Deczor
NZ HiFi Guy
How many 20 year old amps have you done a DC test on and found it to be absolute zero? I don't mean 1.4mv, or even 0.1, but bang on 0.0? I thought it would be a fluke with the 606, but since both of these ones test absolute zero on both channels, it seems to say something about a quality IMO.
Anyhoo, I hooked one up to the 4311's using the SX1080 as a preamp. There was a little high pitched buzzing, but pretty low volume, a problem which turns out to be the 1080 itself. I played a boutple of FLAC's and thought "good, but whatever". Hooked the 1080 back up and played the same tracks. Sounded the same as the 606 pretty much, but the 1080 has more control over the JBL's whereas the 606 seemed to be running away with itself.
Now the shoe box is running my t-lines, which is the hardest load speaker I've got by a long shot. 5 drivers, massive crossovers and incredibly inefficient... essentially the best speakers made in this arm of the galaxy. I'm using my Perreaux SM4 as a pre and a Pioneer DVS969 as a CD player and it sounds...
Sorry, just had a Gomez moment and weed myself a little. Yeah, it's that amazing. Trust the bloody English to know what kind of amp English speakers need. My Perreaux 3000b is good, damn good, with any load. It's lively, controlled, delicate when needed and just lush on your ears.
The Quad is another league altogether. I didn't think the T-lines had recessed mids or anything before, now I realise what was missing. The bass is still there and still has the ability to make a turtle head peep out of the unsuspecting listers ring, but it's not drowning out everything else. Much tighter and refined. It's like the difference between a Corvette and a Bently. the Bently has more power, but is much less flashy about it. You don't have to put your foot down all the time to show how fast you are, but when you do your arse ends up in the boot and everything ahead has a blueish tinge to it.
Treble comes out of the speakers and waves Jazz hands in front of your face then dances around a little, in a sort of jolly, skipping fasion before settling down and being a precice player doing just the right thing at the right time to make ramdom notes turn into sweet jazz.
Mid range has turned from a mere hired cleaner that turns up once a week, but because she's really short your house is only ever cleaned to a hight of about 5 feet, into a Victorian era butler. Completely invisible, but always there dependably pouring the best cup of tea money can buy and polishing the silverware on his day off. Finally I own an amp that really, really knows what to do when you give it pair of B110's, which is beat them into doing EXACTLY the right thing at the right time using nothing but a sock and a bar of soap.
So, to summarise: the Quad 606 is alright.
Anyhoo, I hooked one up to the 4311's using the SX1080 as a preamp. There was a little high pitched buzzing, but pretty low volume, a problem which turns out to be the 1080 itself. I played a boutple of FLAC's and thought "good, but whatever". Hooked the 1080 back up and played the same tracks. Sounded the same as the 606 pretty much, but the 1080 has more control over the JBL's whereas the 606 seemed to be running away with itself.
Now the shoe box is running my t-lines, which is the hardest load speaker I've got by a long shot. 5 drivers, massive crossovers and incredibly inefficient... essentially the best speakers made in this arm of the galaxy. I'm using my Perreaux SM4 as a pre and a Pioneer DVS969 as a CD player and it sounds...
Sorry, just had a Gomez moment and weed myself a little. Yeah, it's that amazing. Trust the bloody English to know what kind of amp English speakers need. My Perreaux 3000b is good, damn good, with any load. It's lively, controlled, delicate when needed and just lush on your ears.
The Quad is another league altogether. I didn't think the T-lines had recessed mids or anything before, now I realise what was missing. The bass is still there and still has the ability to make a turtle head peep out of the unsuspecting listers ring, but it's not drowning out everything else. Much tighter and refined. It's like the difference between a Corvette and a Bently. the Bently has more power, but is much less flashy about it. You don't have to put your foot down all the time to show how fast you are, but when you do your arse ends up in the boot and everything ahead has a blueish tinge to it.
Treble comes out of the speakers and waves Jazz hands in front of your face then dances around a little, in a sort of jolly, skipping fasion before settling down and being a precice player doing just the right thing at the right time to make ramdom notes turn into sweet jazz.
Mid range has turned from a mere hired cleaner that turns up once a week, but because she's really short your house is only ever cleaned to a hight of about 5 feet, into a Victorian era butler. Completely invisible, but always there dependably pouring the best cup of tea money can buy and polishing the silverware on his day off. Finally I own an amp that really, really knows what to do when you give it pair of B110's, which is beat them into doing EXACTLY the right thing at the right time using nothing but a sock and a bar of soap.
So, to summarise: the Quad 606 is alright.
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