Icons of British audio
Upon their launch in 1967, their innovative circuit design elevated transistor-based amplification to new heights. The new 33/303 contain highly evolved versions of the same signature technologies, wrapped in an industrial design that echoes the past and embraces the future.
The sound of the original QUAD 33/303 pre/power amp combination was indeed something special. It is sometimes thought of as ‘warm’, especially in the context of typical solid-state amplifiers of the time, which by comparison sounded rather hard and sometimes harsh. Its richer style of sound made it less fatiguing to listen too, yet there was no shortage of detail and engaging ‘punch’ – some of the attributes of a good valve amplifier combined with the benefits of a compact, efficient, cool-running transistor design, one might say. The fact that 33 and 303 amps made in the 1960s and ’70s are still sought by enthusiasts today pays tribute to their enduring qualities in terms of sound, design and reliability.
The Return
QUAD’s decision to revisit the 33 and 303 was in no small part due to the continuing demand for these amps on the second-hand market some four decades after they were discontinued in the 1980s.
Given QUAD’s retention of talent and unparalleled level of experience, it was inevitable that one day we would take such an iconic design and update it inside and out, creating a new amp pairing that is unmistakably a QUAD 33/303 yet benefitting from the advances in design, engineering and manufacturing in the 57 years since the original was first realised…
To achieve this vision, QUAD assembled a formidable in-house team at its HQ in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, led by four esteemed individuals:
Jan Ertner: lead electronics designer for QUAD
Rob Flain and Paul McConville: QUAD’s most experienced service engineers – nobody knows the innermost workings of QUAD amplifiers past and present better than these two gentlemen.
David McNeill: QUAD’s industrial design chief for the last two decades.
History elevated
Together, the new 33 preamp and 303 power amp offer a compact and cool-running analogue pre/power pairing that is both faithful to the iconic originals yet thoroughly updated inside and out. The fact that vintage 33/303 units made in the 1960s and ’70s are still in use today, and their sound still much admired, is testament to the original design.
The new editions maintain and elevate these core attributes in every respect. They capture the originals’ silky sonic delivery that set them apart from transistor-based amps of the time, adding greater clarity, detail, bandwidth and dynamic impact. This pre/power amp brings back the romance of the original but over 50 years of innovation and improvements, making it a joy to behold regardless of source; track after track, symphony after symphony, the 33 and 303 are thoroughly engaging the listener whether the volume is set low or high!
