Quad 606

Hi,


I'm aware the Quad 606 has more power than the Quad 405 and 405 II.

Does the 606 have better improved sound over the 405s? In midrange wise, dynamics and speed etc.

Also, apart from the Quad 44 preamp. Were there any other good preamps that went well with the 606? And I mean Preamps with very good built in phono stages

Thanks.

P.S, Was the 606 a good combination with the LS3/5a?

 

for all is worth, after years of having used quad my opinion is that the original 405 c./d. power amp was the best over all.
nando.

 

The 606 has a miniscule power advantage over a 405/2 into most speaker loads and a worthwhile advantage only if you have low impedance speakers and listen at high levels and/or have a large room.

Into something like the LS3/5a there is no benefit whatsoever as the speaker has very limited power handling. A 405 at full pelt with fry them quickly as I suspect would the smaller 306 and the old 303.

The 80s Quad pre amps have good phono stages IMO - the 34 and 44 being comparable. Never used a 66 though.

 

Have you already got a pair of LS3/5a's? If not then maybe LS5/9's might be a better bet - I recently got hold a pair and imho they're better than the little '3/5a's and would be more comfortable with a 405/606 (rec. power amp = 15-100wpc). And going by recent crazy LS3/5a prices on fleabay the bigger brothers can be a bit cheaper too, if you can find a pair!

I'll be selling mine in the not too distant future if anyone's interested, as although they're pretty amazing speakers they still can't top my old Tannoys for overall musical enjoyment, despite being much better in some departments.

 

the 606 was built to feed the needs of the 63 electrostatic speakers ..

mine was rated at 120 watts ...thought the 405 was rated at ...45 watts ? ....

as for the actual ability to drive things over the 405 's ...I've no idea as I never had one ..

the 606 is a good amp ..if you can fix the neg return so it actually zero then it a fine amp !
....natural neutral performance if not the most dynamic or detailed

 

Thanks for the info guys.

I vaguely remember reading Alan Shaw (Harbeth) uses a Quad amp with his speakers as a reference. Can't remember which Quad amp though?

 

I think the Quad 44 has a good phono stage.
To bad I sold my Quad 405 amps, at least I still have my nice Quad 44. One day I think I'll go back to a Quad amp, maybe get a 405 II but make sure it's been modified.

 

That's the 303 Pete.
The 405 & 405-2 are rated at 100w/8R

The schematic for the 606 is very similar to the 405-2 but with revised input stage and doubled-up output transistors for better low impedance capability. So essentially the 606 is a tidy up of the 405 with a bit more grunt.

 

The real differences are actually very small, esp. when you realise the 405/2's rating is actually a curve. It is rated, and easily delivers, 150w/ch into 6ohms!

The 606 has an input stage revised for a tad less noise. It also has slightly more relaxed curent-limiting, and 100uF bypass caps on the amp boards. Add the last two to the 405/2 and there's no substantive difference.

ETA: QUAD trivia: '405' actually derives from '40v, 5A' ie 200w peak / 100w rms into 8 ohms. Back when model numbers meant something...

 

Just out of curiosity,

apart from the Quad 44, would the Quad 77 preamp go nice with the Quad 405? Does the 77 preamp have a good phono stage?

I was told the Quad 77 is a nice sounding preamp.