Quad Platina Integrated Amplifier
An Integrated Without Compromise
Choosing an integrated amplifier shouldn’t mean deciding which parts of a serious stereo you’re willing to compromise. That idea sits at the heart of the Quad Platina.
The Platina starts with a dual-mono Class AB amplifier rated at 200 watts per channel into 8 ohms, giving it the power and current to work with a broad range of loudspeakers. Along with that, the analog preamplifier, phono stage, DAC and dedicated headphone amplifier are substantial designs in their own right, not simply functions added to round out the feature list.
The result is an integrated that can sit at the center of a genuinely ambitious stereo while keeping the system itself remarkably straightforward and compact.
Power With a Point
There is plenty of power here. A 630VA toroidal transformer supplies independent left and right channel power stages, with substantial power in reserve. Hi-Fi News measured 222 watts into 8 ohms and 345 into 4, along with considerable dynamic headroom.
More interesting is what the Platina does with it.
Quad spent five years developing the Platina to meet today’s expectations for a high-performance audio system while keeping a firm grip on the qualities that have long made its amplifiers distinctive. There is drive, tone, texture, presence and rhythmic life here, along with the speed, depth, warmth and dimensionality that have led reviewers to draw comparisons with Quad’s valve amplifiers.
That’s an appealing combination. The Platina has the reserves to open up the choice of loudspeaker without making power itself the point of the amplifier.
Excels All on Its Own
Integrated amplifiers have become increasingly well equipped, but there’s a difference between including a function and taking it seriously.
The Platina’s phono stage is a good example. Quad designed a low-noise JFET circuit with selectable MM and MC operation and three gain settings. Herb Reichert spent a significant part of his Stereophile review exploring it with several very different moving-coil and moving-magnet cartridges, and came away regarding it as an exceptional phono stage in its own right.
The digital side receives similar attention. An ES9038PRO DAC, separate precision clocks for the 44.1kHz and 48kHz sample-rate families, selectable digital filters and USB support through 768kHz PCM and DSD512 make the Platina capable of serving as the digital center of the system as well. Coaxial, optical and HDMI ARC inputs accommodate everything from a CD transport to a television.
There’s even a dedicated current-feedback headphone amplifier.
A Serious Stereo Can Still Be Simple
This may ultimately be the Platina’s most compelling quality.
Add a turntable, digital source and pair of serious loudspeakers, and you have the makings of an exceptional stereo. For someone who wants that level of capability without assembling a rack full of electronics, the Platina offers a different way of building an ambitious stereo.
The point isn’t to eliminate boxes for the sake of eliminating boxes. It’s to make the stereo as complicated as it needs to be—and no more.
Specifications
Power output: 200W/ch into 8Ω; 300W/ch into 4Ω
Amplifier topology: Dual-mono Class AB
Analog inputs: 1× XLR; 2× RCA; 1× MM/MC phono
Phono gain: 46dB/52dB/60dB
Phono input: MM: 50kΩ/100pF; MC: 360Ω/200pF
Digital inputs: 2× coaxial; 2× optical; USB-C; HDMI ARC
Digital outputs: Coaxial; optical
Price: $5,495
DAC: ESS ES9038PRO
USB playback: PCM to 768kHz; DSD512
S/PDIF playback: PCM to 192kHz/24-bit
Preamplifier outputs: Balanced XLR; single-ended RCA
Headphone output: 6.35mm; dedicated current-feedback amplifier
Dimensions: 445 × 135 × 348mm (W × H × D)
Weight: 17.1kg