@kemela

Quad HiFi is a long established manufacturer of full range Electrostatic Loudspeakers and electronics. Not content with utilitarian boxes, Quad has always given its components an interesting visual design using die-cast metal work elements.

Quad Electroacoustics is a world famous brand best known for its iconic electrostatic speakers, dynamic speakers with ribbon tweeters, well-designed modern electronics, and classic tube gear. Products continue to be developed by the Huntingdon UK (Quad's original home) based design team with the same ethos of reproducing music with the closest approach to the original while engineering for longevity rather than short-term marketing advantage. That Quad's legendary ESL 57 electrostatic was manufactured almost unchanged for 28 years seems almost inconceivable today.

The Quad ESL is one of the few loudspeakers capable of reproducing a clean precise 1 kHz square wave. The virtual point source design gives a wide dispersion pattern and is another reason for the extraordinarily integrated coherent sound reproduction. Movement of the ultra-light weight diaphragm within the electrostatic field is far more linear than the conventional drivers using magnets and this results in very low distortion. The design is also notable in being a full range ESL without a cross-over. For these reasons, musicians and music producers continue to use them as a reference monitor for their recordings.

After starting life as a manufacturer of broadcast quality amplifiers Quad built amplifiers using the acronym from QUality Amplifier Domestic for home use. The recently revamped Quad 33/303 preamplifier/amplifier combo retains Quad's 'tilt' tone control. The Quad 99 series and Elite series remains in our collection.