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Retro Hi End Trivia Question

Does anyone remember the "Quatre Gain Cell" amplifier?

While thinking about various configurations for my latest "new" system, I found myself daydreaming about the "high end" room of my local dealer when I was still in school:

as I recall, a Thorens turntable with an Infinity black widow arm, the Apt Holman preamp, and Dahlquist DQ 10s and Dahlquist subwoofer driven by the mysterious "Quatre Gain Cell".

It sounded great -- the type of sound and music and fun that got me into this addiction where I am still unsuccessfully chasing the first high....

I would be interested in buying one of these amps for fun to put in a bedroom, but I never see or hear about them.
cwlondon

Showing 2 responses by ariaaudio

ariaaudio
9 posts
 
Hey Cwlondon,

Hi-fi nostalgia. Totally perfect retro system. I remember the same setup. I worked at Infinity in the late-70's . . . weren't we meant to use the Black Widow with a Grado in order to be totally in step with the Best Thinking of the time? Quatre had their shop up the street somewhere in the San Fernando Valley at the time, too, I think. We young hi-fi nerds used to mess around with Great American Sound Ampzillas, too, until Infinity brought out their Bascom King-designed HCA (Hybrid Class A) fan-blown power amp. Ah -- getting to take the proto or a production piece home was quite a treat. Anyone else remember that amp?

Michael Elliott
www.ariaaudio.com
ariaaudio
9 posts
 
Nope -- the Switching Class-D amp (or "SWAMP" as it was called in-house)predated the HCA by a couple years. It did fail spontaneously and the reason why was never learned despite considerable research. I think that model had just gone out of production when I came onboard at Infinity, and I helped the electronics department package the HCA for production.

Mike Elliott
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