This is the storey of the unique (so I believe) chromed Quad II's. I had already made the change from transistors to a pair of fairly standard Quads so when these half finished ones came up on ebay, I knew they had to be mine. Having made the purchase, they were hand delivered by the seller. I know he was very sad to see them go but he took some comfort in knowing that they were going to a good home. I have since spent many hours completing and finally enjoying the truly superb sound these  stunning amplifiers produce. They certainly look a far cry from the original pair I previously owned.

The amps had been fitted with audio note speaker terminals when I got them. The original "jones" sockets were still attached (now replaced with gold phono's) and the original 2 pin mains connector. I contemplated changing to Filtered IEC mains connectors but decided against (did not want to risk the chrome).

Both amps had been fitted with a new set of "Golden Dragon" valves. The KT66 push/pull output stage were a matched pair on each amp. One of the amps was almost completed and the other one had no internal wiring or component panel when I acquired them. They were supplied with virtually all the components needed to complete the project. So I set about building the second amp. I used the first amp as a guide (saved me reading the diagram!!). 

Throughout the wiring, I have tried to follow some simple guides. These ideas had already occurred to me when I had investigated the working of my original pair. Quad did not seem to bothered about separating the HT, mains, speaker outputs or signal. This seemed quite odd to me given what we see as normal in many high end amps of today. As you can see in the photo, the mains (in blue at the bottom) is held away from the rest of the components. The heaters are also in blue. The HT is in red, all earthing is in green and the signal input path is all in RF sheilded cable (signal ground only connected at one end!). All of the components were replaced with high quality audio grade components.

The result is truly astounding. Not only do I now have the remarkable sound of the quads but they would not look out of place in any modern hifi. Since upgrading the valves (following several valve failures) to 2 matched pairs of Billington Gold KT66 (the right shape unlike the GD's) the sound has moved on another level. They are more refined, Acoustic Guitars sing and the sheer power (all 15w of it) will rumble your stomach whilst remaining fast tight and remarkably controlled. (I cant wait to hear what they sound like on the KEF T-Lines).

Check out the manuals section for diagrams and manuals