The Quad 99 Preamplifier and 909 Power Amplifier are a matched pre/power combination from Quad’s 99 Series. They pair a compact, fully featured control unit with a power amplifier built around Quad’s patented Current Dumping technology. Designed to work together as a system, the pair delivers the natural, unforced presentation Quad has long been known for, with a rich, open midrange that suits vocals and acoustic music particularly well.
Quad 99 Preamplifier
At just 70 mm tall, the 99 is a genuinely full-featured control unit. It has three line inputs and a tape loop, each with adjustable input sensitivity (100, 300 or 775 mV) so that levels can be matched across sources. The built-in phono stage switches between moving magnet and moving coil cartridges, again with adjustable sensitivity. Quadlink inputs accept a Quad 99 Series CD player and tuner, allowing a single handset to control the whole system. Signal switching is solid state, while volume and balance use digitally addressed analogue controls for precise channel matching.
Tone adjustment follows Quad tradition. The signature Tilt control pivots the tonal balance around the midrange, alongside bass lift and cut and a treble filter, and the whole EQ section can be bypassed for a straight-through signal path. These functions are operated primarily from the system remote handset, and a green fluorescent display shows the selected source and volume.
Quad 909 Power Amplifier
Introduced in 1999, the 909 is a development of Quad’s celebrated 405 and 606 power amplifiers and continues the Current Dumping principle pioneered by Peter Walker. A small, high-quality Class A amplifier stays in control of the output at all times, while heavy-duty output transistors supply the current, giving low distortion with plenty of power in reserve. Output is rated at 140 W per channel into 8 ohms and 250 W per channel into 4 ohms, with up to 11 A of peak current per channel for demanding loudspeaker loads. A large toroidal mains transformer and generous reservoir capacitors feed separate left and right amplifier boards, each with its own heatsink.
The power switch is the 909’s only control, so it can be placed out of sight in a cabinet. When connected to the 99 via AMPBUS, it switches on and off with the preamplifier automatically, and standard RCA inputs allow it to be used with any suitable preamplifier.
System Integration
Connected via the AMPBUS cable, the 99 feeds the 909 over a balanced link and handles power switching for the whole system. The 99’s RCA pre-outputs also allow it to be used with other power amplifiers or active loudspeakers. The 909 is fully compatible with Quad ESL-63, ESL-988 and ESL-989 electrostatic loudspeakers, but should not be used with the original Quad ESL (ESL-57) unless a protection circuit has been fitted to the loudspeaker.
Condition
This pre/power set is a customer trade-in in reasonable working order. [Cosmetic notes, e.g. light marks to the top covers consistent with age – please see photos.] Supplied with [99 system remote / AMPBUS cable / mains leads / manuals – delete as applicable].