Hifi news and reviews

QUAD II CLASSIC INTEGRATED

A true classic, reinventedfor modern timesQuad's first valve-powered integrated amplifier issmooth, refined and delicious, says Andrew Everard

mong collectors of classic Britishhi-6, the Quad MIII amplifieris highly prized. This, after all,is the product responsible for itsmanufacturer's curent name: it

was founded as SP Fidelity Sound SystemsbacLin the 1930s, became the AcousgcalManufacturing Company, and launched its fustdomestic amp1i6er, tl.re QA12, in 1948. Theoriginal QUAD I (Qualiry Unit AmplifierDomestic) followed a couple ofyears later butit tool another 3 5 years for the company tobecome Quad Electroacoustics Ltdl The MkII

amplilier appeared in the early 1950s, remainedin production for two decades - well into thestereo era - and sold geaing on for 150,000udts during its production run. Many of thoseoriginals are still in use, either lovingly restoredor modified for modem requirements, andpristine early examples can still command veryserious money.

More recendy Quad has revisited thisdcsign: in the mid-lo90s t}e r ompany. r}en inthe Verity stable along with Wharfedale andMission, launched a covetable, if slighdy gliey,

"Arniversary" limited edition, gold-plated

THE TEST CD'RegenerationStephen Lyman @tr)Kirnber Kable/ som ke 5598Recorded for Ray K mbers

solvite pro e( l . l" ic d sc 54. a wo-dp lLl lyintirnate view ofthe p aying.

and selling for96000 a pair. There followeda more conventional II 40 version, with thepower upped from the original's 1 2W to 40W,and this model temains in the catalogue. Mostrecendy, and with Quad now firmly part of theIAG group, came the Quad II Classic ampliEer,its roots: grey paint, same complement ofvalves. I5W output. l t s around €2,100 a pair.

All ofwhich merely scratches the surfaceof some of the history behind the productwe have here: Quad's first stereo integratedvalve amplifer, the 54500 Qtad tr ClassicIntegrated. Packed into one relativelycompacL loorpnnL. around J lcm *ide ar,38cm deep, are a pre-amplilier, phonopre-amp and stereo power amplifier, alldrawing on separate components in Quad'scurrent "Classic Series".

The main contols echo the QC-wenq'fourvalve pre-amp, albeit with a novel slider switchto select between the four inputs, completewith a suitably retro display, and a tape bttton.The valves are on display, protected by a blaclfinished safety cage which carr be removed toreveal the glowing "bottles" more obviously,but the subde sand-gold 6nish gives it anunderstated look.

Apan 6'om the fact tiaL it s qurte tall. rtaround 20cm. ard need. a good deal morespace around it for heat dissipation, the

Quad is no harder to setup and use than anyother arnplifier. In fact the only precautronis to ensure the amp is not too close to yourspeakers: valves are, after all, inherendymicrophonic, as the manual points oul

Beyond dre controls already mentioned,there's only a small onloff button on the liont

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Sultably relro: the Quad ll Classlc Integrated boasts understatcd lools

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panel and a rear-panel mm/mc selector for thephono output. Also on the rear parel is thelegend "Design by Tim de Paravicini", Quadhaving tumed to this celebrated valve arnp

designer for work on its "Classic" series.Known for his own EAR (originally Esoteric

Audio Research) designs, not to mentionhaving been chiefampJifier designer for

Japarese company Lux back in the 1970s,de Paravicini sap the idea here was that theamplifier had to be "more powerfi , andcompact and user-friendly enough to attractnew customels. The output l%lves are ru.nmore conseflaflvely, yet it goes loud withoutgoing to pieces. The HT is increased but

the voltage-to-screen grid is lowered toenlmnce _reliability."

PERFORMANCEThe bonom line is drat dris is simply agorgeous-sorurding amp[fier. Tt can drivcsensible speakers to more dmn sensible levels

in a marurer suggesting that the quoted outputf,gure of 25Wper channel is more than a litdeconservative, seems completely bomb proofin operation and has a totally unflappablesonic ability. You can forget the valve-ampstereotypes ofwarm, lush and lazy; insteadthis is an amplifer as sweet as anyone couldwant yet still able to deliver power, dlnamicsand drama.

