Quad Artera Solus Play range begins with the entry model ‘Artera Pre’ and the ‘Artera Stereo’. The Artera Stereo is the power amplifier producing 140 Watts RMS per channel – ample power for driving first-class loudspeakers. In addition, it boasts robust stereo XLR inputs with an incomparable signal to noise ratio resulting in crisp clean audio for the listener’s pleasure. While the Artera Pre is a pure analogue preamplifier with the classic QUAD signature appeal and playback resolution up to 32bit/384kHz
Previous products in the Range
The arrival of the Quad Artera Solus Play was no exception, further pushing the boundaries and continuing to deliver excellence in audio quality. The Solus Play follows in the footsteps of the whole Artera line – Artera Pre (Preamplifier), Artera Stereo (power amplifier), Artera Play (CD Player / DAC / Preamp) and the Artera Solus (CD Player / DAC / Preamp / Power amplifier
/ Bluetooth Connectivity). The Artera series features not only the latest in high-performance audio technology on the inside but also a beautifully finished exterior; with a textured aluminium front panel, thick glass top and CNC-routed heat sink on either side.
Swiftly followed by the ‘Artera Play’ – a trio of the CD player, DAC and Preamp in itself. The Artera Play is the perfect step up for seamless CD audio integration. This allows for ultra-high resolution playback up to 32bit/384kHz making it a smart compact unit that delivers amazing results in the CD amplification domain.
Off the success of the previous models in the range, Artera released the ‘Artera Solus’ a multitasking Hi-Fi system packed into a small slimline single unit. Combining a CD transport, DAC, pre-amplifier, and power amplifier. The Solus also strives forward and sets itself apart from the rest of the Artera range by incorporating advanced Bluetooth connectivity opening more options for the user to play their music.
Quad Artera Solus Play
“The history of Quad is one of technical achievement in the field of sound reproduction”
Bringing us to Quads latest system … The ‘Artera Solus Play’. With all the best features from the past Artera models, it forms one mighty Hi-Fi systen. Lots of key functions such as an integrated amp, DAC, Preamp and CD Player are included with the added developments of wireless streaming capability opening up options for even more ways to stream and transmit audio. The Solus Play incorporates DTS Play-Fi for high-resolution audio streaming; allowing music to be streamed over the wireless network in high-resolution format.
The whole system has the capability to be scaled up to incorporate multiple devices in a ‘Multi-Room System’, allowing Streaming from any source on your wireless network, including smart-phones, tablets or PCs. The Wireless Play-Fi mode supports a wide variety of file formats, including MP3, MP4A, AAC, FLAC, WAV and AIFF.
The Quad Artera Solus Play is equipped to handle PCM data up to 32-bit/384kHz as well as DSD64/128/256, making it perfect for getting the most out of today’s high-resolution audio formats. The CD replay feature is comprised of a slot-loading mechanism which buffers data from the disc before feeding it to the asynchronous DAC section for maximum audio resolution. The Artera Solus Play’s preamp and power amp stages are comprised of balanced circuitry, short and direct signal paths and high-quality components to preserve sonic purity.
The model runs a dual-mono Class AB power amp stage which delivers 2x75W into eight ohms. To minimise distortion, the power supplies for the left and right channels are isolated from each other as well as from the rest of the system. The Solus Play features a large variety of connectivity – Six digital inputs – two coaxial, two optical, USB Type B and Ethernet – cater for external digital sources (there’s also a USB Type-A socket for software updates) while a pair of RCA inputs handle analogue sources enabling the unit to handle the most demanding of user requirements.