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Quad Artera Stereo

Power amplifier

Relative price

below typical

Among the 25 power amplifiers in the catalogue, this one is below typical.

A band places a component against its peers and carries no price. It is deliberately the only price indicator on this page: a second one, measured against a different set, would narrow the two together far enough to give the figure away.

What it is

NO BRIDGE MODE. Already has matching Artera Mono monoblock partner.

I/O: accepts both RCA and XLR (2 XLR + 1 RCA). Universal compatibility.

Competition record

Assessed against 18 rivals across the sixty systems: 7 head-to-heads won, 52 lost.

Where it gives ground

The dimension the engine names as the weakest link, counted across every head-to-head it lost.

  • bass control ×20
  • vocal presence ×19
  • timing and drive ×6
  • depth of bass ×5
  • low-level clarity ×5
  • midrange truth ×3

Who it comes up against

Longdog Audio P6100M Biamp 2x2 (4 units)

13 lost · Anchored, Artisan, Characterful, PRaT, Reference, Romantic

Against the Anchored brief, the Longdog Audio P6100M Biamp 2x2 (4 units) keeps the slot decisively.

With the Emmae Reginae (custom), the pairing gives up most on bass control.

On its own merits the Quad Artera Stereo is the stronger power amplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Emmae Reginae (custom) gives up bass control under the Anchored weighting.

calm and controlledTAS (Greene) 2016

NVA S80 Stereo

7 lost· 1 won · Artisan, Cavity-Native, Characterful, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Silent Path

Against the Characterful brief, the NVA S80 Stereo keeps the slot decisively.

With the NVA P50 MKII, the pairing gives up most on vocal presence.

On its own merits the Quad Artera Stereo is the stronger power amplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the NVA P50 MKII gives up vocal presence under the Characterful weighting.

It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the power amplifier position.

Audiolab 9000P

4 lost· 1 won · Anchored, Characterful, PRaT, Romantic, Silent Path

Against the Characterful brief, the Audiolab 9000P keeps the slot decisively.

With the Audiolab 9000Q, the pairing gives up most on vocal presence.

With the Neat Petite Classic, the pairing gives up most on bass control.

On its own merits the Quad Artera Stereo is the stronger power amplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Audiolab 9000Q gives up vocal presence under the Characterful weighting.

deep, tight, controlled bass without overbearingHiFiMART user review + Audio Tailor review

Leema Hydra II

4 lost · Cavity-Native, Characterful, Romantic

Against the Cavity-Native brief, the Leema Hydra II keeps the slot decisively.

With the Emmae Reginae (custom), the pairing gives up most on bass control.

With the Leema Neutron, the pairing gives up most on vocal presence.

On its own merits the Quad Artera Stereo is the stronger power amplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Emmae Reginae (custom) gives up bass control under the Cavity-Native weighting.

Hydra II reference Leema stereo power ampLeema Hydra II positioning

NVA S300 Stereo (Artisan)

4 lost · Artisan, Cavity-Native, Intimate, Reference

Against the Intimate brief, the NVA S300 Stereo (Artisan) keeps the slot decisively.

With the NVA P50SA MKII, the pairing gives up most on vocal presence.

On its own merits the Quad Artera Stereo is the stronger power amplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the NVA P50SA MKII gives up vocal presence under the Intimate weighting.

Sugden ANV 50

3 lost· 1 won · BBC Sound, Twin Arms

Against the Twin Arms brief, the Sugden ANV 50 keeps the slot decisively.

Audio Note P1 SE

3 lost · Intimate, Silent Path

Against the Silent Path brief, the Audio Note P1 SE keeps the slot by a whisker.

With the Emmae Reginae (custom), the pairing gives up most on low-level clarity.

With the Music First Audio Baby Reference V2, the pairing gains most on quietness at rest.

On its own merits the Quad Artera Stereo is the stronger power amplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Emmae Reginae (custom) gives up low-level clarity under the Silent Path weighting.

