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Quad 34 pre - advice on older versions with brown/khaki livery

RichardA

pfm Member
I have a hankering after a Quad 34 that would match the cosmetics of a Quad 303 that I already have.

From reading the various threads on the forum there seems to be a divergence of opinion on the quality of the 34 unit though generally a recommendation to go for the later grey models with phono inputs/outputs.

As this is for second system, I am not fussed about ultimate fidelity and I would prefer a unit that matches the 303. I will therefore look for a unit that is ideally in v good cosmetic condition (and preferably seviced by Quad or a known provider). That said, I think I have seen references to very early 34's being poor on their CD inputs or suffering board damage from troublesome components.

I would be grateful for any advice on what to look for in terms of serial numbers or other indicators of better versus worse examples.

As I mentioned above, absolute fidelity isn't a priority. I have an EAR 912 in the main system and am selling a couple of other preamps which would also be likely superior to the 34. Of course I would be interested if anyone has a suitable early version for sale. (The current one in the classifieds looks v nice but it's the wrong livery for me).
 
I've had an early 34 that was extensively damaged thanks to leaking electrolytics, I ended up just parting it out because the PCB was too far gone. It's definitely something to be cautious of.
 
I've had an early 34 that was extensively damaged thanks to leaking electrolytics, I ended up just parting it out because the PCB was too far gone. It's definitely something to be cautious of.

Thanks for sharing. In retrospect were there any warning signs or would you say it was something unavoidable?

I would hope that selecting a 34 that has been serviced within, say, the last 5 years would mitigate the risk of this.
 
I've got one for sale on pfm under the title A One-Off Rebuilt Quad 34 Pre
It might possibly interest you.

Jack
 
There are certain issues with the circuit board of earlier 34s where a coating causes corrosion to the tracks and connection pins (it is a double-sided board). This site is worth reading, though I think they are over-egging it to some degree as a) plenty of early 34s are still working ok, and b) some info is not correct, e.g. my Rev 6 grey 34 has the same style of board as the Rev 7, i.e. it doesn’t have the issue.
 
Thanks for sharing. In retrospect were there any warning signs or would you say it was something unavoidable?

I would hope that selecting a 34 that has been serviced within, say, the last 5 years would mitigate the risk of this.
None... but I bought it used, described as (just needing a new control IC) because the controls were irratic. It had a whole lot more than that wrong. I’d never seen so much carnage from leaking caps before, all the small electrolytics had leaked and damaged PCB traces and even surrounding components. I could have got it working again but it would have needed 80% or more of the components replaced and lots of trace repairs. It was better used for parts to revive or restore other 34s because the casing was clean, the pots and switches were good and the phono cards were good. I’d definitely look for one that’s been serviced with proof, or if you buy one that’s still working fine, get all the small caps replaced immediately, it wouldn’t cost a lot, especially if you can do it yourself, just make sure you see and hear it working before you hand your money over.
 
There are certain issues with the circuit board of earlier 34s where a coating causes corrosion to the tracks and connection pins (it is a double-sided board). This site is worth reading, though I think they are over-egging it to some degree as a) plenty of early 34s are still working ok, and b) some info is not correct, e.g. my Rev 6 grey 34 has the same style of board as the Rev 7, i.e. it doesn’t have the issue.
Interesting Tony, the damage on the one I had definitely seemed to concentrated around the caps but it was pretty catastrophic, I’d never imagined that some smaller caps could do so much damage.
 
I've got one for sale on pfm under the title A One-Off Rebuilt Quad 34 Pre
It might possibly interest you.

Jack

I had seen your unit and it looks very interesting. However i really would prefer an earlier unit with the original "colour scheme". Yours looks like a late grey one.
 
None... but I bought it used, described as (just needing a new control IC) because the controls were irratic. It had a whole lot more than that wrong. I’d never seen so much carnage from leaking caps before, all the small electrolytics had leaked and damaged PCB traces and even surrounding components. I could have got it working again but it would have needed 80% or more of the components replaced and lots of trace repairs. It was better used for parts to revive or restore other 34s because the casing was clean, the pots and switches were good and the phono cards were good. I’d definitely look for one that’s been serviced with proof, or if you buy one that’s still working fine, get all the small caps replaced immediately, it wouldn’t cost a lot, especially if you can do it yourself, just make sure you see and hear it working before you hand your money over.

Good advice. Probably means I need to buy locally or from one of the audio forums to avoid a nasty surprise.
 
There are certain issues with the circuit board of earlier 34s where a coating causes corrosion to the tracks and connection pins (it is a double-sided board). This site is worth reading, though I think they are over-egging it to some degree as a) plenty of early 34s are still working ok, and b) some info is not correct, e.g. my Rev 6 grey 34 has the same style of board as the Rev 7, i.e. it doesn’t have the issue.

Thanks for the link. It reads as though buying the earlier versions is a high risk venture. I will target one of the later revisions (albeit with the older livery) though it's not clear to me how you can tell them apart. Does yours have a particular reference on the board?
 
There is a revision number on the bottom of the board, visible in the picture n Ken Rockwell’s site here, the one pictured is a Rev 7 (the -777 at the end of the part number). If you want an early livery and late board chances are you’ll have to buy two and reskin the grey one as I don’t think they naturally exist. I did this at one point as I had a mint but ill bronze one with issues so found a cosmetically challenged grey and got it Dada rebuilt and then flipped the skins, but ended up selling it as to be honest I think I preferred my recapped and very subtly altered grey 34 (it is stock spec aside from the phono stage has been improved).
 
I do have have some bronze case parts albeit not mint, I’ll dig them out an assess/photo them when I get a chance. You’re welcome to them for the cost of postage. The non working one I had was in pristine condition physically so I put the face and sleeve on another fully (internally restored one which wasn’t mint but wasn’t bad iirc.
 
Thanks to everyone for the info. Really helpful, as ever.

I will have to approach this with some caution

The idea of swapping internals and externals is probably beyond my abilities and getting someone else to do it will not be cheap.

I may therefore gamble on a serviced older one but will need to bid low in case it becomes a dud in due course.

One last question - Are the older 44's any less troublesome than the 34's?
 
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I run an early Quad 34 into a 303 and the combination works very well. I have nothing but praise for the the 34,
especially since its recent service at Quad.
One good reason for buying Quad is its backup service centre in
Huntingdon.
My 303 was recently fully serviced, so the combination will probably last me the rest of my days...
 


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