Quad Amplifiers

I know I'm biased but I just love Quad Amplifiers, there is just something different and very British about my Quad 405-2 Power Amplifier. I thought it sounded fantastic first time I plugged it in after buying it at a steal on Ebay, and now that I have invested almost £250 upgrading it with the help of Net Audio and the Missing Link it never ceases to amaze me how good it sounds.

Ebay is a great start for anyone thinking of buying a Quad amplifier as the build quality and longevity of these amplifiers is second to none and usaully to continue the lifespan of a Quad amplifier it is just a case of replacing/upgrading the electrolytic capacitors which usually have passed their best after about 12-15 years use, so I thought I would delve into the history of Quad amplifiers.

The Acoustical Manufacturing Company as it was first known was founded by the late Peter Walker in 1936 and the main objective of the business at that time was to build high quality PA systems but this soon transgressed into the growing home audio market, and in 1948 the first Quad amplfier to be produced was launched as a "Quality Unit - Amplifier Domestic" which was then abbreviated to Quad and that brand has lasted ever since. The Quad I amplifier at that time was one of the most accurate sounding amps on the market but it was not until the launch of the Quad II amplifier pictured above that Quad really started to get noticed. The Quad II Amplifier is quite simply just one of those products that set the standard for the rest to follow with an advanced valve circuit with minimal distortion and one that would stay in production until 1970 by which time almost 90,000 units had been sold. Now although the Quad II amplifier does occasionally appear up for auction on Ebay, there are a couple of caveats, firstly expect to pay a lot of money (£500-£700) for a Quad II power amplifier in good condition, the other is that it is a mono amplifier so you will need two of them for stereo and it is always best to find two amplifiers whose serial numbers are very close together for audio balancing and matching.

If your budget does not stretch that far then you won't go far wrong with one of the later model transistor based amplifiers that Quad produced from the late sixties through to the current day starting with the Quad 303 Power Amplifier, Quad's first foray into the world of transistor powered amplifiers and one that quickly received many accolades including a Council of Industrial Design Award for it's low distortion triples circuitry. This amplifier was supereceded in 1976 by Quad's second power amplifier which was also revolutionary in its implementation of current dumping and also went on to win the Design Council Award the year it was launched and then The Queen's Award for Technological Achievement two years later before the circuit was modified and the Quad 405 power amplifier became the 405-2. Quad also launched the 306 in 1987 and this is probably one of the best bargains you will find on the second hand market at the moment as all the attention seems to focus on the 303 and 405.

This entry was posted on Thursday November 8th, 2007 at 8:29 PM and is filed under Amplifiers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.

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