QUAD - THE CLOSEST APPROACH BY KEN KESSLER

QUAD "THE CLOSEST APPROACH" BY KEN KESSLER. SEALED. GOOGLE STEREOPHILE BOOK REVIEW. SEALED.
Hardcover: 215 pages
Publisher: International Audio Group Ltd.; 1st edition (September 26, 2003)
Language: English

BOOK REVIEW:

"There are absorbing snapshots of Quad gear on display at hi-fi shows and at dealers, as well as of the famous live-vs-recorded concert events from the 1950s, for which Quad provided the amplification and Wharfedale the loudspeakers. The more important historical source documents, such as the chapter on Quad founder Peter J. Walker from Gilbert Briggs' Audio Biographies, and articles from Hi-Fi News and The Gramophone, are reproduced in full. Appendices include model-by-model production figures, technical papers, two circuit diagrams, and a listing of all Quad reviews from Hi-Fi News & Record Review.

The family-reunion aspect is even more treasurable. It was people—strong, individualistic people with no shortage of foibles—who made the company what it was, and who imbued the products with such dedication to musical values. Primarily it was Peter J. Walker and his son Ross, and their engineering and business collaborators. Ken Kessler interviewed all the important personalities, and solicited additional contributions of varying length from just about everyone who matters in the hi-fi firmament. To take just a few: John Atkinson contributes several personal anecdotes about time spent with Peter Walker; Tim de Paravicini writes insightful technical analyses; and Ralph West provides a fascinating personal historical perspective. I was particularly gratified to read Peter McGrath's reminiscences of first hearing the ESL-57, and of later selling Mark Levinson's HQD, a hybrid loudspeaker system based on the ESL-57.

The clear-eyed analysis is the book's most thought-provoking aspect. I knew that Quad the company had gone through a decline in the early 1990s, but had not realized—until I read Kessler's sensitive but probing interview with Ross Walker—that the company was, for all intents and purposes, bankrupt when it was acquired (or rescued) by Mission Audio's founder, Farad Azima. Even less had I imagined that, due to lack of attention to production engineering and cost controls, Quad never made money on either the ESL-57 or the ESL-63 speaker. Sobering.

Fortunately for us all, under the stewardship of the International Audio Group, Quad has a positive outlook for the future. This book's coverage extends to Stereophile's 2003 Component of the Year, the ESL-989 speaker, successor to the ESL-63. There's even an appetizing tease shot of restyled future models.

Many companies contributed to the first decade of high-fidelity playback. Few are still in existence. Only one made a product—the original ESL loudspeaker—that a respectable minority of well-informed people still believes set a standard for midrange coherence and transparency that has never been surpassed. That's Quad. Fearless, no-brainer prediction: The first printing of this book will be a collector's item."