EAR/Quad combo

Has anyone tried EAR 834L/Quad909 combination? It might be a great pair for the money. Any suggestions?

 

I have 834L/Quad 606. Works fine, as good as (but no better than) the Quad 44/Quad 606 that preceded it. And the 44 has the advantage of the tilt and slope controls. However, the 834L does look so much nicer, and I can live with the 30 seconds or so it takes to warm up. If you can live with its looks, a good 44 is the better investment, and has the advantage of Quad's service department (it can fix anything the company ever made).

 

Wow, that was quick! Thanks, tones - I have a choice between 99/909 vs 834L/909 and thought that 834L is more transparent and dynamic with a slightly darker sound which I prefer. Never heard 834 though. What do you think?

 

i know quad mid is special with tubes

 

Can't answer that I'm afraid, ol' bean. I have never heard a 99. I only acquired the 834L because (a) it was going for a good price from a very good home, and (b) I'd heard that the Quad amps were "valve-sounding" and I was interested to try out a real valve amplifier to see whether this was the case. The answer, to my ears anyway, is yes. I can play the 44 through a Quad 303 and switch between that setup and the 834L/606, using the same speakers and CD player. And they sound exactly the same to me (and of course I can tune the 44 to make it sound differently, if I want).

However, if you like the sound of the 834L, that sounds like the one for you.

 

tones, how many outputs are there in 834L? Does it allow bi-amping?

 

Answered in a PM, but for the record, there are two, so I guess that means bi-amping is possible.

 

Thanks, tones I've got it. The thing is - I've got an old Quad 306 and wonder if it makes sense to bi-amp it with 909 (my speakers are 3-way ATC 35).

 

From my experience with two different Linns (LK85 and LK100), it's no problem if the gains (?I think?) are the same. Linn actually recommended that the one with the bigger oomph be allocated to the tweeter (seems somewhat counter-intuitive to me, but it seems to work OK. Mine are now active).

 

In my case 909 is bound to drive the woofer - 306 is way too underpowered. The question is - which one is to drive the mids?