Quad kit bright, warm or neutral?

[FennerMachine]

From experience and opinion, how good is the Quad 44 pre amp?

With all the demo's I've been doing I'm actually starting to realise how good music sounds with my existing system. The only 2 items that have really 'wowed' me so far have been the Quad ESL 2805 speakers, although they have their drawbacks, and the Icon Audio demo. Other items have been good but I've not felt they are worth upgrading to, I would be looking for the next upgrade soon!

I have noticed with my existing system a lack of bass control, more so then I did before due to demoing other systems. Would changing power amps be enough? Is the Quad 44 good enough to use with a better power amp such as the Elite Stereo or QSP? Or is it time to forget the Quad 44/303 entirely and upgrade both? Some have given an opinion on this already, any other comments?

 

[FennerMachine]

Someone replied on the 'what gives the best upgrade?' topic with a link to Klipsch Heresy III speakers. Had a read up on them – they are a lot cheaper than I was expecting!

Would the Klipsch Cornwall III be any good for my needs? Should work well with a valve amp if I go down that route.

 

[FennerMachine]

I've only got a few more demo's lined up:

Arcam & Naim with Quad 11L speakers

My Quad 21L2 speakers with Icon Audio valve amps

My Quad electronics & 751BD with Klipsch speakers

Maybe newer Quad amps with Quad speakers

Possibly Sugden a21se with Quad speakers

After all the demo's I've done so far with many speakers and a few amps I have not found anything that is really worth the cost to improvement gained over what I already have. If I can't find anything with the next few demo's I might just stick with what I have!

I am now using one of the tape input boards for CD's. I've set it to 775mv sensitivity so I have to turn the amp up more to get the same volume as the 300mv CD input. This gives me more range on the volume control. Most music seems less bright sounding/smoother but without loss of detail. Anyone know why this may be? Or is it my imagination and expectation bias?

 

[chebby]

After all the demo's I've done so far with many speakers and a few amps I have not found anything that is really worth the cost to improvement gained over what I already have. If I can't find anything with the next few demo's I might just stick with what I have!

Usually the best option.

 

[davedotco]

I've only got a few more demo's lined up:

Arcam & Naim with Quad 11L speakers

My Quad 21L2 speakers with Icon Audio valve amps

My Quad electronics & 751BD with Klipsch speakers

Maybe newer Quad amps with Quad speakers

Possibly Sugden a21se with Quad speakers

After all the demo's I've done so far with many speakers and a few amps I have not found anything that is really worth the cost to improvement gained over what I already have. If I can't find anything with the next few demo's I might just stick with what I have!

I am now using one of the tape input boards for CD's. I've set it to 775mv sensitivity so I have to turn the amp up more to get the same volume as the 300mv CD input. This gives me more range on the volume control. Most music seems less bright sounding/smoother but without loss of detail. Anyone know why this may be? Or is it my imagination and expectation bias?

It is possible that by using a less sensitive input you have increased the level at which the input runs into overload, CD players run very 'hot', some offere peak ouputs around 3 volts so could overload a sensitive input, you may be hearing this.

On the other hand the variable input boards may perform differently from the regular line input but the most likely reason is that on the less sensitive input you are not playing so loud despite turning the volume control up considerably.

It could of course be a mix of all three........ :?

 

[CJSF]

I've only got a few more demo's lined up:

Arcam & Naim with Quad 11L speakers

My Quad 21L2 speakers with Icon Audio valve amps

My Quad electronics & 751BD with Klipsch speakers

Maybe newer Quad amps with Quad speakers

Possibly Sugden a21se with Quad speakers

After all the demo's I've done so far with many speakers and a few amps I have not found anything that is really worth the cost to improvement gained over what I already have. If I can't find anything with the next few demo's I might just stick with what I have!

I am now using one of the tape input boards for CD's. I've set it to 775mv sensitivity so I have to turn the amp up more to get the same volume as the 300mv CD input. This gives me more range on the volume control. Most music seems less bright sounding/smoother but without loss of detail. Anyone know why this may be? Or is it my imagination and expectation bias?

Agree with Chebby, 'can be the best option' . . . I would ad to that; ' . . . in the short term'?

Hifi has a problem with cost v return, return is always a diminishing factor as the cost goes up. I benefit as I tweak a lot at minimum cost, often at no cost, so any improvement is a 'plus'. I've recently been playing with speaker positions, one is very restricted because of domestic constraints, but I persevered. I found tiny amounts of movement were giving audible results, the latest a 2" difference in the space from the back wall to the speaker, both now at 25" to the front baffle.

That said, I suspect that in a few months time, if you do cop out, you will start wondering again, maybe when the dust has settled after the move?

Enjoy . . . CJSF

 

[FennerMachine]

Demoed Arcam A19 and Naim Nait 5si today using an Arcam CD player and Quad 11L speakers.

The Arcam seemed good, detailed but not forward/bright sounding.

The Naim was more detailed, not warm sounding but it was not bright. It sounded balanced.

The speakers used were much smaller than mine but they had good bass.

I also demoed Naim pre/power with a power supply. Although there was more detail and better separation of instruments it sounded a bit too bright/forward.

I actually like the Naim Nait 5si, I will book a home demo.

 

[FennerMachine]

For the first time after demoing new kit I can hear the deficiencies of my system.

My system now sounds a bit muddy and indistinct sounding. Not as natural as it once did.

Got the Icon Audio demo later this month but it will need to sound special to beat the Naim Nait 5si. Of cause I could get a home demo of the Naim and it could sound awful!