Quad 405 matching

robbartholomew

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I have an old but perfectly fine and serviceable Quad 405 power amp which I've been using with a pair of Rogers LS2 speakers as a monitor system in a small, theatre control-room.

I have now retired this system from active service and would like to use the Quad and possibly the speakers as a basis for my home hi-fi.

What pre-amp (and maybe speakers to replace the LS2s) would you recommend I combine with this? Do I have to search for a secondhand Quad pre-amp or would a modern pre-amp be suitable? Or do you think I should simply scrap it and start from scratch?

I need inputs for a CD player and a turntable and some way of imputing from an iPod or other digital source, possibly via an external DAC. I listen to a varied mixture of music including jazz, classical, folk and rock.

All helpful tips gratefully received.

Thanks

Rob

PS Thanks also to the moderators for getting my settings sorted out to allow me to get this post on-line
 

robbartholomew

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I was just looking at the review of the Arcam irDAC and wondered if I could use this as the pre-amp stage for my Quad 405. There is no volume control on the Quad but I can control the volume from the Arcam using the remote control.

What do you think?
 

ID.

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robbartholomew said:
I was just looking at the review of the Arcam irDAC and wondered if I could use this as the pre-amp stage for my Quad 405. There is no volume control on the Quad but I can control the volume from the Arcam using the remote control.

What do you think?

The problem is that the irDAC isn't really a preamp. The volume control will change the volume in the computer software if you have it hooked up to your computer by USB, but because of how this works, it isn't ideal. You would have no control over the CD player volume and couldn't hook up a turntable.

I think that it might also be a bit risk depending on what noise and sounds get sent out from the computer. It may be best to have a proper preamp in the chain. I think there is a thread on this in the what hifi forums, but you'd have to search from Google because the website update removed the capability to search the forums from within the site.

Unfortunately I have no suggestions of equipment because I have no idea about what to look for when trying to match a pre and power from different manufacturers. It might help if you could also give a rough budget.
 

davedotco

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Rather a lot depends on what you are trying to achieve here, I would be tempted to pud together a 'classic' sysyem by looking for 34 or 44 pre-amp, with the bass eq and tilt tone controls and picking sources to suit. These are often available at quite modest cost.

You could look for a (much later) 99CDP or Elite CDP which will give you the CD player and pre-amp combined, plenty of inputs though you might need an outboard phono.

I would resist the temptation to mix vintage with modern components, often not a successful mix.
 

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