Quad 306

[tc08]

Is this a good amplifier? I got an offer to buy it for £75, is it worth it?
I'm thinking of using it for front speakers in the HT setup in thinking to buy with Marantz 5600 (or some other receiver in the same price range) and the Quad L-ites, that si if it will make any considerable difference in sound?

Thanks

 

[c_fletcher]

Hi,

Just payed £188 inc postage on ebay for one and I thought that was a reasonable buy so for £75 you have a bargain. If you dont like it just bang it up on ebay and sit back and wait for your profit or I will give you £100 .

In terms of quality I dont think anything available today that you could get even close to £75 is going to be anywhere near as good, the Quad 909 is the present day equivalent to the 306 and costs ~£900 (more powerful though)

 

[tc08]

Thanks

 

[ryart]

Don't wish to put the mockers on any euphoria but the present day 909 is the equivalent of the 606 which was more powerful than the 306. I remember having a choice of a secondhand 606 or a new 306 for about the same price. Demmed them both through Els63s and went for the 606 which sounded much better. £75.00 for a 306 is still a good price and represents excellent value for money.

 

[dood]

I have owned both the 306 and 606. The 606 is a beast and easily drives my old kef reference speakers. However, I must warn you that the 306 used to cut out on occasion whilst driving my arcam delta 2 speakers. Nothing serious, it was the protection circuit kicking in and a dab of the red reset button at the back resolved the problem. The point I'm making is that it may not go as loud as you would like, and you need to be cautious what speakers you match it up with.

 

[tc08]

Thank you for your comments, I'm getting it tomorrow, it wil be interesting to see what it can do for my old NAD 712 & KEF Q30 system before i "upgrade to the L-ite's

 

[tc08]

I got my 306 yesterday and I am very disappointed to see that the speaker terminals only accept raw wire, the photos on the web I have seen show terminals that accept banana plugs....

Is this changeable in any way?

 

[ryart]

Annoying aren't they. Certainly, on the 909 there is no way round it other than replacing them with terminals for bananas. On some amps (can't remember which) there is a small cap in the terminal which prevents the use of banana plugs; these can sometimes be prised out with a small sharp implement, allowing the use of bananas.

 

[Mike Groves]

I got my 306 yesterday and I am very disappointed to see that the speaker terminals only accept raw wire, the photos on the web I have seen show terminals that accept banana plugs....

Is this changeable in any way?

I've had the 33/303/FM Tuner pre-amp/amp/tuner combination now for +/- 20 years, running ESL 63's. Never a thing gone wrong & the sound is excellent. I've had umpteen CD players, DABs etc & will no doubt have several more but I doubt, barring accidents, that the Quads will ever be changed.

The 33/303 uses banana plugs, as do the ESLs

 

[tc08]

Well, this one doens't have holes for banana plugs, unfortunately. Also, there is a sticker saying "minimum 8 Ohm speakers" in Swedish on it. Is this really true, can't i use it on 6 or 4 Ohm speakers?

I don't knwo who to ask about the terminals....where can I get replacements?

-EDIT-
Turns out banana plugs are not allowed for getting the CE-branding. Newer amplifiers have a screw-on system with a banana plug covered with a plastic tip, which you can remove. So I need to get new terminals, found for £2/pair in a store. Will I mess up the sound by soldering myself?
-EDIT-
I soldered on the banana terminals myself, it seems to work. I soldered it with ordinary Vellemans 1mm solder...

Am I an idiot to buy so cheap stuff, will this worsen the sound? It sounds a bit edgier/harder than my Nad 712 Receiver....
Thanks.

 

[Mike Groves]

......Will I mess up the sound by soldering myself?

Thanks.

Yes, if your soldering is anything like mine - I get more solder on surrounding objects than I do on the bit I'm supposed to be soldering!!

Seriously, I wouldn't think so.

Mike.

 

[harrygrey382]

dood - sounds like you have a similar problem to the one i'm having. My 306 overheats and cuts out B&W 601 S2s(max power rating 100w) at fairly high volume, people reckon this isn't normal so I'm thinking of getting it serviced. Just waiting for funds. It also does the same thing with tannoy 15" monitor gols though (50w power handling). So is this a 306 thing or there really something wrong?
Thanks