Vocals are particularly natural. The dynamics also seem to be only limited by the pre and source used.

It drives my Royd Sintra II's without causing listening fatigue as many amps seem to. | SF Dry Rot

Stamina? Unheard of. Tremendous clarity. Robust. An extremely stylish icon from the eighties. (Especially the specimen with the black front) Went through a complete overhaul on this one, and replaced the opamps with OPA627s. Changed the speakerposts; the (faulty!) powerswitch, upgraded the circuit boards, changed the PCB connectors, the power lines, the list goes on and on. (and so did the pricetag ;-)) Never looked back since..and never changed this upgraded amp for anything less. Quad 405-2...what else?

Loudspeaker posts in dire need of instant replacement After 40 odd years, crucial internal electronics are in desperate need (!) of a thorough upgrade

So I was gifted a pair of JBL4331 speakers. Nice gift, super excited, but I was really quite disappointed with the sound. I was driving them with a Yamaha AX-400 integrated amp (also a gift) - I cant find out much about this amp online, other than it seems to be nobody's best audio experience. AX-400 puts out 55 watts/channel and the JBL's are rated at 75 watts program, so thought it should be OK. Got the 15" speaker surrounds fixed, the repairer was frothing about them. i did wonder if the speakers should sound better, given their reputation. It did sound good - very revealing sound, but there was very little low end. Even loud, could couldn't 'feel' it. Bit of a hollow feel to the sound. I've been of the view that amps offer only small differences. Eventually I succumbed to my gnawing curiosity and bought a Quad 34 and Quad 405-ii set (used, for about $600 USD for the pair). Well, I loathe audio superlatives and am deeply cynical about people frothing over their "night and day" praise of their own purchases, but I reckon it would be hard to find someone who could not hear the difference. It sounds heaps better. It sounds like what I imagined these speakers should. You can absolutely crank it, and its just warm and wonderful, punchy and fun. Not harsh, easy sound that just makes the whole house warm. Thankfully my wife was impressed too, easing the pain of the purchase somewhat. I've read reviews saying these amps / preamps sound 'veiled' or to warm. I dont care really, if thats what veiled sounds like, gimme veiled any day. Yeah so its not as much clarity as through my near-field studio monitors, via Lynx Hilo or RME FF802, but its kind of better in some ways. Really love it.

OK maybe it could have greater clarity. (but I'm over clarity really, its can be fatiguing - this is for relaxing, not analysis, in my view)

- Simple layout, makes it easy to upgrade - Powerfull, detailed and clear sound. - Works especially well with "bright" speakers, like "maggies"

- Funny 5-pin DIN socket and poor loudspeaker terminators, can however easily be replaced - Probably needs replacement of main capacitors, due the age of the original parts

Yes, of course you can get better amps than this! But at a price around USD 100 it is a "killer bargain"! However, don't be satisfied with the original 405-1 or 405-2 there are upgrade kits out there, that will lift the sound of these small gems to new hights. I've upgraded my 405-1 with new parts and a new dual mono power supply from Net Audio, UK. Just to upgrade the OP AMPs (two IC's that will cost you around USD 8) makes a world of difference. And the DMPSU gave so much more perspective and power in the lower bass. I've digitized all my music (lossless of course), and use a Phase 24FW as an AD converter. It might not be the best there is - but again, at a price around USD 300 it sure beats CD players costing 3 times as much. The Quad 405 run a pair of Magnerplaner 0.6 loudspeakers. These speakers are on the "bright side", and controlling the impedance, the bass and the treble has been a task none of my other amps have been able to fullfil. So to sum it up. If you're familiar with eletronics and soldering, and you want a clear and powerfull sound, you can get your self a Hi-Fi system with the Quad 405 that sounds like a system worth USD 1.500 to 2.000 - now that's a bargain... PS: And did I mention the design? You don't see products with this classic "vintage" design and small footprint anymore. Your wife/girl friend will love it!...

