Quad 606 amp with Totem Speakers

This is a question that's really open to subjective tastes, but I have a chance to buy a Quad 606 mkii amp to pair with my Totem Rokk 4ohm speakers. I'll be using my rega MIRA as a pre, for the time being. Does anyone know if the Quad amps work well with Totem? I mean, the Quad speakers are supposed to be amazing with this amp but that's not feasible right now for me

Any response is appreciated!

Gregory

 

If the 606 can drive a pair of 63s, the Totem should be no problem, interesting match.
I'd ask Totem

 

Thanks! Was just curious what the community thought! I'm gonna demo and see how it goes!

G

 

Greg

The 606 is an underappreciated classic on this side of the pond. Perhaps not the last thing in transparency but powerful, efficient, and with top to bottom accuracy and musicality. If you buy it you'll love it. And it was English made Quad while Peter Walker was still alive.

 

Alright! You've almost made my mind up!! Really hyped!

 

I have read many times that the parts fitted were not the best. Quad themselves admitted they did not realise thst quality parts can improve the sound quality.
Consequently, a quad service can substantially improve sound quality.
But ..... It really does not have to be quad who service /rebuild.
Will drive the Totems superbly !

 

Thank you!!! I love you guys! Now I can't wait for the weekend demo!

 

what pre amp are you using?
normally Quad's weakest link, imho

 

It's going to be my Rega Mira as a pre, for the time being. It's been running as an integrated and I'm in love with the sound, I can almost feel it trying to keep up, sometimes. Only using vinyl, not sure if that makes a difference.

Do you think this would be a good match for the quad?

 

Check the output voltage of the Rega is the same as the input of the 606, I am not a fan of Quad pre amps, so give the Rega
a try, might be good, might not. If not, get a Croft, that he'll tweak to work with the 606.

 

The Quad's input sensitivity lends itself to using a passive preamp nicely, but you must make sure that your source's output impedance is not too low, as the Quad's input impedance is a bit on the low side at 20K.

 

Interesting! I'm trying to find the impedance output for the Mira pre but to no avail. I'm assuming it should fit the bill. Again, as you can most likely infer, this is all new to me and wonderfully confusing

Thanks so much for the INPUT (lol) it's much appreciated !!

 

This is the only info I could find from the manual on my Rega Mira which will be used as a preamp only:

Pre-Amp Output level (with rated input levels)
818mV @ 470Ω. power amplifier gain = 28.8dB


This is all I could glean from online. I mean, I'll be testing it out in person, but what's your take?

 

Electrically, that should be just fine. I'm sure that you will like the Quad.

There's a seller on ebay that goes by "amplifier surgery", who works on the Quad's in case you need it down the line. I'm not familiar with his work, but others seem to be happy.

 

Thanks, buddy!!

 

Thanks for this! I realized it was a quad 606 mki. It sounded great, though! You mentioned several places do the repairs and upgrades. I'm currently thinking of that amplifier surgery place, after all! This is so cool!

 

Greg

Old guy here with a bit of a caution. You say it sounded great so why change anything? Great is great. We can get lost in improving things that don't need improving. By the way, I have my doubts about the Quad quote above(not the person sharing it as these things move around a lot and get jumbled over time). Doesn't sound right given Peter Walkers views on the subject. Walker didn't see any benefit in over-designing equipment. That's why the cost of Quad equipment was reasonable and why they have proved reliable while standing the test of time.

If you have to play with it, first check with the many Quad and hobbiest sites in Britain. A good forum is Pink Fish Media. The owner Tony L. is a Quad fan. Due diligence will save you a headache later.

Enjoy

 

Totem speakers are usually easy to drive and not especially fussy with the amp they are partnered with.

Scott

 

818mV is pretty high for the 606s is 500mV, I spent years finding a pre amp with the correct voltage
for my Quad IIs, the 44 was good but woolly, then I got Croft to build a custom one, it made all the difference.
I found if the voltage going into the amp was too high it hardened the sound, and clipped slightly.
Of course I may be overly fussy - try the Rega and see what it sounds like.

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A little off topic but there have been some discussions on the Pink Fish Media forums about old Quad preamps. Specifically that the pre CD era Quad components were built expecting to interface with components of its era. However some members were facing problems when trying to add old Quad preamps to systems with new equipment.

I used to own the 44 preamp and 405-2 power amp. They were a good match but the 44 was not the last word in retrieving detail.

Scott

 

Oh man!! You guys are amazing! It sounded good with out my preamp. So I will see! I just love the fact that you can update this to last for a long time! Thanks again and I will report back ASAP!

Love
You

Guys!!

 

I see the move from the Mira to the Quad as a sideways move. YMMV

 

Remember the Mira is being used as a preamp with more power, now. I'm hoping this will sound more improved!

 

How much more power?

 

130w more