Question for QUAD 909 owners, or people familiar with it.
- Thread starter jaxwired
- Start date
The Quad does indeed excel in the midrange - vocal realism is a particular highlight.
However, its bass drive and control can be bettered; it simply doesn't offer the same impact or grip at lower-frequencies that some rivals do.
All depends on the type of music - and indeed system performance - you prefer. The Quad's richness and midrange prowess may be just your thing. I certainly enjoy it in my home system
However, its bass drive and control can be bettered; it simply doesn't offer the same impact or grip at lower-frequencies that some rivals do.
All depends on the type of music - and indeed system performance - you prefer. The Quad's richness and midrange prowess may be just your thing. I certainly enjoy it in my home system
The 909 is very much in line with the Quad sound and wont give the devastating levels of bass kick that other kit will. That said, its a lovely sound and worth having a listen to (before buying).
Hi
I own a Quad 909, im actually particularly impressed with the bass performance. It offers the full package soundwise. For the first time I have an amp that i haven't found any quibles about, sonically.
As you specifically mentioned the bass. It sound presents an immense authoratative control of the loudspeakers. Bass extends very well. I would say it probably performs better in terms of controlled accurate bass reproduction than providing a good 'Slam'.
Indeed it does depend however on how much you are paying.
I paid £425 for mine from Hughes Electrical, as it was the last one off Display, together with a 5% Managers discount on the day. At the price, it's no doubt that its the best performing.
It's worth shopping around because its still possible to get hold of one's much, much cheaper in Silver if your interested and don't mind the Silver colour. In Hughes case they were discontiuing the Quad 909 in Silver as "Black is the new Silver" apparently. Here is a link if you dont mind eBay Shopping.
I cant say for certain whether or not you will find better performance from a Power Amp, around the £1000 RRP, as im sure your already aware, its very dependant upon your system you have + your musical tastes. The System that i have used the Quad 909 with is listed below.
I doubt the competition would be much better.
But as Clare suggested i would try a demo. Try a home demo if you can.
Regards
James Piper
I own a Quad 909, im actually particularly impressed with the bass performance. It offers the full package soundwise. For the first time I have an amp that i haven't found any quibles about, sonically.
As you specifically mentioned the bass. It sound presents an immense authoratative control of the loudspeakers. Bass extends very well. I would say it probably performs better in terms of controlled accurate bass reproduction than providing a good 'Slam'.
Indeed it does depend however on how much you are paying.
I paid £425 for mine from Hughes Electrical, as it was the last one off Display, together with a 5% Managers discount on the day. At the price, it's no doubt that its the best performing.
It's worth shopping around because its still possible to get hold of one's much, much cheaper in Silver if your interested and don't mind the Silver colour. In Hughes case they were discontiuing the Quad 909 in Silver as "Black is the new Silver" apparently. Here is a link if you dont mind eBay Shopping.
I cant say for certain whether or not you will find better performance from a Power Amp, around the £1000 RRP, as im sure your already aware, its very dependant upon your system you have + your musical tastes. The System that i have used the Quad 909 with is listed below.
I doubt the competition would be much better.
But as Clare suggested i would try a demo. Try a home demo if you can.
Regards
James Piper
Hey Jax
I've just bought a 909. I only got it on Monday and I've had the week from hell at work so I've not had that much time to listen but the few hours I've spent haven't left me wanting for bass. I've heard better bass control/slam before but even through my proacs some of the more rumbling dubstep and hiphop I'm sometimes partial to had been hitting me pretty hard - nice reproduction of the low frequency stuff on the track.
I've just bought a 909. I only got it on Monday and I've had the week from hell at work so I've not had that much time to listen but the few hours I've spent haven't left me wanting for bass. I've heard better bass control/slam before but even through my proacs some of the more rumbling dubstep and hiphop I'm sometimes partial to had been hitting me pretty hard - nice reproduction of the low frequency stuff on the track.
Thanks to everyone that replied! Great feedback.
Got a fantastic deal on a new 909. I'll post my findings after awhile...
lordmortlock, please post back with your impressions overall after you've had more time. Are your running the CDP right into the amp with no pre-amp? Or did you get the 99 pre-amp also? I passed on the pre-amp (although, some sellers are pratically giving it away). I just didn't like the tiny footprint or the interface...
-Jax
Got a fantastic deal on a new 909. I'll post my findings after awhile...
lordmortlock, please post back with your impressions overall after you've had more time. Are your running the CDP right into the amp with no pre-amp? Or did you get the 99 pre-amp also? I passed on the pre-amp (although, some sellers are pratically giving it away). I just didn't like the tiny footprint or the interface...
-Jax
Will do - planning on taking this afternoon off work to do some serious listening. I've left the set up playing on repeat all week to run in so hopefully todays the day I can really sit down and enjoy it. I didn't bother with the pre, but one of the things I plan to check is SQ using my beresford as a pre with the fixed outputs on the CDP2 as I'm interested to see how good the built in pre really is.
Not totally sure my crimson ICs are up to the job tho - we'll see.
Not totally sure my crimson ICs are up to the job tho - we'll see.
lordmortlock:Not totally sure my crimson ICs are up to the job tho - we'll see.
oooh, if you want to get a more full bass reproduction use a Chord Chameleon Silver Plus instead.
oooh, if you want to get a more full bass reproduction use a Chord Chameleon Silver Plus instead.
