Quad 3 integrated amplifier

Six months ago, QUAD celebrated its illustrious past by launching a new, modernised version of one of its most iconic products: the 33/303 two-box pre/power amplifier, a groundbreaking design from the 1960s. Demand for the new-edition 33/33 has been exceptional since launch, the concept capturing the imagination of discerning music lovers in the UK and around the world as QUAD’s classic pre/power amp became a best seller once again. To follow this success, the company is introducing an integrated amplifier dressed in similarly classic style: the new QUAD 3. Unlike the 33/303 project, which was all about updating a classic whilst retaining key elements of the original, the QUAD 3 is an all-new creation – albeit one with a familiar look.

With industrial design by David McNeill – the man whose aesthetic update of the 33/303 has garnered so much acclaim – the new amp’s look is ‘classic QUAD’ elevated to the level of build, fit and finish expected of a premium audio component in 2025. It takes stylistic cues not only from the 33 preamp of 1967 but also from the 22 which launched eight years earlier, presenting them in enticingly updated form. For example, its design echoes the 22’s fascia layout and contours, with the 33’s two-tone grey colour way although here it is more of a matt silver, contrasting beautifully with the dark grey main enclosure. Flush-mounted rotary controls were a feature of both the 22 and 33, and the use of orange as an ‘accent’ colour was a key part of the 33’s iconic 1960s design. Because of these design echoes and rich endowment with classic QUAD DNA, the company decided to designate its new integrated amplifier with the numeral ‘3’ – a clear association with the 33/303.

Like a classic sportscar fitted with the latest high-performance EV drive unit, the QUAD 3 is an enticing fusion of classic British audio engineering and cutting-edge technology. The row of flush-mounted rotary controls dates back to the 1960s, but here they are digital encoders to control a variety of functions – source selection and bass, balance and ‘tilt’ adjustment. The latter was created by QUAD’s founder Peter Walker and introduced in 1982 as a more sophisticated form of tone control. Walker believed that traditional bass and treble controls were a rather ham-fisted way of adjusting tonal balance. The tilt control differs by adjusting both ends of the frequency spectrum together, either attenuating the bass and lifting the treble or lifting the bass and attenuating the treble in 1dB steps. Essentially, it rotates – or tilts – the audible frequency range on a 650Hz axis, thereby adjusting the overall sound balance with 'warm' or 'cool' hints without altering volume or adding colour to the sound.

QUAD 3 – INPUTS

QUAD 3 – OUTPUTS

1x USB Type B (32-bit/768kHz PCM; DSD512)

Gold-pated speaker binding posts

1x HDMI ARC (HDMI 2.1/eARC compliant)

1x 6.35mm headphone out

2x S/PDIF (1x optical; 1x coaxial)

1x stereo RCA preamp out

3x stereo RCA analogue (2x line-level; 1x MM phono)

1x 12V trigger

1x USB Type A for firmware updates

1x 12V trigger

Bluetooth 5.1

QUAD 3 – OTHER SELECTED SPECIFICATIONS

User adjustment – analogue Tilt and bass tone controls (defeatable); stereo balance control

User adjustment – digital Optional upsampling to 352.8/384kHz; five digital filter settings

Power amplifier type Class AB with Complimentary Feedback design

Power output 2x 65W (8Ω, THD<1%); 2x 100W (4Ω, THD<1%)

Power amplifier distortion (THD) <0.003% (1kHz @ 30W/8Ω)

Maximum current delivery 2x 10A

Dimensions (WxHxD) 300x101x332mm