MERIDIAN AUDIO Z Series Loudspeakers Overview data

Z Series

Where It All Started

t was way back in the mono days of 1949 that Quad launched its rst loudspeaker,

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the Corner Ribbon. This was, indeed, a prestige product, but it oered something

special, a particularly clear and detailed upper midrange to treble performance from

a large and delicate ribbon driver.

Plaudits abounded from the press and everyone who heard the Corner Ribbon. The

Gramophone observed :

...smoothness, naturalness, and delity of reporoduction has yet

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to be surpassed and, with very few exceptions, even approached.

...And that was 1949. So, the question is, can Quad engineers replicate this performance

today, or even surpass it? the answer, not surprisingly, is yes.

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Then And Now

he Quad corner ribbon was a speaker incomparable to

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competitors at it’s time, all with thanks to the Quad ethos,

which is still adhered to in all product development and to deliver;

“The Closest Approach To The Original Sound”.

Being our rst ever commercially available loudspeaker, the Corner
Ribbon was not completely perfect - it generated a relatively low
power and the ribbon unit was very fragile. As we know founder
Peter Walker moved on to develop the world’s rst full range,
push-pull Electrostatic speaker, if not the most iconic loudspeaker

of our time.

So, to make a ribbon unit that handled today’s high power ampliers
and to do the original Corner Ribbon justice was no mean task. The
Z Series ribbon accomplishes this by utilising a composite ribbon
sandwich substrate that is far more robust than earlier designs and
immerses this ribbon in an exceptionally strong magnetic eld to

yield ultra-high sensitivity.

nlike conventional dome treble units where the voice coil

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‘motor’ is attached separately to the diaphragm, Z Series ribbon
is both the diaphragm and the motor system. The result is a unique
combination of delicacy, smoothness and hear-through performance

that helps make your music sing.

While taking inuence from the unparalleled success of the ESL
speaker, the ribbon itself is engineered to be extremely light and thin,
which delivers the startling accuracy and wide coverage Quad is

famous for.

In our agship series, the larger 90 x 12mm true ribbon creates an
even higher sensitivity and bandwidth which means better dynamics

and an even smoother integration with the midrange frequencies.

Transparent Technology

n The Z Series oorstanders, this advanced ribbon unit is married to

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an equally high performance midrange driver with a unique double

-roll-surround, especially designed to control edge breakup and give
equal transparency to the all important vocal range.

Both the midrange and bass drivers feature Quad’s woven glass bre
cone geometry. Combined with the double-roll-surround this again

controls breakup modes, enhancing micro-detail in your music.

The bass section, similar to the original Corner Ribbon utilises an acoustic
lter bass reex system. This section uses a double chamber lter that
eliminates “chung” found in inferior loudspeakers with conventional
ports. This also maintains a natural and unforced reproduction right
down to the lowest frequencies of a symphony orchestra, producing

our signature sound as found in the infamous ESLs.

The Finishing Touch

f course, putting it all together is a phase-compensated Acoustic

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Butterworth crossover that is the result not only of Computer

Aided Design, but also hundreds of hours of critical listening tests

using all types and avours of music.

We don’t need to describe the skillfully hand veneered cabinets as
one look at the images throughout this brochure will give you a
taste of how the Z Series furniture quality woodwork will look in

your living room.

Specications

Model

General Description

Enclosure type

Transducer complement

Bass driver

Midrange driver

Treble driver

Sensitivity (1W @ 1m)

Recommended amplier power

Nominal impedance

Minimum impedance

Frequency response (+/-3dB)

Bass Extension (-6dB)

Crossover frequency

Z1 Z2

bookshelf

bass reex

2-way

150mm glass bre

90 x 12mm true ribbon

86dB

20-100W

8Ω

4.6Ω

56Hz - 20kHz

48Hz

3.4kHz

bookshelf

bass reex

2-way

175mm glass bre

90 x 12mm true ribbon

84dB

30-120W

8Ω

4.6Ω

50Hz - 20kHz

45Hz

3.4kHz

Cabinet Volume (in litres)

Dimensions

Net weight

Standard accessories

10L

383 x 219 x 283mm

6.5kg / pcs

manual, certicate

15L

421 x 243 x 329mm

9kg / pcs

manual, certicate

Z4Z3

oor-standing

bass reex

3-way

2 x 175mm glass bre

150mm glass bre

90 x 12mm true ribbon

89dB

40-120W

6Ω

3.8Ω

50Hz - 20kHz

45Hz

450Hz 3.6kHz

34L

965 x 267 x 340mm

oor-standing

bass reex

3-way

3 x 165mm glass bre

150mm glass bre

90 x 12mm true ribbon

90dB

40-120W

4Ω

3.6Ω

47Hz - 20kHz

40Hz

300Hz 3.5kHz

43L

1175 x 267 x 340mm

Piano Rosewood

Piano Black

19kg / pcs

manual, certicate, spike seat

23.5kg / pcs

manual, certicate, spike seat

Piano White

IAG House, 13/14 Glebe Road, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE29 7DL, UK

Tel: [phone] Web: www.quad-hi.co.uk