Did you know that QUAD stands for “Quality Unit Amplifier Domestic”? I didn’t until a few days ago when the (IAG-owned) British hi-fi company pulled the covers off a new amplifier. The QUAD 3 is a vintage-styled integrated that promises 65wpc into 8 Ohms of Class A/B power from a “custom-engineered power supply”. The German press release didn’t specify a 4 Ohm power rating but Quad’s website says “100wpc”.
Turn the unit around and we note two line-level analogue inputs and one marked ‘phono’ for turntables running moving magnet (MM) cartridges. Nearby sit five digital inputs: aptX HD Bluetooth, USB-B for computers (supporting up to 32bit/768kHz PCM and DSD 512), coaxial, TOSLINK and HDMI ARC. They each talk to a DAC circuit built around ESS Labs’ ES9038Q2M chip.
The QUAD 3’s feature set is rounded out by a pre-amplifier output on the back panel (for outboard power amplifiers and subwoofers) and a quarter-inch headphone socket on the front underside.
In many respects, this new model looks functionally similar to the (also IAG-owned) Audiolab 6000A MKII but stripped of its power amplifier input, a third line-level input and secondary TOSLINK and coaxial sockets. That said, the QUAD 3 borrows the orange display strip and ‘bass’ and ’tilt’ tone controls from last year’s 33 pre-amplifier. It also looks like the QUAD 3 ships with the 33’s IR wand.
Me? I like the look of the QUAD 3’s illuminated volume control and curved wrap even more than the 33 and its matching 50wpc 303 power amplifier.
Price? €1490.
Further information: QUAD