Last year, the classic British audio brand Quad launched a refreshed and modernized version of one of its most iconic products: the 33/303 two-box pre/power amplifier. When the products were launched back in the 1960s, the design was groundbreaking.
Quad says it’s been overwhelmed by demand for its new products which captured the imagination of music lovers and hi-fi fans around the world, making Quad’s reborn classic pre/power amp a best seller once again.
Following on from the success of last year’s launch, Quad has made an integrated amplifier version of the pre/power combo and given it the same iconic styling. Unlike the modernizing of the 33/303, the new Quad 3 is a completely new creation despite sharing a familiar look.
To create the Quad 3, the company drafted in industrial designer David McNeill who imagined the aesthetic update of the 33/303. The new amp has a classic Quad look with a premium built, fit and finish. It takes its stylistic cues from the original Quad 33 preamp of 1967 as well as the Quad 22 which launched eight years earlier.
Back To The 1960s
For example, the amp’s design in inspired by the 22’s fascia layout and contours but with the 33’s two-tone grey colorway. The overall matt silver finish contrasts with the dark grey main enclosure. Flush-mounted rotary controls were a used on both the 22 and 33, plus the use of orange as an accent color was an essential part of the 33’s iconic 1960s design.
While the 2024 edition of the Quad 33 preamp is an analog-only design in keeping with its heritage, the new integrated amp can be connected to digital sources because it has a built-in DAC. The range of inputs includes USB, HDMI ARC and Bluetooth. There is also an inclusion of a phono stage and a headphone amp that makes the Quad 3 suitable for almost any audio source.
Although the use of flush-mounted rotary controls harks back to the late 1950s, the Quad 3 has rotary digital encoders with a variety of functions. The controls offer source selection as well as bass, balance and Quad’s Tilt adjustment. The Tilt was dreamed up by Quad’s founder Peter Walker and introduced in 1982 as a more sophisticated way of altering tone controls.
Walker thought that traditional bass and treble controls were a rather blunt way of adjusting the tonal balance. The Tilt control adjusting both ends of the frequency spectrum together, either attenuating the bass and lifting the treble or lifting the bass and attenuating the treble in 1dB steps. Essentially, it rotates—or tilts—the audible frequency range on a 700Hz axis, adjusting the overall sound balance with ‘warm’ or ‘cool’ hints without altering volume or coloring the sound.
The Tilt control works alongside an independent bass adjustment, accurately applied from -3dB to +3dB. Quad says these “subtle, precise and consistent methods” of tailoring tonal performance are very useful given the differing characteristics of the music sources we listen to today, from streaming services to vinyl to hi-res digital files. The controls also help to tune the sound to suit different acoustic environments and personal taste.
While the rotary encoders for Tilt, bass and balance provide the precision of digital control, they work in the analog domain instead of resorting to Digital Signal Processing. These are classic Quad features have been updated and authentically engineered, and work alongside a larger rotary control for the analog volume stage and is encircled with orange LEDs to show the current volume level.
A long, thin LCD display beneath the rotary controllers is a modern design touch. Its orange backlight can be dimmed or turned off completely. The look echoes the printed, orange-colored strip that were under the rotary controls on the original 33 preamp. This display, with the font style of a digital watch or pocket calculator, adds to the Quad 3’s modern-retro design appeal.
Designed to be the heart of a high-performance hi-fi system with a range of sources, including digital side. There is a USB Type B port for hi-res audio as well as coaxial and optical SPDIF inputs. Quad has also included an HDMI ARC port for connecting a TV with a single HDMI cable and which allows use of the TV remote to adjust volume and power.
High-performance Bluetooth is included for wireless streaming from a smartphone, tablet or laptop. The Bluetooth receiver can handle multiple codecs including Qualcomm’s aptX HD, plus it is Bluetooth 5.1 compliance for optimum range and speed.
Analog sources are catered for with two line-level stereo RCA inputs, plus another for a turntable. The amp has a built-in phono stage and is an ultra-low-noise FET-based design matched to the output voltage of MM cartridges.
For those of us who like to listen with headphones, the Quad 3 has a 6.35mm headphone jack next to the amp’s IR sensor for the remote. It’s been located beneath the main chassis to maintain the fascia’s appearance.
The jack is fed by a dedicated headphone amp. Its current-feedback design and high slew rate promises dynamic and detailed performance with all types of headphones. While the headphone outputs provided by integrated hi-fi amplifiers are often of a basic quality, the Quad 3 seeks to offer a level of performance akin to driving loudspeakers.
The amp’s connectivity is completed by a stereo pre-out, a set of gold-plated speaker binding posts, plus a USB-A port for firmware updates. There is also a 12V trigger input/output for system synchronization.
Advanced Digital Engine’
The Quad 3’s DAC stage is built around a high-specification DAC chip from the 32-bit Sabre series. It’s joined by circuitry designed to make the most of ESS Technology’s HyperStream II architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator for ultra-low noise and high dynamic range.
A proprietary clock and power supply circuitry boosts the DAC’s performance, alongside a Class A post-DAC active filter that Quad claims is vital to the Quad 3’s sound quality with digital sources. Hi-res support means it can play PCM files to 32-bit/768kHz and DSD to 22.5792MHz (DSD512) via USB. Full MQA decoding is included and the Quad 3 is certified as ‘Roon Tested’ for use in a Roon audio environment.
Listeners can choose to upsample digital audio data to 352.8kHz or 384kHz, while five DAC reconstruction filter settings allow sonic adjustment to suit the source material. This can be particularly useful given the varying quality of digital formats and streaming platforms. Whether connected via USB, HDMI, S/PDIF or Bluetooth, every digital source gets the Quad 3 digital engine treatment.
The Quad 3’s amplification and power supply circuits use a discrete Class AB output stage that uses a Complementary Feedback topology for superior linearity and thermal stability. The idle current is kept independent of the temperature of the output transistors. This is fed by a 235VA ultra-low-noise toroidal transformer and delivers 65W per channel into 8Ω.
The preamp section has been kept as simple as possible to maintain signal purity, with line input signals passing to the analog volume stage. Independent low-noise power supplies are provided for each circuit element, optimizing performance and ensuring the amp’s sound quality.
Pricing and Availability:
The QUAD 3 integrated amplifier is available from mid-June at a price of £1,249 / €1.499. U.S. pricing to be determined depending on tariffs.
Tech Specs:
- Inputs: 1 x USB Type B (32-bit/768kHz PCM; native DSD512), 1x HDMI ARC (HDMI 2.1/eARC compliant), 2 x S/PDIF (1x optical, 1x coaxial; sample rates to 192kHz), 3 x stereo RCA analogue (2 x line-level, 1 x MM phono), 1 x USB Type A for firmware updates, 1x 12V trigger, Bluetooth 5.1.
- Outputs: Gold-pated speaker binding posts, 1x 6.35mm headphone out , 1x stereo RCA preamp out, 1x 12V trigger.
- Analog adjustments: Tilt and bass tone controls (defeatable), stereo balance control.
- Digital adjustments: Optional upsampling to 352.8/384kHz, five digital filter settings.
- Power amplifier: Class AB with Complimentary Feedback design.
- Power output: 2 x 65W (8Ω, THD<1%); 2x 100W (4Ω, THD<1%).
- Power amplifier distortion (THD): <0.003% (1kHz @ 30W/8Ω).
- Maximum current delivery: 2x 10A.
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 300 x 101 x 332mm.
