[stevehertz]

Although I'm a big fan and have owned and used Quad equipment from the valve units through to the 44/405-2 era, their solid state amps are nothing special in stock form, and certainly do not stand the ravages of time as do many Japanese amps of similar vintage. My 44/405-2 is full of very standard, run of the mill general purpose op amps and contains many small electrolytics that often all need changing. I have gone through that process and it is notably a better amp combo. I think until people started to question their status at the top of the tree, Richard Walker's standing as a figurehead of the hifi industry allowed him to get away with making statements that we now know were ridiculous. One being that all amps operating within their capabilities sound the same. Apart from being simply not true, it rather shot himself in the foot as a manufacturer of a so-called premium product. But the electrostatic speakers were ground breaking for sure. Otherwise owning Quad gear is a kind of timeless exercise; it looks good, when 'tweaked' it sounds good and it is eminently serviceable. I love mine, but like I say, in stock form the amps will be in need of upgrading and servicing, and I'm not talking about audiophool tinkering, I'm talking about plain old restoring and upgrading very basic, industrial use, standard ICs.