Quad 306 Amplifiers
Quad 306 Amplifiers
USER REVIEWS
[Jul 26, 2011]
i4ever
AudioPhile
What can I say ive had this amp for nearly 5 years, and its fantastic, I bought it for £60, on the basis of its name, not ever hearing any quad products. (What a bargain) this little amp sings. Althought its only when you change the ageing capacitors and so forth, do you actually hear the fullness of the sound, mainly in the bass region, were it can sound, warm and sluggish. D.I.Y hi-fi 'do a more then decent, upgrade path. I heard alot in my time, but the spaciousness of this amp is spectacular (once upgraded or serviced) Proper. |
[Dec 01, 2008]
NickT
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Excellent soundstage, idiot proof construction, small footprint.
Weakness:
Haven't found any yet. This is my first "decent" amp, after a variety of home theatre and entry level amps. The leap in quality is, quite frankly, astonishing. It's like having cotton wool removed from your ears.
|
[Jul 19, 2004]
gilbodavid
AudioPhile
Strength:
outrageous bargain. spend £1,000-£2,000 on new stuff to really better it
Weakness:
for the price, none i have been using this amp for 7 years, and it took me a while to realise how good it is! firstly i suggest anyone using the quad 34 preamp with it to stop doing so, as the preamp is much inferior. a good passive stepped attenuator is ideal instead. also i spent £120 each on phono cables, the same on speaker cable, and £50 each on good mains leads. My neutonia optia cd plater cost £1,500 and for speakers i use quad esl57's and 63's, two of the best speakers ever made at any price. (i prefer the 57's incedently, making them an outrageous bargain secondhand). the quad 306 does not disgrace itself in this company, and has been bettered by my wonderful leak stereo 20 valve amplifier, though it stands up surprisingly well in comparison! happy money spending |
[May 29, 2004]
jamesr
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
clean sound built size
Weakness:
none so far I was eyeing RA02 to partner with my RCD02 when I saw this amps.For $125 for a class A amp, I though its worth a try...I was surpise when I connected it to the pre out of my RXV800 receiver, it totally gives new life on my system. I'm more on HT and its my first venture into audio separate...after a day of testing and listening, I returned back to the shop where I purchased it and took 2 more of this baby to use for my rear and center ch. It totally change both my audio and HT listening.It gives me more flexibility and power. Similar Products Used: Yammaha RXV800 |
[Nov 04, 2003]
biggarthomas
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Bi-amping results in a massive soundstage, Female voices come right out at you. You know that bass problem that Quads are said to have. . . not here. Price and condition. I bought two right off ebay and thay are in absolutely fantastic shape. People take care of these lovely machines
Weakness:
A little warm to the touch but then so would I be if i ha a 50 watt amp inside of me. Check out the current dumping theory and practice Can you spell SOUNDSTAGE. I have traded up from bi-amping two Quad 303s to bi amping two 306s. What an amazing experience. Why spend thousands on glitzy new stuff that changes the way that music wa intended o be heard by the artist. Even my partner can tell the difference. She says that the music is all over the ground floor now whereas in the past it ws located where th speakers were in the living room and in the back kitchen nook. Similar Products Used: Quad 303 biamped |
[Apr 21, 2003]
serge m
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
detailed, open-sounding, compact size
Weakness:
Not the last word in dynamic tension and bass extension. This cute, straightforward styled amp impressed me immediately after I connected it to my set-up, with its detailed, open-sounding character. I was pleasantly surprised at how far bigger sounding it is for its small size. I even compared it with my Roksan Caspian Integrated and power amps and was further surprised at how louder but not without finesse it can go than the Roksans. Music flows quite naturally with this amp, with vocals sounding natural and the instruments' natural timbre being reproduced very closely. Low frequencies are well served with some materials though on occassions don't go further than you'd expect. But for the price, it's worth every cent you'd pay for. Similar Products Used: Roksan Caspian integrated and power amps |
[Oct 06, 2002]
colin walker
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Weight, transparency and power
Weakness:
very sensitive, however plenty headroom so i was scouting the salvage yard for a new door when some hifi caught my eye. i looked down and sitting in front of me was a slightly rusty quad 306 power amp. I double taked, convinced myself that it probably did not work and asked the salvage yard owner where he got it and how much?. His reply was that it was part of a house clearance sale, didnt know if it worked and what was it anyway? I said how much, 10 pounds was the reply and the deal was done. I got it home sparked her up and to my amazement the little green LED came to life. Hooked up to a creek 45 CD player and cyrus pre-amp the cyrus power amp became de-funct in around 10 minutes. Pure clarity, untimate transparency and the soundstage immedietly sparkled with a weight i had not experienced from my set up. I am the happiest man. |
[Jul 13, 2002]
M_Burniston
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Absolute clarity and the classic Quad soundstage
Weakness:
Was a little to sensitive for most pre-amps so I had to make my own. I inherited this funny box afew years ago and all i knew was it was a power amp (very sensitive at that). When i finally got around to making a preamp to match i thought "this amp is good. It's very good". I am currently running my 306 with a pair of ALR Jordan entry S speakers in a small room and it sound fantastic. Similar Products Used: none |
[Nov 20, 2000]
Tony Ennis
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Built to last! No problems at all in the last 15 years. Lovely smooth sound but capable of rocking hard when the volume is cranked up. One of the nicest sounding amps around (still).
Weakness:
Needs the right speakers to function well. I bought this new 15 years ago and haven't found anything I like more that I can afford! The only thing that might tempt me is it's big brother. After spending several months listening to real (classical) music and another Quad I felt the need to upgrade my NAD 3020. At first I used it with a set of home built speakers using KEF components but recently replaced these with EPOS ES15s. The detail from the Quad is fantastic for classical and they are also capable of rocking. My tastes vary from rock through to classical and piano music. The Quad does voices particularly well. Similar Products Used: NAD 3020 |
[Apr 19, 2000]
Diogo Poppe
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Good and simple construction, warms up quickly and stabilizes. Minimalist design , warm bass, detailed sound.
Weakness:
When you turn it on it is heard by means of noise on the speakers. Bought this baby and his preamplifier twin(34) in a shop where it had been forgotten on a shelf for years, I'm the first owner - excellent bargain(480$ +/-: 100 pt escudos, together with the pre34). I am amazed with the sound, actually it is the best amp I've heard(its all up to each ones taste and ear). The sound is warm : time seems to slow down, the flow of music is slower giving you the time to grasp every detail. I used to own(and still do, although trying to sell) a Nad 2100 monitor series power amp- coupled with a 1000 Nad pre - and it is a good amp, but the percussions and bass in general are too dry: fast, the sound all in all seems a bit "compressed". The power of the Nad is extremelly high wich makes it difficult to hear it at its best in an apartment... Previously I used to own an old Cambridge p55, which I enjoyed, but the bass was a bit insignificant, the purity of sound was its main strength but after a while it became too dull and conservative(if u know what I mean). Back to the 306: I've been listening to it for 3 days now and I have become an admirer. I own now for 7 years a pair of Cyrus(mission 781) speakers which I adore(Had rogers Ls4, Tannoy : big ones, cannot remember, jpw can't remember the model- I'm thinking now that apart from the cyrus I can only remember the ls4 , its due to the fact that you forget irrelevant things...)and to me sound very well, they interact graciously with the Quad: transparent mid frequencies , good high, and thanks to a clever bass reflex system- deep bass. The 306 has got me for good - I had heard it before at a record shop with kef reference series , and never forgot it... A sound for all music, today i listened to sound garden superunknow , and then to dexter, chet, John coltrane , rickie lee, and all sound very real with this system. |