate the Quads, just because they are so pleasing to listen to. They do tend to make for a more natural sounding presentation, one that's easier to listen to for the long haul. The 99 & 909 have a very clean, exceptionally low-distortion presentation with a wonderfully open & vivid midrange that I'd put up against any amplifierrs I've heard or used."
ABSOLUTE SOUND 6-7/10
99CDP CD Player, $1549, "Lively, vital;
powerful; warmth, richness & delicacy. Its high quality built-in volume control can drive amp directly." ABSOLUTE SOUND RECOMMENDED
"TOP RATED" HI-FI CHOICE 1/07
99 Power Amp, $999, 5 Star, top-rated above Arcam, Linn & more. WHAT HI-FI "TOP RATED"
HI-FI CHOICE 1/07
909 Power Amp, $1549, 5 Star, top-rated above more costly Musical Fidelity, Roksan & more. WHAT HI-FI AWARDS 2008
"Sound quality sets benchmark for size & price. Midrange is near state-of-the-art; an ease, relaxation & naturalness that sweep mere hi-fi aside." ABSOLUTE SOUND EDITOR'S CHOICE 3/10; GOLDEN EAR AWARD
BEST BUY HI-FI CHOICE 2/08
"The 909 has superb performance at a reasonable price, intelligently chosen features for real world music playback in the home, user friendly design & ergonomics, novel styling of understated elegance & a compact footprint approaching that of mini-components. I've recommended the 99 preamp / 909 amp combination to well over a dozen friends. All remain happily satisfied with their performance. I've heard from at least as many TAS readers who did the same & any number of on-line chat groups. I always keep this combination, both as a price / performance reference & because I just enjoy using & listening to them [for their] tonal neutrality, the complete absence of edginess, glassiness, hardness, or grain; the same involving musicality & naturralness sweep all before it."
"Despite the presence of much costlier
electronics, I often reinstate the Quads, just because they are so pleasing to listen to. They do tend to make for a more natural sounding presentation, one that's easier to listen to for the long haul. The 99 & 909 have a very clean, exceptionally low-distortion presentation with a wonderfully open & vivid midrange that I'd put up against any amplifiers I've heard or used."
QUAD SUBWOOFERS
QUAD, $1600, PRODUCT of YEAR. 5 Stars, TOP-RATED above Dynaudio, Tannoy, Velodyne,
etc. WHAT HI-FI, 8/08
LITE, $1100, PRODUCT of YEAR. 5 Stars, TOP-RATED, above Dynaudio, Tannoy, Velodyne, etc. WHAT HI-FI, 8/08
QUAD TUBE AMPLIFIERS
HI-FI CHOICE chose a Quad Tube Preamp & Amp among the top hi-fi of all time. The only other tube amp chosen is over 10 times more.
Quad II Classic Power Amp, $3100/pr. "A real honey. Delicious rich, smooth & colorful midrange. Renders strings, voices, winds, saxes & more with sweetness, delicacy & beauty." ABSOLUTE SOUND RECOMMENDED
RATED in SAME CLASS as $7000 amps; EXCEPTIONAL VALUE "Exhibiting timbral beauty, spatial honesty & deep emotional involvement, there isn't a sweeter amp on earth; it's beautiful." STEREOPHILE RECOMMENDED 4/08
QUAD II 80 Power Amp, originally $11,400/pair; now $8998/pair, One of the top 10 designs from 2008 Consumer Electronic Show "A winner. It has the grunt & low impedance to drive difficult speakers & is ideal for Quad
electrostatics." ENJOY the MUSIC.com 1/08
QC24 Preamp, $1099 "First-rate imaging; lively, engaging, remarkably neutral."
ABSOLUTE SOUND EDITOR'S CHOICE 3/10; GOLDEN EAR AWARD
This Page Last Updated: 7/10/2010
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