Quad speakers may seem, at first sight, to have little link to computers. Quad make a lot of high-end audio equipment, of the sort that Commercial Curly favours for his mansion.
However, the bears now listen to all their music through iTunes, sitting at the computer. Where once the music would have been delivered through a good hi-fi system, it was now delivered through a rather less admirable amplifier and speakers that seemed to major on 5.1 audio and a big subwoofer rather than pure sound quality.
The search therefore commenced for something better. The bears could have gone the route of a separate amplifier and speakers, but the wiring nightmare that is the back of the computer was already bad enough. A set of active speakers therefore seemed a good choice - but did this mean compromising on sound quality? The Quad 11L is an active speaker (so it has an amplifier built in) with good reviews purely as a piece of hi-fi, and therefore delivers a sound much better than the typical desktop computer speaker. A set of speakers was procured from the very helpful people at Acton Gate Audio.
One initial problem is that the speakers each require a full size phono connection from a single mini-phono connector on the back of the Mac. This isn't a typical cable arrangement, and it took a little while to find the best setup - particularly as poor quality cables negate the whole point of getting good speakers in the first place. The next snag is that the volume controls sit on the back of the speakers. This isn't the most convenient location. Curly suggested a USB audio interface and after initially making the mistake of getting a unit with no in-built volume control (since Mac OS X won't vary the volume control to a USB audio device), he found the Edirol UA-25EX. While this is undoubtedly overkill, it allowed a better cable routing arrangement - providing dual full-sized phono outputs and a volume control - while connecting to the Mac by USB. And besides, Curly likes overkill. (Note: Curly has since moved on to the Apogee Duet and a FireWire connection).
With the connection and volume control problems tackled, what do the speakers sound like? In a word, tremendous! The sound is smooth and refined - perhaps a little laid back for those who like a very bright "in your face" presentation, but very good to listen to. Particular strengths are vocals and stereo separation. To be honest, the difference from the bear's previous Logitech Z-580 speakers was like night and day. If you listen to a lot of music on your Mac, Curly can't recommend the Quads highly enough. Quad also do a non-active version if you have an amplifier handy. They do take up more desk space, but the piano black finish looks stunning (even it does show up the dust very quickly). Scamps often admires himself in the reflection.
The bears no longer cover their ears with their paws when music is played from the computer, and instead sit with contented smiles on their faces as they enjoy their favourite tracks through the Quads.