Quad Artera Play+ CD Pre Amplifier
The Artera Play+ is the latest addition to the Artera range. The Artera Play+ Combines the sleek user interface with the latest high definition audio technology. The CD player and DAC is the perfect match for the high power drive of Artera Stereo, while you enjoy your music with ultra-high resolution playback up to 32bit/384kHz in addition to DSD64/128/256 files through the USB input...
Classics For The Modern Age
The Artera range combines the qualities that have made Quad one of Britain’s most revered hi-fi marques for many decades with fresh industrial design and the very latest high-performance audio technologies.
Artera’s crisp, clean aesthetic both evokes Quad’s past and looks forward to the future, with a textured aluminium front panel, thick glass top and CNC-routed heat sinks on either side. The housing provides a rugged structure that resists interference from external vibrations, while the facia of each player incorporates an intuitive touch-sensitive control, contributing greatly to its sleek design.
Hi-Res Compatibility
Despite their attractive simplicity, the three Artera components deliver exceptional sophistication beneath the skin. At the heart of the Artera Play and Artera Solus nestles the ESS Sabre32 9018; a 32-bit, eight-channel hybrid multi-bit Delta-Sigma DAC considered by many to be the finest D/A converter chip available for stereo sound.
This is Quad’s first series to utilise the ESS Sabre DAC, and external digital sources can benefit from its exceptional quality via a range of digital inputs. These include USB, with support for PCM data up to 32-bit/384kHz and also DSD64/128/256, ensuring the Artera Play+, and Artera Solus are fully equipped to make the most of today’s hi-res music formats, as well as future advances in ultra-high-definition digital sound.
Filters To Suit Every Ear
For CD replay, a new slot-loading mechanism buffers data from the disc before feeding it asynchronously (in order to minimise time domain errors known as ‘jitter’) to the DAC section. Four digital filter options enable users to tailor the Artera Play’s, and Solus's sound, with both CDs and external digital sources, to suit personal taste and the nature of the source material.
Each player within the series features a preamp section which boasts a balanced Class A output stage. Two coaxial and two optical inputs cater for external digital sources alongside the USB input, with a pair of RCA phono inputs handling analogue sources. Analogue outputs are supplied in both single-ended RCA and balanced XLR varieties; a pair of digital outputs (optical and coaxial) and a 12V trigger output complete a comprehensive array of connectivity options.
Specifications
| General Description | CD Player, DAC, Pre-Amp |
| Key Technology & Features | DSD (up to DSD256 Compatible) Bluetooth aptX |
| Audio File Formats | ALAC, WAV, FLAC, AIFF, WMA, MP3, AAC, AAC- HE, AAC+, DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 |
| D/A Converter | ESS ES9018 32bit DAC |
| USB Input | USB B (PC / MAC) |
| Digital Audio Inputs | 2 × Optical Toslink, 2 × RCA(DIG1, DIG2) |
| Digital Audio Outputs | 1 × Optical Toslink, 1 x RCA (DIG) |
| Analogue Inputs | 2 × RCA(AUX1, AUX2) |
| Analogue Outputs | 2 x RCA, 2 x Balanced XLR, 6.3mm Headphone Jack |
| Sample Rate (USB B) | 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz, 384kHz |
| Sample Rate (USB A) | 44.1kHz, 48kHz |
| Sample Rate (Digital Inputs / Outputs) | 44.1 - 192kHz |
| Standby Power Consumption | <0.5W |
| Pre-Amplifier Section | |
| Output Level (1kHz) Variable Output | 0 - 4 Vrms (Pre Outputs) 0 – 8 Vrms (Balanced Outputs) |
| Frequency Response | 20Hz-20kHz, 1kHz (± 0.2dB) |
| Total Harmonic Distortion | <0.002% (20Hz-20kHz) |
| Signal to Noise Ration(S/N) | >103dB (1kHz) >110dB (A Weighted, 1kHz) |
| Channel Separation | >100dB (1kHz) |
| Dimensions (Unpacked) (H x W x D) | 320 x 105 x 320mm |
| Net Weight | 9.04kg |
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