2. amps-preamps
  3. 174635-142174

Preamp recommendations for Quad IIs with ESL-57s

Hi, 

 

Seeking some advice about appropriate preamp recommendations for some recently refurbished Quad II monoblocks and Quad ESL-57s. 

I have the old Quad 22 preamp but am not particularly happy with it. Perhaps I should be more specific but I'm not a refined audiophile like most of you so probably lack the vocabulary. Bottom line - I just feel that it's the weakest link in the chain.

Interested to hear any and all recommendations that won't break the bank. For me, that means a budget of about $1,500 but hopefully much less than that. I live in the UK, and secondhand is not a problem for me if that gets more bang for the buck. 

I listen to classical music, jazz, acoustic-guitar/folk and (when the rest of my family lets me!) Jimi Hendrix, Led Zep, Pink Floyd and the usual suspects. Most of that is on vinyl but I'm gradually getting sucked into streaming. 

I've probably missed out a whole load of important information. Apologies if so, Just interested to hear your thoughts. 

 

Thanks in advance. 

scrumpymanjack
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,850 posts
 

@scrumpymanjack has this Quad preamp of yours been refurbished since new? If not, its in dire need regardless of the condition of the tubes.

I am repeating this; I forgot to mention that if the unit has not been properly refurbished recently, the filter capacitors in the power supply could cause the power transformer to fail. I would not run the preamp until this work has been done; a power transformer for this preamp will be a difficult thing to find and likely expensive when it finally turns up.

dinov's avatar
dinov
845 posts
 

+1 on the preamp @russ69.

scrumpymanjack OP
2 posts
 

Hi. 

Thanks very much to all who responded. Very grateful for the information and thoughts. Will follow up on all recommendations. @atmasphere, yes, the 22 has been refurbished. 

 

 

 

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