In this installment of Spotlight we turn our focus to venerated British hi fi manufacturer Quad.

 

Known best for electrostatic loudspeakers and tube amps, Quad is one of the truly endearing names in high fidelity, with a history that spans seven decades. Today Quad is going as strong as ever, thanks to the relocation of their production facilities to the People's Republic of China, which gives audiophiles a chance to purchase Quad equipment for much less than it would sell for if they didn't have complete control over their manufacturing process. In addition, Quad's expansion into producing dynamic loudspeakers has helped them gain a whole new audience, and the Quad L Series has been universally hailed as an audio success at a breakthrough price.

 

Quad continues to produce their famous electrostats and valve amps at their Shenzhen production facility, but the company is no less British than it was before, with employees in the UK, and many relocated to the PRC to design and oversee production. It's a business model that has been a resounding success. And with that, let's turn the Spotlight on Quad Hifi: 

Reuters has reported that the BDA released a statement Tuesday announcing that Blu Ray Disc sales have passed the million mark in Europe.

 

In Europe the software sales lead commanded by Blu Ray is indisputable: 73% Blu Ray, 27% HD DVD for YTD HD disc sales. Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End both enjoyed strong sales that secured Blu Ray's 3 to 1 advantage over HD DVD in Europe for 2007 disc sales.

 

With the war in Japan and Europe all but conceded by HD DVD, one has to wonder what rabbit they can pull out of their hat to keep their format alive. Lots of cheap HD DVD hardware is flying off store shelves in the US this holiday season, but HD DVD needs to launch an offensive on the content front as well and start releasing some titles that will bolster sales numbers. 

 

The HD DVD Promotional Group announced big sales figures over the Black Friday weekend have pushed the number of HD DVD standalone plus Xbox 360 add-on players to over the 750,000 mark.

Somehow I missed this, but I think everyone else did too. Mordaunt-Short has released a new line of loudspeakers, the Mordaunt-Short Mezzo Series.

 

The Mordaunt-Short Mezzo Series offers a floorstander, two bookshelf models, a center channel and a subwoofer. The Mezzo 6 floorstander stands 39.4" and has two 6.5" aluminum woofers mated with a 1" aluminum dome tweeter.  The Mezzo 5 center mates two 5.25" aluminum mid-bass drivers with the same 1" aluminum tweeter. 2 way bookshelf models are offered, one with a 5.25" woofer, the other sporting a 6.5" woofer. Finally, the Mezzo 9 subwoofer has two 8" drivers that will plumb down to 30Hz. The series is available in light oak or dark walnut finishes, and all models except the center channel feature curved sides on the enclosures.

 

Suggested pricing for the Mordaunt-Short Mezzo line is $1895 for the Mezzo 6 floorstanders, $995 and $795 for the bookshelf models, $695 for the Mezzo 5 center, and $1595 for the Mezzo 9 subwoofer. 

Danish biochemist Troels Gravesen has received a lot of well-deserved attention for his outstanding DIY loudspeaker projects. Troels' projects are always well documented, use premium drivers and have beautiful enclosure designs, giving aspiring loudspeaker builders a roadmap toward building status designs that would retail for exponentially more money if they were commercial loudspeakers. His site also features projects of his that others have built, giving us a chance to see different interpretations of his plans. Jantzen Audio sells kits that Troels has designed using Parts Express enclosures, for those whose carpentry skills may be suspect.

 

 

 

 

The specification for TL51 discs had been approved by the DVD Forum back in September.

 

Final approval for triple layer 51GB HD DVD media has received the green light from the DVD Forum. TL51 is now part of the official HD DVD specification. No announcements have been made regarding content or hardware, but look for Toshiba and HD DVD publishing studios to begin using the new format soon.

 

The Blu Ray camp has used it's storage capacity advantage as one of their bullet points on why Blu Ray is superior to HD DVD. As of November 15, HD DVD can boast that HD DVD has superior storage capacity, in addition to better interactivity and cheaper hardware.