From the review on your website:
"Much of this is down to a rich and weighty bass performance that goes very deep without losing control: even fast-moving rock and rap basslines thunder along and give a firm foundation to a clear and full-bodied midrange."
"Much of this is down to a rich and weighty bass performance that goes very deep without losing control: even fast-moving rock and rap basslines thunder along and give a firm foundation to a clear and full-bodied midrange."
All true, and that's why re rate it highly (and I use it in my home system
). However, as I said earlier in this thread, there are newer rivals that do it better still, with more grip and slam, if that matters to you.
Still, those rivals are at the quoted price, rather than the gloriously cheap prices you can pick it up for these days.
Still, those rivals are at the quoted price, rather than the gloriously cheap prices you can pick it up for these days.
Clare Newsome:
Still, those rivals are at the quoted price, rather than the gloriously cheap prices you can pick it up for these days.
If it competes at the £900 level, it's a screamin' bargain. I paid just over half what a Roksan K2 costs over here. And for an extra £200 I could have had the 99 pre-amp also. That pre-amp is so dinky though and the display reminds me of a computer peripheral from 1988...
Still, those rivals are at the quoted price, rather than the gloriously cheap prices you can pick it up for these days.
If it competes at the £900 level, it's a screamin' bargain. I paid just over half what a Roksan K2 costs over here. And for an extra £200 I could have had the 99 pre-amp also. That pre-amp is so dinky though and the display reminds me of a computer peripheral from 1988...
igglebert:lordmortlock:Not totally sure my crimson ICs are up to the job tho - we'll see.
oooh, if you want to get a more full bass reproduction use a Chord Chameleon Silver Plus instead.
I'm going to do a bit of home testing on ICs - I'm very curious to know just how much difference they can make to the sound of my quad. I've just bought some 2nd hand nordost blue heaven and I plan to get some chameleons and atlas' equator and have a good old compare. I reckon if I buy well the experiment will only cost a few £££ when I sell the losers!
oooh, if you want to get a more full bass reproduction use a Chord Chameleon Silver Plus instead.
I'm going to do a bit of home testing on ICs - I'm very curious to know just how much difference they can make to the sound of my quad. I've just bought some 2nd hand nordost blue heaven and I plan to get some chameleons and atlas' equator and have a good old compare. I reckon if I buy well the experiment will only cost a few £££ when I sell the losers!
Blue Heaven is an interesting cable. In my circumstances, on my old kit, I didn't like it. I'll say no more so that I don't influence your own assessment. It's a marmite cable.
I've not done much experimenting with connects so its time I did. Equator, Chameleon, Blue heaven... any other I should have in there/instead in your opinion Igglebert?
My opinion is that you can try two, three, maybe four, but then just plump for one. It's very easy to lose many hours of your life trying to compare and contrast cables and sanity slips away slowly with every swap-out. I listened to four in my main audition, some borrowed and some owned:
1) Chord Cobra 2
2) QED Qunex 2
3) N Blue Heaven
4) Chord Chameleon
Number 1 I tried at a friends and the A/B tests with the Chameleon made us feel that it sucked the life out of the music. Relinquished to the TV.
Number 2 was a great purchase for the money and is bright and cheerful. Great for a DVD player.
Number 3 was brittle, bright a lean to my ears on my system. It's a good cable and seems to go deep into the bass but somehow makes it seem lean too. The brittle overall balance made me run away very quickly.
Number 4 I loved from the word go. It seems to go deep, sparkles and satisfies my needs very well. I quickly compared it to the Nordost Baldur but within 30mins struggled to find a good reason why it was worth more than twice the price. Maybe on a better system.
I fairly quickly plumped for a couple of Chord Chameleons to be my main cables. No more or I'll go insane! I did sneak in a Chord Crimson for the DVD player though
It's a good cable but the Chameleon is noticeably better.
Good luck.
1) Chord Cobra 2
2) QED Qunex 2
3) N Blue Heaven
4) Chord Chameleon
Number 1 I tried at a friends and the A/B tests with the Chameleon made us feel that it sucked the life out of the music. Relinquished to the TV.
Number 2 was a great purchase for the money and is bright and cheerful. Great for a DVD player.
Number 3 was brittle, bright a lean to my ears on my system. It's a good cable and seems to go deep into the bass but somehow makes it seem lean too. The brittle overall balance made me run away very quickly.
Number 4 I loved from the word go. It seems to go deep, sparkles and satisfies my needs very well. I quickly compared it to the Nordost Baldur but within 30mins struggled to find a good reason why it was worth more than twice the price. Maybe on a better system.
I fairly quickly plumped for a couple of Chord Chameleons to be my main cables. No more or I'll go insane! I did sneak in a Chord Crimson for the DVD player though
Good luck.
BTW, my opinion would be to go for two identical cables between pre-power and between CDP-pre. If not, the better one between pre-power.
igglebert:My opinion is that you can try two, three, maybe four, but then just plump for one. It's very easy to lose many hours of your life trying to compare and contrast cables and sanity slips away slowly with every swap-out.
Thanks that sounds like good advice - this is exactly the sort of thing I could get completely lost in! Those three it is ...and no more
Thanks that sounds like good advice - this is exactly the sort of thing I could get completely lost in! Those three it is ...and no more
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