QUAD 99 Preamp: How Good is the Phono Stage, and how does it compare with older classics?

default -- Mon, 04/27/2009 - 21:27

Well, I'm quite happy with the synergy between my QUAD ESL-988 speakers and 909 amp; now I'm considering the 99 preamp.
I haven't seen the quality of the phono stage mentioned much...

The two preamps I currently have on hand are a fully-restored ARC SP-6C and a fully-restored Threshold SL-12.
It'd be nice to have a remote-control and an all-quad system, but can the 99 compare with these two used-to-be-state-of-the-art pres?

Would love to hear from Paul Seydor and anybody else who might have experience with the 99 and either of these "vintage" pres.

Thanks in advance.

David McKinney (not verified) -- Thu, 05/14/2009 - 12:06

Paul Seydor?

Anybody?

Does the 99 pre compare with the preamps mentioned above, especially in regards to phono?

Thanks!!

M. Lax (not verified) -- Wed, 05/27/2009 - 13:58

I have the 99 pre/909 power combo through which I run my Mitchell Gyro SE and a squeezebox behind a PCM1794-based DAC into ESL 63s...
I have previously used the Musical fidelity X-LPS v2 and the EAR 834p neither of which sounded paticularly better than the internal phono stage of the '99 on both MC and MM.
After many years of tweaking my system to try out various types of equipment, I no longer feel the need with this combo. Not that ist perfect, just that it sounds fantastic and for me, more time/money invested is no longer worth the TINY incremental gains I might get.
Cheers

ksoholm -- Mon, 12/07/2009 - 01:29

Greetings,
Pinging this thread -- Mr. Seydor, any input on how the 99 pre stacks up, generally and phono-wise?
Thanks,
Kristian