The history of Quad is one of audio excellence. The early products were all firsts of their particular type and cast the mould for the products which would follow for many years afterwards. Quad products are renowned for their longevity, and a journalist recently commented that new Quad products come along slightly less frequently than leap years. You might think that this would leave us trailing behind other manufacturers, but quite the opposite applies. Instead, every product Quad releases is a landmark, building on the successes of the predecessors, refining and innovating to bring you closer to the original sound.

The company was founded in 1936 by audio master Peter Walker, under the title, the ‘Acoustical manufacturing company’. The company produced ‘Public Address’ systems and compact amplifiers (relatively speaking). In 1949, The company produced the ‘Corner Ribbon Loudspeaker, producing higher frequencies than had ever previously been achieved. In the same year, the QA12/P was launched and the brand ‘QUAD’ was born from an acronym ‘Quality Unit Amplified Domestic’.

A 215 page hard-back, authorative history with commentaries and contributions from throughout the industry. Technical chapters from Tim De Paravicini and Gordon Hill and interviews with Peter Walker, Ross Walker, Stan Curtis and Mike Albinson. Along with a series of stunning new photographs and reproductions of AES technical papers and numerous circuit diagrams, this must be regarded as the definitive guide to Quad. Written by Ken Kessler.