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Monos for Quad 989

I'm getting a deal on a pr.of Quad 989s and thought that with the savings, I would increase my investment in amplification. I plan on going mono blocks and my research to date has me narrowing the choices to: Audio Research VM220, Audio Research VS110, Atma-Sphere MA-1 mkii3, or V4 Quick Silver. I am not able to easily preview any of these monos and before I make an investment, I'd like to get feedback from Quad owners who have any of these amps and/or owners of these amps. I'm most interested in your comments about sound, reliability, heat (no kids in the house but we do have a dog), customer service, etc. By the way, I have been a solid state owner for a long time but am looking forward to making the switch to tubes but know nothing about upkeep,etc. Also I am looking to purchase something that will last for years--maybe the last amp I will ever buy!!!
winston50

Showing 1 response by sbank

sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
I've owned the Atma MA1s, and think highly of them. Also, owned Quad ESL63USA's, but not at same time. I would recommend calling Ralph at Atma-Sphere, and asking him about user's matching experience w/Quads. Impedance dips are the question. Autoformers eliminate any matching problems if they exist, but autoformers impact on sonics is debatable.
If you are limited to your list, I'd give the Quickies 2nd vote, although I like their Triode monos better than the V4s.
If you want to consider others, check out the Dehavilland line, they offer the benefits of SETs, but are designed to drive a wider variety of speakers including your quads. Kara is also awesome to work with. Cheers,
Spencer
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