The new entry level Heed Audio Phono stage. Developed from the award winning Quasar, it can also be upgraded by adding the Quasar power supply.

The QUESTAR is destined to be the MVPs (Most Valuable Phonostage) of the Heed analogue range. Under the hood of their hefty, shielded steel chassis beats the heart of our award-winning audiophile Quasar MM/MC phonostage, slimmed down to a neat MM only package.

The QUESTAR MM incorporates the Quasar's unsurpassed MM circuitry. Its sibling, the QUESTAR MC deploys a streamlined version of the Quasar's MC stage, eliminating the need for jumper switches by optimising the amplifier to suit the 300-600 uV output range characterising the vast majority of today's moving coils. Considering its generous 18 dB headroom, ideal cartridge matching is virtually assured.

The internal construction of the QUESTARs meets the most critical high-end standards in every respect. The amplifier employs an entirely dual-mono configuration and uses a two-stage - passive/active - RIAA equalisation. Gain adjustment has been optimised for maximum headroom and highest signal-to-noise ratio. Component parts are selected to exacting tolerances matching those of our flagship Quasar.

The QUESTAR MM is suitable for any line-level amplifier input, and can easily drive virtually any length of interconnect. There is minimal internal wiring or binding, and all high-current parts of the circuit are shielded. Both models feature gold-plated RCA terminals soldered directly onto the PCB, limiting all signal paths to a bare minimum.

The QUESTAR MM uses an external "wall-wart" power supply to avoid undesirable electro-magnetic interference within the chassis. Sonic performance can be even further enhanced by upgrading to the Quasar's substantial separate box PSU - the Q-PSU - constructed around a massive 60 VA toroidal transformer with low-density magnetic field and minimal dispersion. With substantial 40,000 uF capacitor filtering, the Q-PSU can feed the QUESTAR'S circuitry with the kind of super-clean current usually delivered only by battery-based supplies, even with extreme dynamic swings.


Technical specifications

Input
3 mV/47 kOhm

Frequency range
20 Hz - 20 kHz/ 0,3 dB

Gain
42 dB

Signal/noise ratio
82 dB

Headroom
20 dB

Channel separation
50 dB (1 kHz)