Quad has announced full details of its new Elite Series of hi-fi components. The line-up consists of the Elite CDS CD player (pictured, £800), the Elite Pre preamp (£850), the Elite Stereo power amp (£700), the Elite Mono monobloc (£650) and the Elite FM tuner (£600).
The Elite range is intended to replace Quad's existing 99 Series, which has been around since 1999. The new devices retain some of the design elements from the previous series but also incorporate updated internal audiophile-class components such as multi-layer circuit boards and highly specified transformers deigned to bring better clarity and definition.
The Elite CD-S CD player uses a Sony mechanism and Crystal 24-bit/96kHz DAC with upsampling. The Elite Pre preamp meanwhile comes with three line-ins, one tape loop and moving magnet phono input, though there's also a moving coil version available. It can be used with either the 90-watts-per-channel Elite Stereo power amp or a pair of the 150-watt Elite Mono moboblocs and they can be connected via standard RCA sockets or Quad's own AmpBus system.
All these models will be available from September, with an additional Elite CD-P CD player/preamp combo and a further stereo power amp to replace the Quad 909 expected to be added to the range before Xmas.
quad-hifi.co.uk
