Quad FM 4

The Quad FM4 is a tuner, as you might have realised. It is an FM only tuner, and is part of the Quad series '4'. It is a high quality tuner usually used in conjunction with the Quad 34 preamp and 405 power amp, although it can be used with any amplifier.

The FM4 first appeared in the late 70s. Quite a long time ago. It remained in production until around 1996. It's therefore no longer available to buy new.

When first ...
...a lot of Quad hifi products, is something of a classic.

One thing that set it apart 30 or so years ago, was its use of presets. These were not common back then. There are 7 presets with the FM4. It is actually not possible to manually tune in to a station. You have to set it to a preset first. Unless you listen to more than 7 FM stations though, it's not a problem.

On the earliest models, the presets were labelled as ... more

The Quad FM4 is a tuner, as you might have realised. It is an FM only tuner, and is part of the Quad series '4'. It is a high quality tuner usually used in conjunction with the Quad 34 preamp and 405 power amp, although it can be used with any amplifier.

The FM4 first appeared in the late 70s. Quite a long time ago. It remained in production until around 1996. It's therefore no longer available to buy new.

When first released, it quickly gained a very high reputation, and like a lot of Quad hifi products, is something of a classic.

One thing that set it apart 30 or so years ago, was its use of presets. These were not common back then. There are 7 presets with the FM4. It is actually not possible to manually tune in to a station. You have to set it to a preset first. Unless you listen to more than 7 FM stations though, it's not a problem.

On the earliest models, the presets were labelled as BBC1 BBC2 BBC3 BBC4 ILR1 ILR2 and BBCLR. The last ones stand for Independent Local Radio and BBC Local Radio. On later versions they were simply labelled 1 to 7.

The digital display was also something quite new. The battery in the FM4 has an estimated life span of 10 years, and it will remember the presets even if the tuner is left switched off for years. Often, even after 20 or 30 years, a new battery is all that the FM4 will need to bring it back to full working order.

But of course it is the sound quality that the FM4 is most renowned for. Some people believe that FM (analogue) radio is better than DAB. I think this has to do with the bit rates that it is broadcast at. Presumably if the bit rates of DAB broadcast were increased, then so would the quality. I'm not sure. I haven't heard DAB as this is my only tuner.

As Quad would say, the tuner is only as good as the signal it receives. So a good FM aerial is recommended. Although an indoor ribbon type aerial is fine if the signal is strong, I would think.

If you believe that FM radio still offers the best sound quality, then a decent FM tuner will make the most of it. Given a good signal, the FM4 does that. It 's a gloriously rich sound.

The FM4 has something called de-emphasis. Apparently broadcasts are pre-emphasised and must be de-emphasised by the receiver to restore the correct tonal balance. To quote from the manual:

"The correct de-emphasis for Britain and Europe is 50usec and for North America 75usec."

So the FM4 was adjusted depending on which part of the world it was sold in. As you can see, Quad takes these things very seriously. What you get with the FM4 is a perfectly adjusted, and superbly built tuner.

In size it matches their other components, and is just 32cm wide by 20cm deep.

On the older models, the output socket was a 5 pin din type connection, whereas on later versions this became left/right phono sockets. There is also the normal 75ohm aerial input.

The FM4, particularly the later version, is still highly thought of today. It is still able to get the best from FM broadcasts, and I hope that FM doesn't become obsolete too soon, because it would be a shame if tuners such as this were no longer in use.

At £150 to £200, it's a second hand bargain. 

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