Quadral Chromium Style 8

[Cyndale]

Firstly, Noel did mention being pestered by a guy to bring in Quadral. Where did you first hear of them?

I heard the Chromium Style 8s in the upstairs demo room and I was impressed by them immediately, I also heard the Rhodium 400s downstairs had it been the other way round maybe I wouldn't have been as impressed by the Chromium Style 8s.

I had been using a Naim 42/hicap with the Naim 250 poweramp, Linn LP12 with Ittok/Karma and I always found the sound to be a bit 'too' strident for my tastes. I heard Noel playing a Croft Micro through the Naim 250 and was impressed, so much so that when he brought in the Super Micro A and the Croft Series 4 power amp, I was hooked.

The sound improved immeasurably, then about two years later I heard The Well Tempered tonearm and was again impressed with it. I tried it at home with my Croft setup and was blown away. I was afraid the sound might be too soft and uninteresting but instead sound was replaced by a sound that invited me into the music. There was now more detail (but no brightness or hardness) and amazingly surface noise practically disappeared.

I had been using the classic Acoustic Energy AE1s with their dedicated stands up until 2008 (couldn't bear to get rid of them, so I kept them for posterity), I then switched to the B&W CM7s after demoing about 3 pairs of other speakers first. When I brought the CM7s home they worked like a dream in my small room.

When I visited Noel in a casual way with no intention of buying anything, Noel brought me upstairs for a chat and a listen to some 'new' speakers he had brought in, I was impressed by the look alone. I wasn't prepared for the sound I heard. Anyway I went away for about a week but the sound was still in my head, so I asked for a demo at home (which he had offered anyway before). The rest is history.

[cybot]

Firstly, Noel did mention being pestered by a guy to bring in Quadral. Where did you first hear of them?

I heard the Chromium Style 8s in the upstairs demo room and I was impressed by them immediately, I also heard the Rhodium 400s downstairs had it been the other way round maybe I wouldn't have been as impressed by the Chromium Style 8s.

I had been using a Naim 42/hicap with the Naim 250 poweramp, Linn LP12 with Ittok/Karma and I always found the sound to be a bit 'too' strident for my tastes. I heard Noel playing a Croft Micro through the Naim 250 and was impressed, so much so that when he brought in the Super Micro A and the Croft Series 4 power amp, I was hooked.

The sound improved immeasurably, then about two years later I heard The Well Tempered tonearm and was again impressed with it. I tried it at home with my Croft setup and was blown away. I was afraid the sound might be too soft and uninteresting but instead sound was replaced by a sound that invited me into the music. There was now more detail (but no brightness or hardness) and amazingly surface noise practically disappeared.

I had been using the classic Acoustic Energy AE1s with their dedicated stands up until 2008 (couldn't bear to get rid of them, so I kept them for posterity), I then switched to the B&W CM7s after demoing about 3 pairs of other speakers first. When I brought the CM7s home they worked like a dream in my small room.

When I visited Noel in a casual way with no intention of buying anything, Noel brought me upstairs for a chat and a listen to some 'new' speakers he had brought in, I was impressed by the look alone. I wasn't prepared for the sound I heard. Anyway I went away for about a week but the sound was still in my head, so I asked for a demo at home (which he had offered anyway before). The rest is history.

Enjoyed reading all that! Thanks for taking the time.

Where did I hear about them? Well a five globe review of the Platinum 50's in HFW by Noel Keywood piqued my interest. The rest you know :)

Noel did emphasise that the 8's sounded much better upstairs. For me it's usually the other way round. That's why I requested a demo downstairs.

What I've been looking for is an ever slightly more transparent sound but without the penalties. This I got in spades from the 8's with their fabulous ribbon tweeter. Wow! So I'm not surprised you were taken in :) The time I heard them was with a Micromega amp and a Clearaudio (Concept?) tt. Again Noel emphasised that the Clearaudio was 'bass light'.....so maybe.......?

Right I'll have to do some serious thinking in the next few days and just do the darned home demo!

[Cyndale]

I know exactly what you mean regarding not disturbing the sound you already have. That is why I tend to change speakers, I am afraid to upset the balance of the sound I have spent years tweaking to my satisfaction.

I stopped upgrading on a regular basis years ago, so I am really enjoying this one.

[cybot]

I know exactly what you mean regarding not disturbing the sound you already have. That is why I tend to change speakers, I am afraid to upset the balance of the sound I have spent years tweaking to my satisfaction.

I stopped upgrading on a regular basis years ago, so I am really enjoying this one.

That's exactly my sentiments. Why mess around with a sound that's taken a life time to fine tune? Listening to the system now and it sounds bloody marvellous. Why indeed????

But.......my friend Ivan who I met while viewing his house back in '95 was a committed Naim guy. When he saw and heard my system a little while later he had to have every single component in it :) In one fell swoop he changed his whole system to embrace the Croft's, Castle's and Gyrodeck (he couldn't get the Nottingham Analogue - long story). Then he went ahead and bought another Castle speaker (Chester's) and built them around his Naim gear plus Meridian cdp. Wise guy!

Anyhow I guess you know where this is leading.....he wants to hear the Quadral Chromium 8's! He offered to collect them from Cloney's himself and, of course, drop them into my system just for a few seconds ;)

[Cyndale]

The main thing is not to rush into any decision. It has to feel it is something you WANT to do! I had some spare cash (can't figure out how that happened, ha!) and the 'casual' visit I paid to Cloney Audio was well worthwhile!

[cybot]

Just in case you haven't read the review on the 8's here it is in full. Enjoy :)



http://www.sacom.ch/bilder/news/testber ... 316_en.pdf

[cybot]

The main thing is not to rush into any decision. It has to feel it is something you WANT to do! I had some spare cash (can't figure out how that happened, ha!) and the 'casual' visit I paid to Cloney Audio was well worthwhile!

Don't worry I definitely don't rush things ;) I hear you with the spare cash! Very, very dangerous territory ;) Similar reason why I got a spare tt I didn't need! It was actually a decent into hell which I refuse to elaborate on; It lasted almost a year and I swore I would never, ever go down that road again.....I actually shudder when I remember it all!

[Cyndale]

Just in case you haven't read the review on the 8's here it is in full. Enjoy :)



http://www.sacom.ch/bilder/news/testber ... 316_en.pdf

Yeah, thanks for that, I had read it but nice to have it on file for keepsake. Do you have any links to other Quadral loudspeaker review, the Platinum 50 for example?

[cybot]

Just in case you haven't read the review on the 8's here it is in full. Enjoy :)



http://www.sacom.ch/bilder/news/testber ... 316_en.pdf

Yeah, thanks for that, I had read it but nice to have it on file for keepsake. Do you have any links to other Quadral loudspeaker review, the Platinum 50 for example?

No bother. The physical review is long gone but I'll have a look elsewhere.....

[cybot]

Here's some excerpts I found on the M50's. The second review is from HFW.

Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place? I clearly remember the original HFW review which set me on the quest to hear them. They go down to 20 Hz but they don't have the ribbon tweeter. Still the ring transducer seems to be reasonably benign. Mmmmmmm.........

PLATINUM M50

"Quadral Platinum M50 are the essence of the spirit and tradition of the company. Large and massive, impressive on the first sight and hearing. These speakers provide so much power and pressure, expecially if you love guitars and electronics. The wide frequency range let's you hear every detail even of instruments big like organs. Platinum M50 make listening real fun, get you inside the music and make you feel like you're in live concert.

+ massive build
+warm, insightful sound
+ easy to drive
+ fantastic for rock music
- slightly too much bass"




PLATINUM M50

"Verdict:
A superbly engineered loudspeaker that combines low-end authority with mid-band detail and clean, spacious treble. Highly recommended."
For:
- smooth and accurate
- powerful bass
- detailed mid-band

Against:
- nothing at the price


VALUE – keenly priced
OUTSTANDING – simply the best
FIVE OF FIVE GLOBES




PLATINUM M SET, CONSISTING OF: PLATINUM M50, PLATINUM M25, PLATINUM M10 AND QUBE 12

"Conclusion Quadral's Platinum-M set does not come cheap, but the set is worth its price. The superb finished high-gloss ensemble does not need take up a lot of space, but it will easily fill a huge room with superb elemental bass tones. Both music and voices always sound natural and films are reproduced homogeneously and non-stressfully. This is why the set gets 90 points (out of 100) and reaches our "reference class."

90 von 100 points
"reference class"


'Hi All,
Just sharing my experience with the Quadrals for the benefit of all the FM's, Auditioned them yesterday at FX entertainment.. had taken my amplifier along for the audition and a selection of music that I hear.. it was late afternoon demo and all of us were relaxed (thanks to you Mr. bud..).... till we entered the demo room.. what an imposing presence!! it was as if it commanded respect.. well that was the exterior and we hooked up the mighty Krell to see if these Burly Germans' could walk the walk...
Started off with AR Rehman live in concert song 'Hai Rama' and gave the volume a generous squeez with Krell merrily complying.. we were not prepared for what happened next.. the sound hit us like a wall pushing me back on the chair and then wave after wave hit us with force that made me clutch the armrest for safety..the bass is unlike anything that I've heard till now..it was starting and stopping on a dime and with a punch which could be equated to 'Tyson'..convinced of its muscle we put it against love with tracks which demand subtelety and refinement where detailing is of major focus e.g. Sade, Michael buble, Diana Krall (perhaps the world wide standard for a three piece jazz with a feamle vocalist ).. I have never seen anything so muscular be so delicate at making love with the music.... it created an engagment with the song an emotional connection thats rare even with speakers 4 times its price.. layers of music details of the instruments the precise placement of musicians in the band well nothing went amiss.. the sound stage was perhaps not as wide or deep as the Tannoys nor the timber was as lifelike but these were factors which were not that influential that they could break the deal.. comparing these to the Tannoys, The Tannoys come across as bright speakers ..

Overall a speaker to be auditioned if you are looking for a long term investment for enjoyment.'

Cheers
Ravi