MEMOIRS OF A DIY HI FI NUT - Part XVIX
QUAD 44 PREAMP: UPGRADES
VI
THE FINAL SOLUTION (non-liquid))
All these improvements, impressive though they were, still left me not transmogrified. The ’44 was still far short of the best of breed and in need of something momentous to propel it upwards and satisfy my ears more betterer. So… I took the plunge, bit the bullet, dropped a bolt, lost my cool, stopped the clock and went all out to use only the barely necessary parts of the ’44 to turn it into a purist, ‘no nonsense’, minimalist phono stage. No more ‘versatile preamp’ for me.
I became aware, more than 20 years ago, of Les Westenholme’s views on the CMOS electronic switches used in the ’44 when he wrote about transparency in AC. I had it at the back of my mind to drill holes in the case and install gold plated toggle switches but I never got round to it. Instead, all these decades later, I decided to opt for NO switches. The best switch is NO SWITCH.
To do this all input selector IC’s were removed. This disabled all the electronic switches. The input was then connected direct to the MM module. The panel LEDs still work but they have no function other than to light up when the button is pressed.
Connexions were hard wired with silver wire. I had been using ‘Wonder Ultraclear’ solder and have found it very effective but I can’t decide whether I prefer it over WBT silver solder.
[SEE ’44 MOTHER BOARD MODS--- LINK’]
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At last I could no longer- hand on heart- regard this extensively modified '44 as sounding only ‘better than mediocre’. It had come of age.
Credits and thanks go to Les Westenholme for notification that the 4066 CMOS switches deteriorate the sound. I agree that the original ’44 sounded, as he described it, “sat on” (we may choose different descriptive terms but ‘point taken’) and agree that the preamp was badly in need of improvement- as Quad themselves soon realised.
I confirm the good improvement after removing the CMOS switches- this on top of all the other upgrades to my ’44. The switch removal improvement was roughly as good- but not better- than some of the other mods.
So far as I know Les W. is the
only one to have identified the CMOS ICs as a cause of the unsatisfactory sound in the early ‘44s. Well done, Les! Go to the top of the Quad 44 Knocking Class immediately. [I am sitting at the back of the classroom with my head hanging down, thucking my sum].
Only yesterday I came across a 2008 gem of a quote by Les that makes the point he is getting at with exceptional clarity. I post it here in admiration…
LesW 28-11-08, 02:09 AM
“....wot DSJR said - Quad made the worst pre-amps in the entire Universe. Attach any power amp and the Quad pre will kill it stone dead.
Apart from that, the buttons work nicely…”
I lived with my final version of the ‘44 for a year or so before the nagging itch that I was missing something in life began to become intolerable.
I decided that it was time to purchase a new, better preamp.
I opted for a Whest Two Phono Stage. This phono stage won rave reviews and was voted ‘Best Value in Show’ at one of the New York Audio Fairs
(“…its probably the greatest audio bargain ever…”) (“…lightening fast transient response and iron fisted control create explosive dynamics…”).The Whest Two costs (new) a lot more than a second hand ’44 modified with all the quality components I used. I expected it to be much betterer than my modified ’44.
In wild excitement I burned it in for 24 hours before listening. Then, rather than rely on memory, I will quote verbatim from my listening notes.
Whest Two
“…used on the MC setting the gain on next to highest setting of my passive preamp much less than with my ’44 on the 3mV setting. Had to have volume on switched attenuator on full to get average volume with my usual gain resistors installed. Anaemic sound. Not as dynamic. Possibly a bit less distorted. Stereo imaging a bit better. Instruments not as natural… Poor result. No hope”.
I had to force myself to continue listening to it for an hour or so. Then I packed it up and returned it from whence it came. In my system, in my opinion, it is nowhere near as good as my (extensively modified) Quad 44. It’s just not in the same league. However, it’s obviously much better than the original (early version) bog standard ’44.
It must be said, however, that the comparison was made using my Quad 44 MM phono stage as only part of my ‘preamp’. My ‘preamp’ is not simply a (modified) Quad 44. It consists of a 3- part conglomerate made up of: i) a MC transformer; ii) the modified Quad 44; iii) my passive preamp (containing an Audio Synthesis [Ben Duncan] buffer stage powered by its own large separate power supply, followed by my own design of toggle switched attenuator based on Graham Nalty’s ground switching schematic.
I have no plans to ever sell my modified ‘44. If I ever do I do not doubt that it would go for
substantially more than an unmodified ’44. If not, a couple of hours work shoving the old ICs in again etc., repairing the cut pcb tracks, and removing and replacing wires would get the unit restored to its original state. Even now it appears- from the outside- to be unmodified save at the rear in a few places with upgraded connectors. It looks better as modified than the original.
Finally, I would like to thank all, famous and not so famous, that have assisted me with the upgrades- some of whom wish to remain anonymous.
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