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RE: Quad 405/606/909 vs Arcam Alpha series vs NAD vs other for Quad ESL 57

Posted by Davy (A) on September 7, 2014 at 06:54:20

In Reply to: RE: Quad 405/606/909 vs Arcam Alpha series vs NAD vs other for Quad ESL 57 posted by kentaja on September 7, 2014 at 05:03:03:

Fair enough. I am not familiar with that particular circuit but Quad also used to fit a protection circuit on the esl57 when people sent them back for servicing. This was supposed to slightly degrade the sound and used to kick in when over 25 watts was used. If this circuit is similar I don't think is much point in using a really powerful amp from a sonic or volume point of view apart from the benefit of widening amp choice, The 606 is overkill IMO, capable of 140 watts into 8 ohms and 220 into 4 ohms. It also doesn't have in any way have the sort of sound the op is after anyway IMO. Apparently people used to use the 57s with the 405 with internal resistors installed to reduce the power, but if the op wants a warm, rich sound I think he'd be better off with a simpler MOSFET transistor amp or a suitable push pull tube amp. In general with a low powered amp you'll get better sound quality anyway than a more powerful amp as the latter usually use more pairs of output transistors, which degrades the sound somewhat.

I suppose having the protection circuit fitted is a good idea. It widens your amp choice and even if you are only using a tiny bit of power from the amp due to the limiter, at least you won't damage the panels.

The Arcams alphas are not a bad cheap choice actually. I once heard some 57s in a shop with an Arcam alpha 9. A bit overpowered at 70 wpc (and maybe a bit dodgy on the speakers without a protection circuit) but the sound was very pleasant and musical. More modern Arcams use bipolar transistors so I think the older MOSFET transistor alphas range is a much better choice.

More info here on amp choice here:

http://www.hifiwigwam.com/showthread.php?34366-Christian-Steingruber-s-Quad-57-Amp-list

I suppose the power amp that most likely to produce the best tone are the Quad II monoblocks, but they are pricey these days.

Edits: 09/07/14 09/07/14 09/07/14 09/07/14

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