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Quad 44 upgrade

The work, on a Quad 33, was fine........eventually......... after months of excuses and the threat of the small claims court.

I'm sorry to hear that Mr Sneff but I do appreciate the insight for my choice, so thank you for that.

Chris
 
Why do you think either item needs 'upgrading'?
Have you found something lacking, or have you read a load of stuff (guff) on the internet or in hifi magazines?

I bought a used Quad 33 in the early '90s, shortly thereafter a 303 to go with it (both from a reputable dealer)

20 years of sterling performance later and I started to get the impression they weren't performing as well as they used to - the Quad 'magic' just wasn't there.

I went online and read some 'guff' on hifi forums and the like - the universal suggestion was that, given their age, the units would need attention - particularly the electrolytic caps.

Being an adventurous chap I opened them to have a look - sure enough just about every cap I found in both units was cracked - three had actually lost their top completely.
I can use a soldering iron and read a schematic so followed up more 'guff' on the internet and bought the relevant Dada 'upgrade' kits - the cost was trifling, even compared to the cheapest 'Service' on offer.

Some hard work later and both units were sorted ... the magic was back :)

Hoorah for the 'guff' I read on the interweb - without it I would probably have binned them ;)
 
I've managed to buy a lovely Quad 44 / FM4 combination in "hardly ever used" condition ------
However there are a number of companies offering Quad 44 upgrade services, such as Redhill Audio, Amplabs, Quad Revisie, Fidele Audio
Chris

What a 'lucky boy' you are - the two units look absolutely immaculate.
I have a couple of '44's, FM4, FM3, 303, 306, and a 405-2, all of which have been serviced by Amplabs and in the case of the FM4 by Quad as well - Unfortunately it still won't tune/save to the memory - Ha! Ha!
As for 'upgrading' - I believe that Quad only replace the items which are 'faulty', and although Amplabs (Robert Beale), certainly lists mods to the panels / sockets of the 33, 303, 44, and in my case, amended the location and type of speaker connections on my 405-2. I'm not too sure that Robert claims to 'upgrade' in the way that, for example DaDa claim, and so far, I've only purchased replacement parts from them.
Apart from the FM4, all my Quad units have performed faultlessly, and Robert is a delight to deal with, although he always has long 'lead times'.
I did correspond with 'Quad Revisie' a couple of years ago, but unfortunately Armand van Ommeren ceased communication just before I was about to place an order.
Further, it would appear that shipping items to and from mainland Europe is now more expensive/complicated following 'Brexit'.
Regards
Mike Kelshaw
 
What a 'lucky boy' you are - the two units look absolutely immaculate.
I have a couple of '44's, FM4, FM3, 303, 306, and a 405-2, all of which have been serviced by Amplabs and in the case of the FM4 by Quad as well - Unfortunately it still won't tune/save to the memory - Ha! Ha!
As for 'upgrading' - I believe that Quad only replace the items which are 'faulty', and although Amplabs (Robert Beale), certainly lists mods to the panels / sockets of the 33, 303, 44, and in my case, amended the location and type of speaker connections on my 405-2. I'm not too sure that Robert claims to 'upgrade' in the way that, for example DaDa claim, and so far, I've only purchased replacement parts from them.
Apart from the FM4, all my Quad units have performed faultlessly, and Robert is a delight to deal with, although he always has long 'lead times'.
I did correspond with 'Quad Revisie' a couple of years ago, but unfortunately Armand van Ommeren ceased communication just before I was about to place an order.
Further, it would appear that shipping items to and from mainland Europe is now more expensive/complicated following 'Brexit'.
Regards
Mike Kelshaw

Mike,

Yes, I was very lucky to fine units in such immaculate condition - they almost look new. Hard to believe they are 34 years old.

I agree with your point about shipping to Europe... not something I'm prepared to undertake... so it's UK options only for me.

But thanks for the further praise for Amplabs... that does sound like the way to go based on the wisdom of crowds :)

Chris
 
Short out the tants on the output (if there isn't any DC before them) or replace with good quality elcos+films across. Short out all input/output caps on the modules and main board. New elcos in the PSU.
No need to change the opamps. They're good enough.
And put the Fm4 on the 44 instead, it looks better.
 
I would ring Quad & see what they say - I have always found the service department very helpful. They certainly look in good condition.

My first major upgrade was to an FM4, 44 pre & 606 power. I eventually gave them to our local school who gladly accepted them, but I do not know whether they are still in use. I think the FM4 was their last design tuner as my 99 tuner has FM4 parts inside.
 
Thanks for everyone's feedback on the different options.

I have to say, I don''t know how long it had been since these units had been actually used, but now they've been powered up for a while, the sound has markedly improved... hopefully that improvement will stay :)

Chris
 
To resurrect a thread, has anybody tried Quad Revisie in the Netherlands? And what’s the latest on Quad doing the work? I’ve been on their website and there seems nothing specific about servicing, except under current warranties.

I am tempted to go to Amplabs but the overseas issue raised above is little less of a problem for me as the 44/405.2 set is based in Italy and I often drive home to the UK via the Hook, so dropping them off and then collecting them on an allez-retour should not be problematic. I’m more concerned with the quality of the work, given that this should be a once every couple of decades item.

Thanks

Peter
 
I went to Amplabs in the end... was every bit as happy as the feedback I'd received on this thread. Highly recommended.

Chris
 
Chris

Thanks. Well, I think I’d better get into the queue.

Now, if they are coming back to the UK, there will be no need to wait to drive. I wonder how well the two pieces of kit will fit into BA-sanctioned hand luggage or maybe I’ll take one a week. (That said, the security bods at Malpensa get a serious case of the heebie-jeebies when I put streamers and HTPCs through their X-ray machines but at least I know how the kit is being treated in transit!)

P
 
Q
.... what’s the latest on Quad doing the work? I’ve been on their website and there seems nothing specific about servicing, except under current warranties.

Quad will do you a same-day service. You need to book in advance, and arrive early in morning. This also saves you buying new packing from Quad.....however the cost of new packing is a bargain and well worth having.
You should be aware that Quad only repair, they will not do a full rebuild (as noted above).
Good as Quad Service is, I am at the point where if I were using 50-year old equipment I would now be wanting a complete rebuild. I think that Quad are creating a rod for their own back repairing very old equipment, because there is potential for something else failing after repair.
The issue in the past has been that Quad will not repair their equipment if it has been modified in any way. I presume that will apply to a full rebuild. So you are cutting yourself off from future cheap Quad service.
 
Quad will service any of their kit, and you can even just turn up on site and drop. However they only change what is considered out of spec. For instance they will not change any PSU caps even though some are over 40 years old. I guess they only check capacitance and not esr. Also hope you get the proper tech doing it and not the trainee as I have seen soldering from them that makes mine look pro.

BTW the diy route with DADA has now gone as they are closing down the business in March.
 
I just found this slightly old thread but thought I would add a recommendation for Peter at Fidele Audio. I dropped off my Quad 405 for some work and had a listen to a few records on his system. Great work, and very knowledgable. Next time I'm passing I plan to drop off the 909 for a service.

The only business I've had with Quad directly was once when I bought an old transformer from them (one of mine was making the vibrating noise). It was slightly cheaper than a new toroidal one. I bought some caps and l/s terminals from them once and was disappointed at how much they charged for them.
 


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