Asklemmy

My late version (early 90s) Quad 34 preamp.

It's a brilliant and somewhat unique design. The eq is part 8 pole tilt filter and part lift/step filter with adjustable turnover. This enables you to position the audio in a very precise and uncoloured way, much like changing your seating position in an auditorium. If you like bass you don't sit at the front!

It has a true mono selector, high and low frequency filters for radio and vinyl subsonics respectively, a modular phono stage for MM or MC turntable cartridge type, and the volume gain stage is accurate between channels to around a tenth of a dB, which is about ten times better than is generally accepted as adequate.

It's power is so efficient that it never gets even warm and it's audio design has a quality that is similar to the way valve equipment sounds.

It's a very special part of my system which drives my active speakers. They are pro audio which have a very accurate response compared to consumer speakers. The Quad gives them something special to reproduce which, with a lot of CD sources imparts a bit of character that's musical and very pleasant.

If it ever needs servicing, I can take it to the Quad service centre where it was made in Huntingdon near Cambridge, a couple of hours drive away.

I'm very proud of my Quad 34, I wanted one for many years and was fortunate to be able to find a good one I could afford at the time. I expect it will outlive me, along with my speakers and a few other bits and bobs I've collected over the years. It's the oldest bit of technology I have that I use regularly. I have a film camera that may be older but I don't use film any more and I thought the Quad would be more interesting.

Thanks for asking and I hope you find this worthy. I'm happy to answer any questions about all this if anyone feels compelled.