Vocals are particularly natural. The dynamics also seem to be only limited by the pre and source used.

The bottom end seems a tad ill defined and the background noise is unacceptable for today's standards.

This unassuming little amp certainly sounds like a 200+w/ch amp. It also happens to be more transparent than one woould expect. It drives my Royd Sintra II's without causing listening fatigue as many amps seem to.

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Quad 306

neutral, good base

too clinical sounding

A good competant amp, but there are better. Quad says the ESL 63 speaker was desigted for this amp. Again, it pairs OK, but there are better. All the amps listed later except the Marantz sound better.

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MacIntosh 3450, Adcom, Tandberg 3002, Berning EA 230, Crown Com Tech 100, and Marantz PM 94 amps. Magnavox, Sony, JVC, CEC cd players. Ariston 400 turntable/Ortofon OM-40 mm cartridge. Quad ESL 63 speakers

NEUTRAL, NEUTRAL

None except there's no power switch if you have to go away for an extended period of time

Got this hooked first to a Metaxas MAS Marquis, Then a NAD 3020 (Used as a pre)Then finally a Le Tube. One of the best SS Amps for the price. Anyone should get one if the price is right say somewhere below $300 in good condition. The most Neutral sounding amp I've ever tried. The QUAD revealed all the distinct qualities of the above mentioned preamps. In comparison to Adcom 525 - Adcom sounds a bit dark but has more uumph in the lower bass frequencies. In comparison to Hafler DH220 - Hafler sounds a bit veiled and restricted (a tube wannabe without the advantages of SS) Prefer the Adcom to Hafler. Would say Quad is the best among the three although aging. You wanna hear your preamp? The Quad is the best way to go. Your want more sound stage and delicate, airy highs and mids? Get a tube Amp. 40wpc on Tubes sound Like the equivalent of 100wpc that the Quad dishes out. But consider how cheap this amp is going for.

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Adcom 545, Hafler DH220, NAD 3020

The SP-3500's gobbles up the power that my Yamaha CA810 amp puts out to them!!They sound pretty good...and the price was right once again!!

none

I traded a $10 Kenwood KR 2600 receiver that I bought at a swap meet , & an old cream seperator that I found in a scrap pile, for the SP-3500's.They pound out the tunes very well! I have them hooked up with a pair of ?? Dynaco A25 clones, that I also paid $10 Canadian for at Value Village. Good combo of speakers.

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Realistic Mach 1's , Hart V20/20 MK2's

It sounds great with LPs, especially the 'Oracle of Sherbrooke'

It makes a bit of boom when you turn it on.

I have owned a Quad 405 since 1977 or 78. It was bought a year after I acquired a new 33 Control Unit. I was a university student in Montreal and there was an excellent dealership around the corner from St. Catherine St and Bishop, just down the street from Concordia University. There was a wonderful aura of hifi construction about the preamp and the 405 was really much of the same thing -- military radio looking but obviously heavier and with the great big heat sink in the front. It was expensive, and like another reviewer commented, you don't get the same supportive raves from your friends (or folks who were impressed by 200 watt Sansui and Pioneer stuff. Here's the amazing thing, and part of this comment is like a life's journey where you go back to the good stuff you used to use. I like this old Quad stuff better than my other stuff -- and that would include a 55 watt per channel power amp from Mark L. (the ML29).

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Mark L (ML29) Cyrus

- excellent build quality - unfatigueing, soft, easygoing, essentially neutral sound - more than enough power for most people - excellent reputation of reliability

- probably not the most transparant amp on the market.

I connect this power amp to a Quad 44 pre amp and JBL speakers. It is one of those devices that you''ll eventually forget. It is small and featureless, and just reproduces music neutrally and without listening fatigue. It has more than enough power for most people. While everyt detail seems to be "there", it can be that it''s not the most transparant amp. Some people change the entry opamps in the device because of this perception, but I never bothered. I am happy with the 405.

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I had a Harman Kardon integrated amp before. Very nice, but the Quads sound definitely softer.