Quad 9as active speakers on order

Just ordered a pair of these, having just moved house and wanting to downsize the stereo. The plan is for the Onkyo TX-NR818 amp to go, likewise the Tannoy DC4s and let the Quads do the work.

They're a neat size, a little taller than the Tannoy pair, but not only are they active, they come with an onboard preamp and 24/192 DAC. Connectivity incudes optical, coaxial, USB and line level RCA inputs.

Looking forward to hearing these and I'll post some thoughts when I've had a chance to get them up and running.

 

And here's a picture of them...




And the rear...

 

Intriguing, especially with the recent price drop.

 

...and let the music do the talking!

I got super exciting, thinking it was so cool they made active Quads. I didn't realize (or had kinda forgotten) they were making non-ESL speakers. It would be so interesting to have the concentric ESL rings time-delayed in the digital domain!

Still, I'm sure your non-ESL Quads are very high quality, tell us how it works out.

 

They'll be here by 1030, at the latest. Looking forward to hearing them later!

 

They've arrived and they are lovely!

 

So a few hours in and happy to report good things. Lovely finish in the ruby red gloss version. Good connectivity, nice sound. 3 position EQ trim to the rear and it now means that the Onkyo amp can go after a few years of good service!

The system is now trimmed down and there's a bit more to go yet. Very happy with this outcome for now however

 

I had the 12L actives - a beautifully finished speaker. I'm a fan of active speakers (have also owned Dynaudio BM5AmkII and now KEF LS50W).

Glad to hear you're liking them! The simplicity the offer leaves you more time to focus on the music instead of the components!

 

That's the thing. As of now, there's a legacy CD player, but tomorrow we have an extended optical cable coming that'll enable the TV to be hooked up too. I'll use an external HDD for the USB and we're done!

 

Verey interested in how you like the speakers. I'm looking for actives to also rid myself of too many separates and I noticed that the Quad had all-analog connections, both from a source into the master speaker and from the master to the slave speaker. Can you confirm this is how it works?
I really like the DAC's in my Bluesound Node and CA 752BD player and don't want the signals from them passing through another DAC in the speaker.

 

Hi Dave

The inputs are all on the right speaker, and you simply hook up the cable from this to the left one. That's it. Job done. Works nicely too. Make sure you try them out though!

 

Thanks! It sounds like these may be what I'm looking for but it will be a challenge to find a pair to listen to here in Vancouver. It seems no one carries Quad here anymore...
Its a bit frustrating, of the other actives I've considered , most seem to incorporate DAC's in the signal chain following the source, which is what I'm trying to avoid....

 

Had the 12L actives before but never gave them much of a chance before I jumped at something else. You are right - a beautiful speaker. The L series was one of the best looking speakers ever, IMO. Anyways, I'm a bit more patient now...a pair came up recently for sale at a good price so I grabbed them. Going to give them a nice run and then decide if I want to keep them in the main system (if not they will replace my PC speakers). Would love to see Quad release a larger model in addition to the 9as.

 

Hi, I know from previous posts that you are a big fan of active speakers, and these are beautiful, not only by design, but in their simplicity.

It is super cool that you can have a great looking, flexible design, and with the addition of a network steamer, a great sounding system, with your music collection only a few clicks away.

Quad deserve to do very well, with products such as these.

 

Hope so. However, there's a slight niggle with the DAC implementation in as much as it drops the first second of a track when played via the digital input.

I've not yet hooked up the hard drive but it might be a question for Quad too. Not such a major deal that I'd get rid of them but worth pointing out here.