Quick Summary
Quad has unveiled the second component in its high-end Platina Series, the Platina Stream network streamer.
It's a very high-spec streamer designed to match the Platina Integrated amplifier.
Earlier this week, Quad announced the first Hi-Fi product in its flagship Platina Series –an integrated amplifier called the Platina Integrated.
Now the second Platina product has launched –the Platina Stream network streamer. It's Quad's very first high-end network audio player.
Like the Platina Integrated, the Platina Stream features a very high specification and Quad's signature style. It's the second of the three Platina components the audiophile brand is releasing. A CD transport will join the Platina party in 2026.
The Platina Stream has been designed to match the Platina Integrated, and shares the same steel chassis and thick aluminium front panel with side-mounted heat sinks.
It also sports anti-resonance feet and has the same stripped-back design. There's a trio of subtle function buttons, a power button, a rotary dial and a 4.3-inch colour display.
You can use any amp you like, but naturally Quad would like you to use the Stream's sibling, the Platina Integrated amplifier
Quad Platina Stream: key features and pricing
The Platina Stream has its own DAC stage featuring a high-end ES9038PRO 8-channel, 32-bit DAC in balanced differential configuration with dual master clocks, and it supports ultra-high resolution audio (32-bit/768kHz PCM and native DSD512) over Ethernet, dual-band Wi-Fi and USB.
It's powered by a quad-core Cortex-A53 chip running at 1.8GHz per core and there's a post-DAC Class A active filter. The post-DAC analogue circuitry is designed to eliminate noise and distortion in the signal path and feeds the XLR outputs directly.
As you'd expect, the Platina Stream features the key Hi-Res Audio streaming services, such as Tidal Connect and Qobuz Connect, alongside the obligatory Spotify Connect and Spotify Lossless. With those first two services, it delivers native highlighting of Hi-Res file types so you can see what format you're listening to and whether you're getting the highest quality stream.
The Stream is Roon Ready with Roon Advanced Audio Transport, has built-in Plex and supports both UPnP and AirPlay 2. Quad says that "every significant Hi-Res and lossless audio format is catered for" – this includes FLAC, Apple Lossless (ALAC), WAV and AIFF, alongside native DSD in DSF and DIFF form, as well as DoP (DSD over PCM).
The Quad Stream will be available from November 2025 with a recommended price of £2,999 (about $3,997 / €3,437 / AU$6,144).
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