New Amps Arrived.............Speechless.....Nearly

[admin_exported]

About an hour ago I took delivery of my new (well nearly) Quad Classic II / Forty amps. Very dubious and down right scared of spending 2K on ebay but neednt have worried. These came in manufacturers boxes, all well packed up and all in one piece when I got them. They were exactly as described....in mint condition. Couldnt find a mark anywhere. First things first, these things are heavy and I dont think the shelf I had planned for them will be strong enough....back to the drawing board. I have them up on a butterfly dining table at the moment just to put them through their paces.

Not sure if I can mention the seller but he is very well respected with 1000's and 100% feedback. All praise to him.

Connected up via my trusty old QED MA34 passive pre amp and plugged into my MA BR2s.....dont laugh, thats all I have got at the moment...something is going to have to be done there pretty quick. 15 minute warm up and turn the Vol up and 'WOW thats sweet'. all the harshness of treble that I have suffered has disappeared and what was immediately obvious even to these old and worn out lugholes was the soundstage, much more defined than anything I have ever heard before. The bass, though not deep is very clear and controlled. I am able to pick out individual instruments and the notes are well separated.....not just a lump of bass mush that I had before..........

Anyway....more to follow......but as discussed in a previous thread, I would appreciate some input on suitable speakers..........my BR2s are simply outclassed. Although I am hearing things that I hadnt previously, the BR2s are holding a lot back.

On with the slippers although I will give the pipe a miss.........................

EDIT.....just to add....I blew my entire budget on these as my original plan was to go for either a 909 or Primare.........dont care though....theyre worth it.....

 

[Anonymous]

Can heartily recommend a pair of Dali Helicon 400 Mk2s. Bought mine second hand for around half the RRP. Incredible. Also recommend PMC. Really fantastic speakers.

 

[sthomas048]

Mmm, sweet valve-ity goodness. Wish i could have held onto my wallet a little longer for some valves. I wish you many happy hours listening !

 

[seasiders rock]

Will Harris:Can heartily recommend a pair of Dali Helicon 400 Mk2s. Bought mine second hand for around half the RRP. Incredible. Also recommend PMC. Really fantastic speakers.

agreed, splendid speakers, i have the suite 2.8. (cheapskate) £440 delivered.

BUT...you wont drive the helicons with the quads.... you want some serious s/s muscle.....

 

[JoelSim]

Excellent news. I'm impressed with my new Kudos so put the C2 on your list.

 

[chebby]

Ok so you now have amps that will support some pretty serious speakers but no funds.

Use your imagination (lots) and in the meantime save a heap of money.

There are Quad's own electrostatics (ESL 988) of course. £dont_ask. (But you will never want another system again so could be cheap over a lifetime.)

Living Voice Auditorium. Start at around £2500. Very efficient and sublime with valves.

Or these.

Or these if you want to get all original.

 

[Anonymous]

chebby:
Ok so you now have amps that will support some pretty serious speakers but no funds.

Yep....maybe not the best way to go about it but these are for life so there isnt any real rush. Just like to hear what they could really do. The speakers can wait a little while but would like to be sorted within about the next 3 months. Gotta start somewhere and these amps came up at a good price.......7 months old and 53% retail..........

 

[lordmortlock]

Great choice Ray - sounds like a bargain too. They might be the last amps you ever buy! I'm a bit jealous.

 

[Anonymous]

lordmortlock:Great choice Ray - sounds like a bargain too. They might be the last amps you ever buy! I'm a bit jealous.

Exactly what I'm hoping........................Like I said in the 909, Primare thread that I started......whatever I get would have to last forever.......or even longer.

 

[Anonymous]

The problem is when you have heard a really good pair of floorstanders (for example) then in comparison the BR2's sound very boxed in. This is going to be especially apparent with the quality of the amp you have bought. However you might like find that you don't need to spend an equal amount on speakers, or anything near it, to be wowed plenty more.

 

[Anonymous]

hi fi newbie:The problem is when you have heard a really good pair of floorstanders (for example) then in comparison the BR2's sound very boxed in. This is going to be especially apparent with the quality of the amp you have bought. However you might like find that you don't need to spend an equal amount on speakers, or anything near it, to be wowed plenty more.

Any suggestions...............

 

[lordmortlock]

I love my proacs with the solid state Quad sound. Cheap as chips on the bay too.

 

[Anonymous]

Definitely, the way I see it you are wowed by budget bookshelves, so i would take a listen to AE Neo 3 (assuming you can find any) MA RS6 and MS Mezzo 6

 

[Anonymous]

Just looking at the mo but would like to know your prefs for either tannoy dc6t rev sigs or proac studio 130......both floorstanders....any comments......

 

[Anonymous]

If you value a natural sound, the Sonus Faber Concerto Domus are very nice. I think their well controlled bass response will suit those amps. I heard them with a Unison Research SET S2 valvee amp and they were sublime. The source was a Unison CDP.

I would trawl the Web to seek advice about speaker matching because I think amps like that will need quite considerate matching to sound their best.

 

[Anonymous]

igglebert:If you value a natural sound, the Sonus Faber Concerto Domus are very nice. I think their well controlled bass response will suit those amps. I heard them with a Unison Research SET S2 valvee amp and they were sublime. The source was a Unison CDP.

I would trawl the Web to seek advice about speaker matching because I think amps like that will need quite considerate matching to sound their best.

Thanks Igglebert......... I am trying to solicit opinions from everywhere I can think of..........

 

[JoelSim]

What about some Linn Keilidhs as a stopgap for a few months while you save up. A couple of hundred should do the trick, and you'll get that back when you sell them.

ÿ