WITHDRAWN OR RELISTED: FS: QUASIMODO POWER AMP

[ghost4man]

Item: Quasimodo 40 watt Power Amp
Location: Gosford
Price: $800 ono Plus Shipping , Paypal fee
Item Condition: Very good
Reason for selling: Up loading to more grutn
Payment Method: Pickup - Cash, Paypal, COD Only plus paypal fee and shipping if necessary
Extra Info:

 

This is my beloved Quasimodo Power Amp which is more specifically a High Gain Power Amp with volume control.

This was built in the last 12 months by the legendary Richard McDonald whose minimalist tagstrip design is really something

to behold when you listen to the result that is achieved.

These amps very rarely if ever come on to the for sale forums and its easy to see why once you own one.

This is a regrettable sale but my path down the active route with my big Tympani 1Ds requires me to source amps which have unconditional 

stability into 2 ohm loads.

This Quasimodo easily drove my maggies which normally presents a 4 ohm  load.

According to Richard this amp is conservatively rated at 40 wpc into 8 ohms and almost doubles down to 75 wpc into 4 ohms.

 

This is an Australian made amp which punches well above its weight and believe me I have been in Bill McLeans shop and heard

some pretty incredible gear.

If I was not going down the active path this and the other amps I am selling would not be getting sold.

Happy to audition this and the other amps driving a pair of Magnepan IIIAs which like other maggies regularly dip down below 2 ohms in transient states.

 

I have taken photos outside to lay bear the condition of the amp. There is a light mark on the top panel in the bottom right hand corner which is negligible.


 
Pictures:

 

 

[ghost4man]

I have had a number of PM's requesting pictures of the internals given my comment about the tagstrip design.

Will post some piccies this evening.

[ghost4man]

Further to some queries that have been PM'd, this is a high gain power amp WITH volume control so for all intents and purposes

it can be treated as an integrated and does NOT require a pre amp.

Ozzie

[tagstrip]

Hi Ozzie.

In case you were interested in passing on the info to any potential buyer of your Quasimodo, I have improved the subjective sound quality of my design still further.

The latest version (without the active pre amp stage!) sounds faster and more articulate with a more solid and defined bass response than ever before. It makes the earlier versions with the active pre amp sound a bit time smeared and just a little "blurry" by comparison. Nonetheless even as it is, the early Quasimodo will see off many so called "high end" amplifiers in 90% of systems at normal domestic listening levels. The new version is just that bit better now, but I must give credit to Hugh Dean of Aspen amplifiers for coming up with the latest circuit "trick" that, although incredibly simple, has made a very noticeable improvement. Needless to say, if anyone out there has an earlier version Quasimodo, I could retro fit the latest tweak at a modest cost if required.

Any buyer of your Quasimodo will still be rather impressed with it even in standard form, and save $175 over the cost of a new one, and it's run in already!

Cheers.

Richard.

[ghost4man]

@tagstrip

 

Thanks RIchard.

I have been meaning to give you a call and will do so.

 

Anyone who buys it wont be disappointed. If it wasnt for the permanent 2 ohm load this would NOT be getting sold.

I used it to run the maggies with a passive XO and never had any issues.

 

If it doesnt sell then I will most assuredly have the tweak done. They are easily worth it to do.

 

And yes I have heard amps costing a lot more that would struggle with the sound quality that you get with the Quasi.

 

Ozzie

 

 

[ghost4man]

Pictures of internals as requested.

[ghost4man]

For those that may be interested.

I have contacted Richard McDonald who informed me that the Quasimodo for sale, requires the swapping out of 4 resistors and it will be up to speed with

the latest iteration/tweak that Richard has. I will do that hopefully this week when Richard posts me the resistors.

This latest tweak from Richard comes from the inspiration from none other than Hugh Deans himself who recommended this.

This means there would be no further cost to get it up to speed to any potential buyer.

Cheers Ozzie

[tagstrip]

Hi Ozzie.

The required resistors are on their way via snail mail. Replacing the mosfet gate stopper resistors will test your soldering skills!

Cheers.

Richard.

[ghost4man]

For those that don't know Richard McDonald is an absolute gentleman of the highest order.

He quickly communicated with me during the sale of the amp and has extended whatever help he can offer.

I appreciate his input in at least revealing the quasi I am selling is extremely close to his latest standard.

Once I complete the mod I will report back.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[ghost4man]

Hi Guys,

 

Okay in the last week I was supplied resistors by @tagstrip - Richard McDonald with a set of instructions to make some modifications to get this amp

that I am selling up to the latest spec.

 

I will give a rundown of what I have done. This Quasi was almost up to Richards latest standard with the exception of 4 resistors which had to be swapped out.

 

I replaced one resistor from EACH MOSFET which were 150 ohms originally coloured brown/green/brown/gold and substituted with 68 ohms resistors

coloured blue/grey/black/gold.

 

On the output transistor, I replaced one resistor EACH which were previously 10 ohms and coloured brown/black/black/gold with 2.2 ohms resistors one

per channel coloured red/red/gold/gold.

 

Photos included.

I will keep the Quasimodo at the original price which means any buyer does not incur the cost for updating to the latest spec which was according to Richard in the 

vicinity of an additional $175.

Sufficed to say this amp now sounds even better. Bass is even more tighter than before.

 

Cheers Ozzie

[tagstrip]

Hi Ozzie

Actually the $175 quote is for modifying the much earlier Quasimodo designs that use the active line pre amp stage. Those models require a radical rebuild of the older power amp stage as well. This takes a full working day plus the cost of many new components. The more recent versions without the pre amp built in just require the lower value resistors fitted, which I would only charge about $30 plus return post for those not able to do the mods themselves. The older Quasimodo amps with the active pre amp sound a little softer and slightly less focused with a tad poorer bass definition than the very latest incarnation, but still better than many highly regarded commercial amps out there.

Of course, there is now the new Darlimodo amp design, but that's another story!

Cheers.

Richard.

 

[ghost4man]

Hi mate,

 

Beautiful. Thanks for your support. I am humbled by your intervention in this sale so people knowing they are getting the real deal.

Amazing how changing 4 resistors can produce noticeable change as this has.

 

My hope is that maybe one day you build a killer amp for us maggie owners out there that looks at a 1 ohm load and smiles

 

 

Ozzie

[betty boop]

This item has been withdrawn from sale or relisted.