Play a disc such as the intimate, IsoMke-recorded ''Regenerauon" recital by guitarist

QUADilCTASSTCI]{TEGRATEDllDe Stereo integrated arnp fier P.lce €45OOInpuL Fouf line, movlng co l/movng magnetphonoOutpub One pa ir of speakers, tape oLtPowea 25w per channellntoS ohmsTonecontiok NoHcadphone3ocxet NoRcnolcconlrol NoDlmenilonr (gxHxD! 3lx2ox38cm[adc by Quad E ectroacoustics Ltd,IAG House,Sovereign Court, Errnine Bus nessPark, Huntingdon. Carnbs PE29 6XLJf Et + 44 (01480 441 104 www.ouad-hltl.co.uk

'You can forget valveamp stereotypes ofwarm, lush and lazy'

Srephen Lyman and dte sheer presence o-tie instrument is quite enchanting, as is theclose-up view of the guiurist's techiriqueafforded by the Quad, fed from a high-endSony SACD player and powering PMC'sbig OB I floontanders rn a marner quiteunbecoming of a valve amplifier delivering

"only'' 25W.Change to an orchestral recording and the

Quad almost elicis carmonish double-Lales,so well does it control the speakers and useits finesse and power to deliver all dre weight

ofthe performance. Meanwlule, at tlrc sarnetime it allows irxtrumental timbres, thelinest detail ofthe performance and scoring,and the recorded ambieflce to sing through.FranHy, I've heard these speakers driven byeveryrhing fiom modest budget amplifiersto fire-breathing monoblocs capable ofdelivering several hundred wats and rarelyhave I experienced a sound as captivating asthat presented with dre Quad in dre drivingseat. There's notling lean, mean or abrasrveabout the sound here - well, not unless youIoad up a really hard-edged recording - andwen the phono stage is remarlably good foran integrated amplifier and wouJd merit beingused with a high-quality tumtable.

True, the market for valve integratedamplifiers is very small - and drat for S4500examples ofthe breed even more so butthe Quad has more t1ran enough appeal toinfioduce newcomers to the breed, and tovalve amplifiers in general. Respect is due tomanufacturer ald designer for not making thisa slighdy self-indulgent qrercise in retro hi-fi.Ratler they've drawn on the brand's heriage,added thorouglLly modem thitlong and comeup with somedring not only practical but alsonuly magical. (3

SUPERAUDIOCORI{ERA closGr look rt, and Ibten to, 3omerccent hlgh.de{lnltlon recordlng3

STRAUSSElne AlpenslntonleLSO / Bernard HaitinkLSO Live @ -q" LSOO689

Another ofthose superb LSOLive reordings, captured atthe Barbican in.lune 2OOBby the engineering team ofJonathan Stokes and Neil

Hutchinson and producerJames lvallinsonln gloriously atmospheric 5l-channel DSDsourd. The tilest detair, colou'and texture isapparent among the massed forces, withoutany recourse to unnatural "spotlighting ,and the big, rich bass is just as thfiiling asthe scintillating resolution in the upperfrequencies. The brass, in particular, soundsquite amazing.

At a bargain price and with so finea performance and recording, this is amust'have demonstration-quality disc.

VERDI Un ballo ln mascheraSols incl Alvarez & Urmana:Teatro Real, Madrid /Jesls L'pez-Cobosopus Arte O .* oABD7o48D

E ^cLu'ucu I

ilir Rpal in qadomhor ?OORrl j i ' . t : l :- ̂ . ---* --:---:.E- l*. tnrs 5ru-rav rerease oenefl$lrF enormouslv from a crisp 1o8oiE= picture and free-breathing5.1-channel PCM sound. The depictionofthe 19th century American setting isa little odd, the chorus having echoes ofGangs of New Yark,but the video is freefrom shimmer or other nasties and thesound strikes a good balance betweenthe onstage action and the band in the pit,making the work fluid and easy to watch.

Thoqgh not a stand-out opera Blu-ray,perhaps this disc does a workmanlike jobof capturing some excellent performances.

www.gramophone,co,uk GRAMOPHONE MAY 2OIO I31