QUAD Vaccume Tube Amplifier Systems User Manual
...the closest approach to the original sound
VACUUM TUBE AMPLIFIER SYSTEMS
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II-forty
THE QUAD II-FORTY valve amplifier is not only one of
the finest sounding valve power amplifiers available
today, it is an aesthetic and engineering masterpiece.
An understated elegance lies beneath the smooth curves
and lustrous finish, for the power amplifiers use a circuit
dating back over fifty years to the time when vacuum
tubes ruled the electronics industry and Peter Walker
was the master of audiophile design.
He often shunned traditional thinking, preferring to go
his own way, relying on excellence in circuit design.
Circuits that are still admired today by the finest minds
in electronics for their stunning performance and, by
today’s standards, simplicity.
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The Quad
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The Quad II-forty power amplifiers are much more than
a tribute to one of the most famous designs in audio -
they are both refined and powerful in the modern sense
of the terms.
Although the circuit topology has changed little from
the original, significantly better components and a
brand new transformer design - still delicately balanced -
means that they are fast, crisp and detailed, whilst
producing an output current, more than capable of
driving modern loudspeaker loads, even our own ESL
loudspeakers are well within their capabilities.
The champagne finished chassis is strong and heavy,
internally wired with solder tags - not PCBs. The KT-88
output valves in push-pull configuration are visually
“Factor out nostalgia. Forget the miracle of Quad making
valve amps in the 21st century. Look at the Quads in terms
of a current pre/power tube combination. Then look at the
opposition. Now factor in gorgeous styling, superb build
quality, perfect ergonomics, ample grunt, genuine heritage
and the kind of sound which allows valve enthusiasts to
show two fingers to transistor users.”
– Ken Kessler, Hi-Fi News
stunning, sitting safely within a cage to protect them.
Gold-plated phono connectors replace the ‘Jones’ plugs
of the original - with a choice of 4ohm or 8ohm taps,
allowing for the widest possible choice of loudspeakers.
Every product we make is hand-built by craftsmen for a
lifetime of duty. Quad products rarely, if ever, need
replacing and we regularly service and maintain
products over fifty years old.
This means many of the original Quad II amplifiers have
been passed down, into the hands of the children - and
even grandchildren - of the original owners, something
that is uniquely Quad in essence. A product that is
relevant today and will remain so for generations to
come.
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Quad products have always
been amongst the finest audio
products in the world. When Peter
Walker started making commercial PA
systems in 1936, few could have predicted
the revolution in hi-fi that many of his products
were to cause, the longevity they would have and
the esteem with which they would be held.
In the early 1950s, he and Gilbert Briggs, founder of
Wharfedale, embarked upon a series of now famous
concerts demonstrating how real high-fidelity music
should be virtually indistinguishable from a live
performance. In order to prove this they toured such
venues as the Royal Festival Hall in London and
Carnegie Hall in New York. Audiences were amazed at
the similarity the Quad amplifiers were able to
reproduce relative to the live performance.
Since these early demonstrations of true high-fidelity,
our product philosophy has remained constant, to
produce a sound which as closely as possible replicates
the experience of the live performance. For many other
manufacturers, the term hi-fi may mean ‘exciting’ or
‘dramatic’ and this can be easily produced without
regard to what the music sounded like in the concert
hall for the listener and may sound ‘impressive’ to the
uneducated ear, but in reality is no substitute for the
sound produced by ‘real’ hi-fi.
“Musicians and recording artists
all over the world have long
recognised the outstanding
quality of Quad products –
exquisite engineering, buildquality, finesse and refinement.”
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