The Quad Artera Solus Makes Us Sit Up And Pay Attention

Here at Audio T Cardiff we have many opportunities to listen to to some great Hi-Fi but every now and again something new will come along that makes you sit up and listen. The Quad Artera Solus all-in-one was just one of these!

What is a Quad Artera Solus you may ask? The Solus takes elements of the existing Artera range and shrinks them down to a single box unit. It continues along the classic Quad Hi-Fi lines but with a modern touch and enters a market where the one box hi-fi system has a lot of interest.

The Quad Solus is fitted with all the things you would would expect on a modern day all-in-one system.

You get five digital input, two coaxial, two optical and a USB-B connection. The USB-A socket you see on the rear panel is just for software updates. These are partnered with both an optical and coax outputs. All the decoding is handled by a ESS Sabre DAC. You then get an additional two RCA line inputs and a line output.

Taking a look at the front panel here you will see the Quad veers slightly from the norm. in place of an internet radio or network streamer you have a CD mechanism on a slot loading transport. Quite a smart move we think as although we are told that CD sales are in decline there are many of you out there with a vast CD collection. Add this to the versatile USB-B socket that is compatible with a variety of networked attached storage (NAS) drives, the Apt-X Bluetooth, you have quite a versatile system.

There is also a streaming platform in the pipeline that will only add to the impressive features already on-board.

The Amp delivers a beefy 75W RMS into 8ohms backed by an equally impressive 15 amps of current, so not much of a struggle here with most similarly priced loudspeakers. It’s a class A/B design with the pre-amplifier also being completely analogue and constructed of mainly discrete components. This puts the Quad in good stead as your choice of speakers will not be limited.

As for the design, the Solus is quite unlike anything else on the market. There are no visible controls apart from the power and eject buttons. The indented solid metal chassis with its removable glass plate that is flush with the top only adds to the elegant look of the unit. A silver finish is also available. The supplied remote control is also good quality with direct command buttons for all functions and is logical and easy to use.

We have the Solus on demonstration at the moment hooked up to a pair of Spendor A4 loudspeakers. So come in and have a listen we can assure you, you will be in for a treat.

Quad Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T: Brentwood, Brighton, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon