Quad 11L

We were the first people to review this speaker way back in 2002 before it won the What Hifi? Award for best speaker in 2003 and subsequently in 2003. This was our first speaker review and should be read in that context. More recent comments are at the end.

The Quad 11L speakers are replacement for the well received 10L’s. However the 10L’s were not the fastest selling speaker in the past due to their high price. These latest Quad’s are much more reasonably priced at £399.00 per pair..

These speakers first positively reviewed by us in the summer 2002 well before they won the What Hifi? Award for best speaker, have proved themselves worthy of the Quad name. They are neat being (approx 325mm x 190mm x 240mm) suitable for bookshelf but I suspect that most people buying this quality of speaker will be putting them on decent speaker stands. They have two drive units and suitable for amplifiers up to 100W.

Speaker terminals were gold plated and suitable for bi-wiring. Bi-wiring allows you to run a cable from the high end drive unit to your amplifier and one from the mid-low frequency drive unit to your amplifier for better sound quality.

We've now had the opportunity to listen to these in various conditions. They sound exceptionally detailed and have a smooth and considering their size an extended bottom end. The bass sound depends very much on room positioning and its worth considering proper heavy duty stands to get the best from them. The main surprise is the quality of sound and finish for the price. In some instances they can sound better than speakers costing twice the price. At a recent hifi show we exhibited them and people couldn't believe the price, believing them to be much more expensive.

If you imagine them to be worth twice the price then to get the best from them only use decent quality source. All of the Quad speakers, from the humble 11L to the giant 989's have one thing in common. The better the source and amplifier the more these speakers sing.

How much should we write about these? Basically there is not much to say, they are great value for money, we identified this very early on. If you have the equipment, space and budget you will get a better sound from their bigger brother, the 22L's, if not these are a great buy.

Bad points

• Need good equipment to get best from them
• No false highs or lows – ie. Not for home disco lovers
• Don’t stick them with cheap amps or cd’s

Good points

• Great value for money
• Fantastic finish
• High fidelity (faithful) sound

See our review policy.

These speakers will be seen as a classic for their time. Great value, if you get an opportunity listen to the Quad 22L's their big brother, which we are confident will receive high critical acclaim when they eventually appear in the press!

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