[ot] Gainclone?

[8O]

Sorry for the off-topic and there are plenty of other forums for this kinda stuff, but I was just wondering whether someone on here, on the forum that we know and love, has any experience here...

I just inherited an old Quad 303...

...and as lovely as it is, it's nigh on 40 years old and will probably need some time and money invested in it to get it back to its former glory...

Just googling about it brought up a similar discussion and the option of just using the 303 as a doorstop and spending the time and money on a gainclone instead.

Is the gainclone concept just hype, or does it warrant serious investigation?

On the off-chance that someone here has experience of it - thanks in advance for any advice...!

[8O]

Bump, on the off-chance...

[Pyramid Audio]

Unless you are going to recap and refurbish the 303 yourself, probably not worth having someone else fix it as it will cost more than it is worth. I would sell it as is. Gainclones can be good but there is nothing special about them; they are chip based with minimal signal path. Gainclones are DIY so you don't really know what you're getting when you buy one.

I would suggest better buying second hand an adcom amp, there are different models depending on your power requirements and will give you as good or better performance than a gainclone. Adcoms are really good budget audiophile amps.

[8O]

Cheers for the reply. Yes, I would be doing it all myself, either a refurbishment of the Quad or building my own Gainclone.

Adcom... a GFA-555? Looks interesting, but dunno whether I'd find a good one over here in Berlin, let alone listen before buying...