From the Vault

It would be remiss of me to ignore the reissue of the Quad II during the company's 'Dark Years'. For all of my bitterness associated with the Celebration Quad II of 1996, the justifiable complaint beyond the ghastly gilding was the price: a hefty £6000. Otherwise, any objections one might have about this iteration of the amp would be deftly countered with two key facts: (1) 594 of the 600 sets sold, and (2) the units did sound good. But emotions, politics and love for Peter Walker's creations aside, that golden anomaly was a replica of an original.

The amps reviewed here represent evolutionary change, in the way the new Jaguar S-Type recalls the Mk II but is not a facsimile of it.