SET 8W/ch tube power amp, classic Audio Note voicingAudio Note P1 SE positioning + Hi-Fi+ reviews

EAR Yoshino V12

3 lost · BBC Sound, Vocals-First

No completion of this shape fits that slot's budget.

Exposure XM9 Biamp 2x2 (4 units)

3 lost · Artisan, PRaT, Reference

Against the Artisan brief, the Exposure XM9 Biamp 2x2 (4 units) keeps the slot decisively.

With the Emmae Reginae (custom), the pairing gives up most on timing and drive.

With the Exposure 3510 Preamplifier, the pairing gives up most on vocal presence.

On its own merits the Quad Artera Stereo is the stronger power amplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Emmae Reginae (custom) gives up timing and drive under the Artisan weighting.

calm and controlledTAS (Greene) 2016

EAR Yoshino 890

2 lost · Intimate

Against the Intimate brief, the EAR Yoshino 890 keeps the slot decisively.

With the EAR Yoshino 868L (Line), the pairing gives up most on midrange truth.

With the Emmae Reginae (custom), the pairing gives up most on low-level clarity.

On its own merits the Quad Artera Stereo is the stronger power amplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the EAR Yoshino 868L (Line) gives up midrange truth under the Intimate weighting.

Chord ULTIMA 6

1 lost · Cavity-Native

Against the Cavity-Native brief, the Chord ULTIMA 6 keeps the slot decisively.

With the Emmae Reginae (custom), the pairing gives up most on bass control.

On its own merits the Quad Artera Stereo is the stronger power amplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Emmae Reginae (custom) gives up bass control under the Cavity-Native weighting.

It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the power amplifier position.

Ultima 6 stereo with high-frequency feed-forwardChord Ultima 6 stereo positioning

Longdog Audio P6100M (pair)

1 lost · Anchored

Against the Anchored brief, the Longdog Audio P6100M (pair) keeps the slot decisively.

With the Neat Petite Classic, the pairing gives up most on bass control.

With the NVA P50SA MKII, the pairing gives up most on depth of bass.

On its own merits the Quad Artera Stereo is the stronger power amplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Neat Petite Classic gives up bass control under the Anchored weighting.

essentially flat to 1HzTAS (per Hi-Fi News) 2016

Rega io

1 lost · Twin Arms

No completion of this shape fits that slot's budget.

Leak Stereo 230

1 lost · Vocals-First

No completion of this shape fits that slot's budget.

Creek 4040A

1 lost · BBC Sound

No completion of this shape fits that slot's budget.

Exposure 3510

0 lost· 1 won · Twin Arms

Against the Twin Arms brief, the Quad Artera Stereo takes the slot decisively.

Sugden A21 Signature

0 lost· 1 won · BBC Sound

Against the BBC Sound brief, the Quad Artera Stereo takes the slot decisively.

Systems it is part of

What the reviewers said

Quad Artera Stereo Class A/B power amp Quad Artera Stereo positioning· Physical impact
essentially flat to 1Hz TAS (per Hi-Fi News) 2016· Bass extension
calm and controlled TAS (Greene) 2016· Dynamic coherence
powerful chords... resonance of the timpani HiFiReport 2024· Physical impact
clean, essentially neutral TAS (Greene) 2016· Tonal body

How it scores

Clarity

  • Electrical noise floor 92 from specification

Voice

  • Tonal body 70 from listening evidence

Bass

  • Bass control 68 from specification
  • Physical impact 76 from listening evidence
  • Bass extension 76 from listening evidence

LowerVolume

  • Low-level noise floor 92 from specification
  • Micro-dynamic resolution 72 from specification
  • Tonal consistency 72 from specification

Specifications

is monoblockFalse
is balanced internalTrue
power classAB Current Dumping
power 8ohm w140.0
power 4ohm w250.0
damping factor200.0
accepts rcaTrue
accepts xlrTrue
accepts dinFalse
input impedance rca kohm15.0
input impedance xlr kohm10.0
input sensitivity rca mv980.0
speaker terminal typebinding post
gain db30.0
snr db115.0
thd pct0.003
dimensions mm320/158/338
weight kg15.0
sold as pairFalse
notes