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Quad 909: anything to watch out for?

JTC

PFM Villager...
Very close to pulling the trigger on a 909. Plenty about, reviews seem positive. Planning to drive my ESLs with them.

Just want to know whether there were any mid-life revisions and also what the reliability is like.
 
Could be wrong but I'm sure I read somewhere that the Chinese built version isn't as good as the UK? Built one.
 
Could be wrong but I'm sure I read somewhere that the Chinese built version isn't as good as the UK? Built one.

There is a fair bit over on Dada Electronics about this if you search. IIRC there was some issue with capacitor quality with some of the Chinese ones (IAG had issues with some Audiolab kit too), but that can be fixed fairly easily.
 
Quad will sell you a sensible led to swap out for the blue retina burner introduced on later production if you ask nicely:)
 
My two pence worth would be to look at the latest incarnation in the Artera Stereo as an option too.

I was somewhat put off by the What HiFi review, but goodness knows why, as I wouldn’t trust a review (be it positive or negative) from that crowd any further than I could throw a pile of thirty years’ worth of back issues of the rag.

Anyway, listening to the thing tells a very different, and positive, story. As it happens some more equally positive reviews are to be seen in other publications.

I’ve now got one, partnered with a Play Pre/DAC/CD, and I’m very impressed.
 
Anything much added with the QSP? Would suit me better because of the power switch on the front.
 
The history of Quad amplification was that it was designed to drive ESLs. Peter Walker was not prepared to sell a solid state amplifier that was not as good as his valve amplifiers, which is why Quad was fairly late into the game compared to other manufacturers, issuing the 33/303 combo in 1967. Quad have never made a power that could not be used happily with ESLs.

The last audio show I went to was in Hammersmith a couple of years ago. I was there three hours, I spent two hours listening to the Artera/2912 combination. The Artera is perfectly adequate. It's a combination to die for, but needs a bit of space and an understanding wife.
 
A review of the Artera Play/Stereo in Absolute Sound

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/art...stagedaccd-player-and-stereo-power-amplifier/

I think the Stereo brings the current dumper design to a higher level than before without any question, though I admit that if one likes the character of the earlier ones, then indeed this specific character is diminished. The Stereo is less idiosyncratic, but it is also better in my view. To me, the 909 just sounds rolled off in a way that the Stereo does not.

Hope that helps.
 
Anything much added with the QSP? Would suit me better because of the power switch on the front.
That's what I thought but the button on the front of the QSP just puts the amp into standby (which you can do just as easily using the remote if you use the Quadlink cables).

To the OP, as the potential vendor of the amp in question, I'm obviously biased but the only criticism I have is that the blue LED is a bit dazzling. I put an ornament in front of it to spare my retinas.
 
That's what I thought but the button on the front of the QSP just puts the amp into standby (which you can do just as easily using the remote if you use the Quadlink cables).

To the OP, as the potential vendor of the amp in question, I'm obviously biased but the only criticism I have is that the blue LED is a bit dazzling. I put an ornament in front of it to spare my retinas.
I stick a tiny bit of blue tac over bright leds on my kit so I can still see it, just.
 
My two pence worth would be to look at the latest incarnation in the Artera Stereo as an option too.

I was somewhat put off by the What HiFi review, but goodness knows why, as I wouldn’t trust a review (be it positive or negative) from that crowd any further than I could throw a pile of thirty years’ worth of back issues of the rag.

Anyway, listening to the thing tells a very different, and positive, story. As it happens some more equally positive reviews are to be seen in other publications.

I’ve now got one, partnered with a Play Pre/DAC/CD, and I’m very impressed.
They are beautifully designed components. Saw them at a dealer and was most impressed by the build quality/ aesthetics.
 
I've owned a late 909 and and 606 Mk2.
The Chinese build 909 was great and is one of the few things I regret selling. The blue LED does need nobbling though!
The 606 sounded dull, nowhere near as good as the 909. Logic (and DADA) tell us the extra OP275 input stage on the 909 will compromise the performance compared to the 606. I tried bypassing the input stage and was not happy with the sound... and surprisingly it sounded even more dissimilar to the 606.
I didn't keep the 909 loing enough to check reliability but I wouldn't expect any problems. If the Capxon caps were to cause trouble I would send the amp back to Quad (actually I would fit Quad's recommended caps myself).
 
I have a 606 bought secondhand (goodness only knows how old it is) and two 909s. The 606 is still going strong and in daily use for at least four hours per day, but both 909s are in the loft with faults, waiting for me to be bothered to get them serviced. As for sound quality I could find no difference between them and certainly nothing that would survive a level matched blind test. Of course, when I bought the first 909 it was a vast improvement over the 606. Sadly, that was in my mind and later comparisons showed them to be as near identical as makes no difference except of course that one channel doesn't work in one 909 and the other has fits of intermittent crackling; and not of the tasty kind.
 


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