Quad 11L

I bought the special edition 11L's, under half price, as they were being discontinued. I'd always wanted them, but I couldn't afford them. I'd been happy with a pair of, same stable, Wharfedale 9.1's. Still, desire won the day.

After the recommended 50 hour run-in period, these beautiful speakers produce a sound to match their looks. I've never been an affectionado of neighbour disturbing bass levels. Quality of bass and thump is what I want, and the Quad 11L speakers produce a really solid and realistic bass that is articulate and mobile, with enough 'solar plexus' twitching energy to suffice. Midrange is second-to-none. Vocals sit well forwards in the soundstage and brim with musicality. They have a sweet spot that is tonally pleasing and fluid, yet are lucidly transparent. Treble never gets out of control. Edges on all music are well defined. Soundstage is much deeper and three dimensional than the Wharfedale 9.1's. These speakers have tamed my assertive Musical Fidelity X-80 amp. Amazingly well done Quad.

These Quad 11L's really do look as though they should cost £500+ so for £380 they have a look which is well worth the price. I was originally using an old set of brilliant Mission 751 speakers, I removed them from the stands and put on the Quad's. The first thing that hit me immediately was the bass - no deeper than the Missions just slightly more obvious, faster and punchier. It seemed as though the lower frequencies where richer, more colourful and fun in some way?? I listened to CD after CD and was very pleased. My girlfriend was as equally pleased to replace the black ash enclosures of the 751's with the gorgeous burr maple finish of the Quads.

I liked the way the rich bass & mid-range gave weight & drive to some of my dance and rock Cd's but it worked better with some Cd's than others. It never sounded bad & definitely never sounded harsh, but not as neutral or as open I would have liked at times. I think this is because the upper bass & mid range are slightly projected, but the very top of the treble seems just a touch unprotected, but sweet never-the-less. I bought all new QED Silver Spiral interconnect leads & Silver Anniversary Bi-wire speaker cable & this helped open things up. This does mean the cheap fabric dome tweeter on the Quads make the treble not as crisp or airy as metal or expensive tweeters, but the bass is still great fun - slightly trading one for the other is what it's all about and for the price the speaker as a whole still represent great value for the money.

These are good speaker's and I would recommend them to style conscious hifi buffs to try in their own system if possible. If your after room friendly speakers that will impress your friends visually and sonically and never offend visually or sonically give these Quad 11L's a try. Recommended!!