- New Quad flagship amplifier launches alongside network streamer
- CD transport will be included in the range in 2026
- Available November 2025
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UK audiophile enabler Quad has announced a new flagship range of high-end audio electronics, the Platina range, which it says delivers “hi-fi’s new gold standard”. And the first model in the Platina series to be unveiled is the Quad Platina Integrated amplifier.
Quad is also launching a matching network player, the Platina Stream. And a CD transport will join them in 2026.
Quad says the Platina Integrated is the “beating heart” of the new range, delivering effortless musicality and accuracy.
Quad Platina Integrated: key features and pricing
The Platina Integrated is a dual-mono class AB design that delivers 200W per channel in 8 ohms and 300W per channel in 4 ohms, which makes it possible to drive even the most demanding speakers.
This amplification is combined with a “massive” ultra-low noise 630VA toroidal transformer designed specifically for this model and cascaded voltage regulators in both the analog and digital sections.
The analog volume control is microprocessor controlled and has four separate channels to keep analog signals balanced throughout from the XLR input to the DAC’s differential output, the preamp and volume stages and the XLR preamp output.
The digital stage is built around ESS’s Saber ES9038PRO DAC with a Class A post-DAC filter and two ultra-precise master clocks to eliminate jitter. One clock is dedicated to the CD standard 44.1 kHz sample rate and multiples; the other locks sample rates based on 48kHz and its multiples.
Platina Integrated supports PCM to 32-bit/768kHz and DSD to 22.5MHz (DSD512). Lower-quality audio streams are upsampled to 352.8kHz/384kHz, and there’s a choice of five DAC reconstruction filters to tune audio from digital sources.
As you’d expect, there’s an extensive range of connectivity options here. There’s a USB-C port for hi-res audio, plus two coaxial and two optical S/PDIF inputs, and there’s also HDMI ARC for TV integration – and that’s just the digital connections.
There are four stereo inputs – one balanced XLR, two line-level RCA and one turntable RCA with a newly designed phono stage. There are also RCA and balanced XLR pre-outs and a 6.35mm headphone jack.
The headphone output has its own dedicated headphone amplifier circuit, which Quad says delivers superior sound to other integrated amplifiers with greater clarity, wider bandwidth and superior transient response, making this not only an elite match for very demanding options among the best stereo speakers, but also among the best wired headphones.
The Quad Platina Integrated will be available from November 2025 with an RRP of £3,499 (approx. $4,700 / AU$7,239). Considering the amount of technology happening in here and the quality of it, it actually feels pretty reasonable…
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