The active speakers club

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chebby

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I'm seriously thinking about these already. (Gloss 'Ruby' finish sounds just the ticket.)

I have a local Quad dealer so enquiries are going to be made regarding a home demo at the earliest possible opportunity :)
 

steve_1979

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chebby said:
Quad are making little actives again...

http://www.whathifi.com/news/quad-gets-active-with-compact-9as-speakers-with-built-in-dac

Quad_9AS_black.jpg


(With built in DAC and remote control.)

Interesting read.

I know Quad's last active speakers (based on 11Ls) were 'true' actives. I am assuming these are too. Quad list seperate LF and HF amps in their product sheet specifications section... http://www.quad-hifi.co.uk/Product.aspx?lang=En&Tab=53 .... so it is highly likely they are active and not 'powered'. Analogue inputs too :)

Good price. (£600 per pair.)

I may be mistaken but these look like powered passive speakers rather than proper actives. They do look nice though and they have a useful 100 watts per speaker which should give them plenty of dynamic range.
 

petercom

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QUAD 9AS Active Speakers

Yes, to answer the previous query, these are fully active with dedicated amplifiers for each drive unit and an analogue crossover conforming to Linkwitz-Riley acoustic slopes.

See news here:

http://www.whathifi.com/news/quad-gets-active-with-compact-9as-speakers-with-built-in-dac

Not shown in the photo is an elegant grille held in place magnetically.
 

davedotco

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Whilst I like the functionality of the Quads, I feel they have missed a trick in terms of style and presentation, seemingly hanging on to some vestige of the utilitarian 'pro' approach.

Compare the Quads above with the functionally very similar and price comparable Nupert A100.

nupro_a-100_weiss.jpg
 

AlmaataKZ

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Quad's manual here:

http://www.quad-hifi.co.uk/Uploads/File/Manuals/MNL-9AS.pdf

the looks are of cause not to everybody's taste but not so bad. I think the heatsinks etc will not look so prominent as on the pics once installed in place.

Interesting speakers and great to see more and more domestic active options.

I am putting together a multiroom system for a friend and these kind of speakers are ideal low-box solutions for either a Sonons based or AirPlay based system.
 

chebby

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I'd like Peter Comeau to pop back in and explain how far the class A/B amps are biased into class A. Some class A/B amps operate in class B from a tiny fraction of a watt upwards. Others operate in class A for a good percentage of their power output, meaning that - at moderate volumes - virtually all of your listening is in class A mode. The heatsinks on the 9AS make me wonder.
 

manicm

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davedotco said:
Whilst I like the functionality of the Quads, I feel they have missed a trick in terms of style and presentation, seemingly hanging on to some vestige of the utilitarian 'pro' approach.

Compare the Quads above with the functionally very similar and price comparable Nupert A100.

nupro_a-100_weiss.jpg

These look very me-too, samey, iPoddy, I actually prefer the look of the Quads, because they're different. And they exude a certain class about them.
 

fr0g

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manicm said:
davedotco said:
Whilst I like the functionality of the Quads, I feel they have missed a trick in terms of style and presentation, seemingly hanging on to some vestige of the utilitarian 'pro' approach.

Compare the Quads above with the functionally very similar and price comparable Nupert A100.

nupro_a-100_weiss.jpg

These look very me-too, samey, iPoddy, I actually prefer the look of the Quads, because they're different. And they exude a certain class about them.

Yep.

Class of the 80's.

Remember those HUGE Amstrad speakers with "spoilers" such as the heatsink on the QUads, that weighed so little that you threw them up in the air when you picked them up in Comet?

Similar styling.
 

manicm

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Throwback from the 80s? Ok never heard of the Amstrad, but in that case long live the 80s! I'd still rather have the Quads than these nondescript things which look like you could buy them from any supermarket.
 

fr0g

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manicm said:
Throwback from the 80s? Ok never heard of the Amstrad, but in that case long live the 80s! I'd still rather have the Quads than these nondescript things which look like you could buy them from any supermarket.

That's personal choice of course.

But if we are talking "looks" (in the end I'd take the one that sounded best) then the Quads definitely got a good hard prod with the ugly stick. I'd be tempted to put little silk curtains on them if I bought a pair.
 

manicm

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fr0g said:
That's personal choice of course.

But if we are talking "looks" (in the end I'd take the one that sounded best) then the Quads definitely got a good hard prod with the ugly stick. I'd be tempted to put little silk curtains on them if I bought a pair.

I'll have 'ugly' over nondescipt anyday.
 

altruistic.lemon

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manicm said:
fr0g said:
That's personal choice of course.

But if we are talking "looks" (in the end I'd take the one that sounded best) then the Quads definitely got a good hard prod with the ugly stick. I'd be tempted to put little silk curtains on them if I bought a pair.

I'll have 'ugly' over nondescipt anyday.
Funny, that's what my girlfriend says. It's not a compliment, really, is it?
 

fr0g

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manicm said:
fr0g said:
That's personal choice of course.

But if we are talking "looks" (in the end I'd take the one that sounded best) then the Quads definitely got a good hard prod with the ugly stick. I'd be tempted to put little silk curtains on them if I bought a pair.

I'll have 'ugly' over nondescipt anyday.

I'd say these were about as "nondescript" as a pair of standmounts could get...

20761.jpg
 

manicm

Well-known member
altruistic.lemon said:
manicm said:
fr0g said:
That's personal choice of course.

But if we are talking "looks" (in the end I'd take the one that sounded best) then the Quads definitely got a good hard prod with the ugly stick. I'd be tempted to put little silk curtains on them if I bought a pair.

I'll have 'ugly' over nondescipt anyday.
Funny, that's what my girlfriend says. It's not a compliment, really, is it?

You didn't notice my quotes did you? Or the irony was just lost on you? In any event I like the Quads, no matter what you or Fr0g may label them as.
 

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