Majority Quadriga Maxi

Just under a year ago, the Sound Advice team decided to spread its wings into areas where many of specialist hi -fi outlets wouldn’t dream of venturing – mass market, inexpensive music players, the types of units that people want when they can't be bothered with a separates system or space is at a premium, for example.

One of our first trials was the Majority Quadriga, an all-in-one system selling for around £250. At the time, we thought it was excellent value for sound (that’s why it earned one of our ‘Exceptional’ badges) and it’s proved to be a popular choice with our followers – it is still clocking up thousands of monthly views on YouTube. 

So, when Majority whispered to us that it was launching a new version, we were all ears...

Majority is a dynamic, young company that is constantly investigating new angles and ideas. Its latest all-in-one system shares a name with another UK landmark, although I suspect no one at the Cambridge-based firm was even born when the Austin Maxi, Britain’s first 5 -door hatchback, was launched in 1969…

Hopefully Majority’s version won’t follow the euphemistic, ‘mixed success’ of the box-like Austin.

The new Maxi looks positively hulking next to its Quadriga parent, not in a gawky adolescent sort of way, but well-proportioned with a good dose of charm and sophistication. Plus, it’s not just all mouth and trousers, it does good stuff within the 500mm width casing (an increase of 70mm) plus it adds a few mm on the height over the standard Quadriga.

The most striking visual feature is the larger 110mm colour screen, which isn’t so large that it becomes a distraction, but it adds to the overall design and it is easier to read than that on the mum, or dad, Quadriga.

There are several other improvements served up in the Maxi, including an expanded streaming services that now include Amazon Music and Deezer, alongside Spotify Connect, now with Lossless capability.

Enhanced Wi-Fi allows for more robust internet radio, and Bluetooth has been upgraded to 5.2 for a better, more stable connection than on its predecessor. Ok, it's not the most current (5.3) but it offers a significant improvement for stability and sound quality on the version used in the Quadriga.

Sound Quality

Majority are not particularly generous with information about the internal workings of the Maxi, perhaps rightfully, judging that the target audience is probably not interested in the technicalities.

However, we do know that the Maxi benefits from an amplification system that has been boosted to 200w per channel, up from 120w and that the drive units are slighter less in diameter than in the predecessor. Whatever the engineering justification is for this, it certainly has had a positive effect on the output and I don't just mean that it can produce a more than credible loud performance without a whiff of distortion. The result, really across the board with the styles of music that I play, is more pleasing, and it feels slightly richer with more depth and definition than previously. There is an improvement in the bass response in so much as it also sounds more focussed and without any flab, but not at the expence of the mids and highs. Everything is knitted together in a very pleasing and relaxed delivery.

As with the original Quadriga, the sound, especially the bass response, benefits from open space, the unit delivers a fuller and richer sound on an open shelf rather than being tucked away in a media unit where I found there was quite a distracting booming quality at the low end.

Living with the Maxi

Having shared a home with the Quadriga for the best part of year on an almost daily basis, I wasn’t sure that there was much to learn from the setting up process for the Maxi, so I asked my partner to go through the stages instead.

After a modicum of protest – It will be too difficult and I’m busy – within a couple of minutes she had navigated though the Connection Wizard, the Maxi was visible on the network and on Spotify, we had the internet radio menu up to choose our favourite stations from around the world and DAB radio had scrolled through 40 odd stations and they were on tap. Nothing could be simpler.

All this was rattled through by using the OCTIV app, a propriety app used by other brands as well as Majority. This is an upgrade compared to the app used by the original Quadriga, it certainly looks better and is simple and efficient in use. Choosing 'Favourites' and 'Presets' for radio on the app for example, for me is simpler than using the remote, although it's a pretty marginal difference.

The overwhelming benefit of the Maxi (it's a family trait handed down from parent to the large offspring), is the sheer ease of use, there is nothing that needs to be thought about or considered, everything is on tap and up and running at the more or less single action on the remote or app. Don't get me wrong, I love my separates system to bits but wow, there is an awful lot to be said for having something as simple as the Maxi at hand, especially when is produces such a relaxing and impressive sound.

Conclusion

Majority have told us that the Maxi isn't a replacement, it's an addition to the range, the original Quadriga will remain. The Maxi is a stonking 30% more than the original Quadriga which sounds like a massive increase until you realise that it is still topping out at a measly £349 – some people wouldn't bat an eyelid spending that on a dinner for two and while that might be something rather nice, it certainly isn't going to extend to hours of relaxing entertainment for years to come!

When we tested the Quadriga last November, we said that it was amazing value for money, now, I’d certainly go so far as to say with the increase in performance, looks and shear presence, the Maxi is even better value for money, the additional cost is certainly worth it.

There is little to fault about the unit except, like the original, an HDMI socket to connect the TV would be welcome, yes, you can do it with the optical input but HDMi is so much more convenient. It seems like an oversight, maybe Majority will wake up to the omission in Quardriga mk 3. But that niggle aside, it is nigh on impossible to think of anything that is amiss or could be improved upon.

Test tracks

Marc Ribot and Tom Waits Bella Ciao, FIP (Internet radio)

One of the all-time great protest songs that reached a new global audience through the hit Netflix television series, Money Heist. Here the Maxi does justice to this stripped back version with Ribot and Waits’ delivering depth, understanding and passion with just a guitar and one of the most distinctive voices on the planet. Great video as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50GvkAO0OIg

Sam Cooke Touch the hem of his garment (CD)

Sam Cooke came to a sticky end back in 1964 (he was only 33) but left a fine legacy of music. His amazing voice haunts on this 70-year-old track with the backing group, the aptly named, Soul Stirrers. It sounds as fresh and lively now as it must have way back then

Ludwig Göransson Laestrygonians (Spotify lossless)

From the incredibly loud The Odyssey soundtrack, and while not delivering the full deafening Dolby cinema experience, the Maxi certainly fills the room with an extraordinary, slightly terrifying, soundscape with control and depth. It is a marvel that so much sound can come from a relatively small single box!

‍

The Quadriga Maxi is an all-in-one music unit that will get an awful lot of use because of its simplicity of operation and quality of output. It sounds excellent, spacious with a bass that has presence but also knows its place. It is exceptional value for money and an agreeable looking addition to any room. And remember all those CDs you haven't played since you were a student – now is the perfect opportunity to dig them out and relive the vibe...