On Thu, 25 May 2006 18:08:45 GMT, Jenn
wrote:

In article ,
Serge Auckland wrote:

Jenn wrote:
In article ,
"Robert Morein" wrote:

"roke" wrote in message
...
I'm thinking of getting one of these power amps. Can find no reviews. Or
else I am looking at the Quad 405. Can anyone tell me what the Mark
series
power amps are like? (I will be running it with SAE Mark IB pre-amp and
Kef Concerto speakers).

Thanks.
IME, the old SAE stuff is overrated. It has all the defects of that
period.
It is much noisier than modern equipment.

My experience supports your statement. I had a 1980-ish vintage amp and
preamp that were noisy and very prone to failure (especially the amp).

On the other hand the QUAD 405 is rock-solid, totally dependable and
pretty much indestructible. If you can get one, the 405mkII is better as
it provides more current into difficult loads, but as I recall, the KEF
Concertos weren't that difficult to drive, so the 405 Mk1 should work fine.

Only issue I can think of is that the QUAD power amps need only 500mV
for full power. Most preamps are designed to work with power amps
needing 1-2 volts, so you may find that the volume control is somewhat
fierce. That's easily solved with a 6 or 10dB attenuator at the output
of the preamp.

S.

I've never owned a Quad, but have been impressed on casual listening. I
sure love the ESLs!

In that case you should be introduced to a person named Phil Allison
over on aus-hi-fi.

On second thoughts maybe not... :-)