Artera Mono | Mono Power Amplifier
QUAD gave its team of designers and engineers a specific brief for Artera: combine the qualities
that have made QUAD Britain’s most revered Hi-Fi marques for many decades with fresh
industrial design and the very latest high-performance audio technologies.
The QUAD Artera Mono is the latest addition to be best-selling QUAD Artera series of hi-fi
components. It is developed employing the strongest design features derived from its siblings but
exhibits updated internal audiophile-class components and multi-layer circuit boards. The design
builds upon the classic QUAD sound, adding increased clarity and definition but foremost
ensuring that the integrity of musical performance is more accessible and that the artist’s message
is distinctly conveyed despite deficiencies in the recording.
Key to the Artera Mono’s design is QUAD’s patented current dumping technology developed by
QUAD’s legendary founder Peter Walker. In the Artera Mono’s current dumping circuit, a very
high-quality Class AB low-power amp provides the details of the signal, while a high-power
current dumping section provides the grip to keep the speakers under control. This technology
eliminates the problems of crossover distortion, thermal tracking and transistor matching.
Consequently, there are no internal adjustments or alignments and the choice of power transistor
types is less restrictive.
Following Peter Walker’s famous quote that the perfect amplifier would be 'a piece of wire with gain',
inferring that the least complication to the signal path is desired, signal purity is imperative in any
QUAD design, the Artera Mono takes this concept to a new level with the use of OCC cabling at
the output stage.
OCC (Ohno Continuous Cast) is derived from a process that was developed to help defeat
annealing issues and virtually eliminate all grain boundaries in copper or silver with a unique
patented process. The OCC casting method uses specialized heated moulds in order to draw a
single crystal up to 125 meters in length. With only a single crystal in very long lengths, there is an
unimpeded free path for the best possible signal transfer. Along with this superior, singular
crystal structure, OCC provides copper and silver with the least possible oxides and other
impurities.
In high contrast to OCC, the materials traditionally used in audio electronics is classed as
OFC (Oxygen Free Copper). As impressive as OFC can be, by nature still has a multitude of
grain boundaries and other impurities. OFC has around 400 crystals per foot and despite its
name, OFC typically has an oxygen content of about 10 ppm. Thus, the Artera Mono OCC design
ensures the purest of output signal offerings.
Delivering 300 watts per channel (into 8 ohms) the QUAD Artera Mono is equipped to drive the
most demanding of systems. It offers instant overload recovery and full protection against
over-driving without resorting to output line fuses or relays. It has the power to grip almost any
speaker with relative ease – but they do it in a confident, almost understanding way instead of
attempting to impress with sheer brute force.
Like the rest of the QUAD Artera components, Artera Mono is subtly understated and available
in silver and black finishes. Artera’s crisp, clean aesthetic both evokes QUAD’s past and looks
forward to the future. The housing provides a rigid structure that exudes quality and resists
interference from external vibrations, with a textured aluminium front panel, inlaid glass top and
CNC-routed heat sink on either side.
KEY FEATURES:
QUAD’s patented current dumping technology developed by
QUAD’s legendary founder Peter Walker
Artera’s all-new ultra-low noise transformers and power supply components have been specially selected following extensive listening tests
Class AB power amplification: 300 watts into 8 ohms
OCC cabling for the purest of signal paths to the output stage
Dual operational modes: line and balanced
Separate pre-power sections for flexibility of operation
Automatic equipment activation via 12V trigger
Auto standby function
Inputs: XLR (balanced) and 6.3mm jack (line) inputs
SPECIFICATIONS
Model: Artera Mono
Rated Power Output: 300 Watts 8 ohm (THD=1%,1kHz)
Power Requirement: 220-240V ～ 50-60Hz or 100-120V ～ 50-60Hz
Gain: 34dB
Frequency Response: 0.98Vrms (Unbalanced) / 2.1Vrms (Balanced)
Input Impedance: 10kohm (Balanced/Unbalanced)
Maximum Power Consumption: 750W
Standby Power Consumption: 0.5W
Dimensions(mm)(W x H x D): 320 x 158 x 338
Carton Size(mm)(Wx H x D): 465 x 260 x 465
Weight: 13kg (Net), 17kg (Gross)