Quad 44 pre amp with Cyrus SmartPower

[FennerMachine]

Will the Quad 44 pre amp work with Cyrus SmartPower power amps?

Anyone tried them together?

 

[FennerMachine]

Well, I will soon find out. Just got one!

From the pictures it looks like the newer model with a CD/AUX input board.

I will report back in a few weeks when I've had a good listening comparison to my aCA7.5.

Is it safe the use the 1.6v RCA outputs to my power amps? That should be the maximum output, correct? Or should I get a 4-pin to 2-RCA cable to use the 500mv output?

Thanks.

 

[FennerMachine]

Update on my Quad 44 after using for about 10 hours.

Overall very impressed.

It has a better balanced overall sound.

Much more bass, the highs have been tamed, but the pace & timing of the music is still there. Got my feet tapping more than usual. Some songs I would usually skip I just let play until the sound stopped – the disc had finished without me realising! It is different to the Cyrus aCA7.5, I can see why I bought Cyrus kit, but now I think I need to move a bit more to pipe & slippers sound but not too far! My current combo of kit is doing that. Very detailed source, plenty of power for speakers, quality speakers & a versatile & quality built preamp.

Quad (AIG) have been helpful with advise & still supply parts & do servicing for this model.

A few things could be improved upon, such as bass control, but I can probably do that by moving my speakers around and by using the various 'tone' controls.

I'm sticking with the Quad 44 & going to get the various input modules for my TV & AV amp.

 

[CnoEvil]

Hi FM

I'm glad you are moving closer to your ideal.....have you got enough bass yet?

In my experience, one can often move too far in one direction (too bright / too dark), before settling on the sound you really like.....it's quite a mine field.

Cno

 

[FennerMachine]

Plenty of bass now, didn't think the SA1's could generate that much bass.

The bass is less tight then I'm used to, lost a little detail elsewhere, but the music is more enjoyable overall now rather than slightly clinical as with the aCA7.5. I'm going to get the 4-pin din to RCA adaptor to use the 500mv output, with the 1.6v output I can only use 7 out of 22 volume settings!

 

[CnoEvil]

At least you now know that the SA1s are capable of producing enough bass with the right amplification. To get everything you're looking for, try to borrow a Musical Fidelity M6i....it might just do the trick at some future date.

Cno

 

[FennerMachine]

Cable question.

I currently plug my CD player into a dedicated CD module with RCA cables, sticking with that.

Currently using the 1.6v RCA outputs from the Quad pre to my Cyrus powers, need to change to 500mv output to give better volume control.

I'm using Chord Cobra 2 cables for connecting CD to Quad, Quad to Cyrus.

I also have a Chord Chameleon Silver Plus currently not in use.

I also have 2 pairs of IXOS reference cables that I no longer use as the plugs are so chunky they are difficult to plug in to most equipment. I can plug in one but the other won't fit next to it!

I want to use the 500mv output, but this is a 4-pin DIN output.

I can get a 4-pin DIN to 2 x RCA cable or an adaptor with plugs to use my existing Chord cables.

Is there any point in using a converter as opposed to just replacing the cables?

This would also apply to other equipment I want to connect as the rest of the inputs are currently 5-pin DIN's so would need either cables or adaptors.

Should I get adaptors or just replace all my cables?

Any suggestions?

 

[CnoEvil]

Check out Atlas cables (IMO better than Chord) and give John Carrick (Atlas) a ring for advice...very helpful and knowledgeable.

Cno

 

[FennerMachine]

Tried your suggestion CnoEvil.

Atlas can make custom cables but I didn't want to spend quite that much at the moment.

Quad got back to me on several questions I asked in several different Emails I've sent.

This included whether to get new RCA tape boards or cables & they said I would not benefit from new boards, over £65.00 each, but that they can supply 'quality' 5-pin DIN to phono leads at a very good price.

I can get about 4 cables for the price of one from Atlas.

The service & response time from Atlas was very good & if I had that money to spare I would not have hesitated to get the cables from them. They where willing to make them to custom lengths. If I come into some money I know who to go to!

 

[CnoEvil]

Glad that you got sorted.

All contacts that you make, often prove useful at some point.

 

[FennerMachine]

Got my new cables from Quad today..

Instant difference to the sound using the 500mv output.

I can turn the volume to about 12 instead of 7 now so the preamp is doing more of the work before the power amps. Altered the sound drastically, in a good way!

Changed the cable from the CD player to preamp to a phono to 5-pin DIN.

I don't think that I need to change anything about my system now, sounding really good.

All I have left is to pass on my Cyrus preamp & various spare cables!

Thank you to everyone who has helped over the past few months including CnoEvil, David & Rick.

I will keep an eye on the forums to see if I can help anyone else with my experiences.

 

[bluebrazil]

glad you have found the sound you had been searching for. just shows what a little bit of research and some bravery can achieve.

 

[CnoEvil]

Got my new cables from Quad today..

Instant difference to the sound using the 500mv output.

I can turn the volume to about 12 instead of 7 now so the preamp is doing more of the work before the power amps. Altered the sound drastically, in a good way!

Changed the cable from the CD player to preamp to a phono to 5-pin DIN.

I don't think that I need to change anything about my system now, sounding really good.

All I have left is to pass on my Cyrus preamp & various spare cables!

Thank you to everyone who has helped over the past few months including CnoEvil, David & Rick.

I will keep an eye on the forums to see if I can help anyone else with my experiences.

......and when it's time to upgrade again, we'll all be here ready to help if we can. 😉

Cno