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Hi. I have a Quad 33/303 setup that I have inherited and which hasn't been used for quite a while. Before I risk any s/hand amplifier on my speakers, I usually check for DC voltage on the speaker output of the power amp before connecting to the speakers themselves. I would usually expect to see a number in the low mV but when checking the 303 I am getting a figure of about 10 - 15V on switch on, which slowly descends to about 750mV after a minute or so. I am concerned about this as I don't want to do any damage to the speakers and I wonder if anyone with experience of the 33/303 can advise what V/mV figure I should expect with no speaker attached?
Thanks.
Follow Ups:
Thanks for those replies, appreciate it.
Frankly Surprised by the Views that the 303 "was a Good amp".
Simply Not true, Back then and definitely not Now.
An simply not worth buying(used)is a widely held perception these days.
THE best thing about them was their size / packagings THAT is why they sold. Nothing to do with performance
The upshot being: Don't Overthink patching the rascal.. Not worth the Candle IMO..
Just goes to show the complete nonsense that gets posted about amps, and the misinformation lives on forever on the internet. It's been posted before, so I just copied my prior response.
From The Absolute Sound's article - 10 most significant amplifers of all time (I linked it for you) - TWO of their reviewers chose it in their top 10, and rate it highly then - and NOW.
Robert E. Greene - Quad 303 - Not the first transistor amplifier, but arguably the first to show that transistor amplifiers could sound as good as, or indeed better than, tube amplifiers. Even today, it is startling how good the 303 sounds, if played within its power limits. Even in the late 60s, a transistor amplifier could, as the 303 showed, sound really wonderful.
Paul Seydor - Quad 303 - Nice as Quad's tube designs were, Peter Walker's real breakthrough was the 303. Introduced in 1967, it is nearly the only early solid state amplifier that gave and still gives the lie to sweeping assertions about early transistor amps' grain and harshness (thanks to Walker's innovative use of "output triples," which made the 303 unconditionally stable). Natural, nonfatiguing yet lifelike, it and it only is allowed to drive my 57s (and it's also splendid on any number of other speakers, especially LS3/5as and their progeny)
Been listening to one for decades. Just goes to show the utter nonsense that gets posted by "audiophiles". When I got my rebuilt ESL 63's (thanks kentaja) I was less than thrilled - until I put the 303 on them. There was the beauty of my 57's with an extra octave. From that point on I'd never go back to 57's again - but if I did, the 303 it would be. Needs a passive pre to perform it's best - Creek OBH-12 strongly recommended.
Religion is the world's oldest profession
Voltmeter impedance is very high. The fact that it bled off in the time it did indicates a low amount of leakage. It might get worse, or it might not.
Copydex
Output coupling capacitor (2000uF) leaking electrically , probably because of his very old age , replace him with fresh new one .
__
"Art which does not have the appearance of art is true art."
- Old Roman saying -
Thanks for the reply and suggestion of likely cause of the DC reading I got.
I took a gamble earlier, using a pair of old speakers which already have a couple of issues (and so which wouldn't be much of a loss if I killed them completely), connected them up to the 33/303 and a turntable. I was surprised to discover that on first switch on, there were none of the expected nasty thump sounds, or indeed any humming from the speakers that you might expect from faulty capacitors. The amps were actually extremely quiet in operation, and the music sounded great, so I am now wondering whether I may have simply measured incorrectly or if the amps require speakers to be connected, in order to function correctly.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Quad 303's functioning perfectly and sounding startlingly good after 30-40 years is absolutely typical in my experience. Still haven't found an amp I like better, in some situations perhaps the 606 (keep changing my mind on that).
Quad 33's functioning perfectly? Absolutely a-typical, find a passive for the 303 - Creek OBH-12, some older QED units, etc - and good luck finding something that sounds better once you do that!
I'm using my 303 with a QED passive in a 60*25 room with a pair of floorstanders and could live with this setup for life - massive sumptuous image at very moderate volumes and tubelike smoothness throughout the range.
Let it run for a few days - my bet is it's just fine.
Religion is the world's oldest profession
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