Indestructable

4700uF reservoir capacitors??? Nutters!

I bought one for £150 in a second hand shop. The sad thing sounded awful so I wrote to Quad, got the circuit drawing and then rebuilt it. The input capacitor is an electrolytic (bad news) which I replaced with polypropelene. The resistors are also 5% types in both channels. There are only 13 transistors per channel.

For £28 of parts it now sounds very good but lacks the detail of the Audiolab 8000 (rebuilt).

I think it is a fine amplifier design ruined by cheap components.

I work as an electronic design engineer.......... but give the old grey brick 5 for everything - it was cheap......

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Audiolab 8000A

The 306 is Quad's older 50W, $800 small power amplifier. Due to
its construction is it mostly suited to electrostatic loudspeakers,
while it also can be used with undemanding dynamic speakers.
Marriages that ellegedly go well are with Quad ESL and ESL-63,
Audiostatic ES-100 and Translator Impact 50.

With such speakers, the 306 is wholy neutral and musical, much as
Quad themselves declare. With other speakers, I expect it to be
lacking in control and detail.

Compared to most modern amplifiers, the Quad 306 sounds bland and lifeless. My new Naim Nait 3, for example, shows just how much fun music can be and how much life lurks in CDs of any musical genre. However, this is like comparing apples to oranges, because the Quad 306 does certain things very well.
One of them is its potrayal of female vocals and solo (acoustic) instruments. One thing that kept coming to my mind whenever I think of my old Quad is how the sound just hangs in the air. The amp never tries to force it down your throat, or compel you to jump up and strip naked while dancing the hula around the room.

It seduces you with a beguiling sound that makes it a sheer pleasure to listen to for long periods of time, especially during that quiet period just around midnight. In particular, sad symphonies and chamber music like Elgar's Cello Concerto comes across as very believable.

I recently sold off my Quad 306 and 34 pre-amp combo in search of more excitement. But when I'm older I know which amp I'll come back to.

My first adventure into a decent hifi set up, i purchased a second hand Quad 34/306/FM4 setup with the Quad 57 speakers in pristine condition and have been overjoyed with the result, I found that the 306 gives me a wonderfully open sound which makes the large speakers melt away, I am thinking of bi-amping the speakers with another 306, any comments? I know you can get far better performance from more modern equipment but in terms of value for money these get a big 5

works o so fine at lower levels, idiot proof protection, looks neat and doesn't get hot

input -in most cases- too sensitive for other than quad pre amps

over the last 14 years this amplifier served me for i don't know how many hours but they're quite a lot. in the beginning it had to throw out lumpy woofers (think of vomiting) which it did pretty well within it's power limits. after a few years i bought myself a pair of semi high end petit enclosures but you know how it goes when you have set your mind on 'the real thing' so in 1995 they stood in front of me in my own room: two black 63's.
o ya, 306 ... well, works fine with me, what can i say more? the task of a good amplifier is to disappear behind the transducers and that's what it seems to to so what greater compliment can be made? (Haha, self esteem that is).
no, it doesn't impress (show-off) any visitors and i wouldn't recommend it for boomboom parties (ooh so chique!). I sometimes try to hear it distort but helas. the only thing that remains is the natural echo of the room itself . 306 certainly is not a high end item. therefore it is too self conscious, no need for diamonds or Dutch metal (really!). coming to a conclusion i would say that one doesn't need anyting else except perhaps the ones with cluttered ears and brains. so i said.

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Small, great combination with any Quad PreAmp. Super as 2. Amp in SurroundSet with 606 on front. You cannot go wrong with these Amp. Not sensational, but just great.

Connectibility to some PreAmp is weak.

I like these Amp a lot. It was for a long time almost continously used as back-amp for a surround set. In combination with ESL-63 great combination.
It is an Amp as the 303. You switch it on and forget it's there.
As the 606 not a sensational amplifier, but it will last longer. Its merits are not apperent in the beginning, but in the end, you want to keep them.

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Quad 303/405/606 and other brands.

Sturdy, reliable and nuetral sound.

Loudspeaker "pop" on power up.

I purchased this power amp in 1997, second hand for about £130. It is used in conjunction with a pair of Kef Coda 7 loudspeakers, a Soundcraft Spirit Folio Notepad mixer as pre-amp, a variety of computer based CD-ROM drives, a Revolver turntable with Mission arm and A&R cartridge. I have also auditioned a pair of JPW M310i stand speakers with the Quad.

The 306 does its job without fuss: Clean, quiet and non-fatiguing amplification. At 70 watts into 4 ohms per channel the 306 should be suitable for driving most mid to high sensitivity loudspeaker systems in moderate sized rooms.

After nearly three years of living with this amplifier I have no plans to change it. Though, if a Quad 405 came along at the right price I might do so.

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various