QUAD   REPAIRS

The   Acoustical   Manufacturing   Company

All repaired equipment guaranteed 12 months,

(obviously excludes repairs carried out free of charge!).

Quad mono Valve pre-amp, or control unit for use with the Quad 11 power amplifier

Quad 22 As above but stereo

Quad 33 Transistor, for use with any of the solid state Quad power amplifiers

Quad 34 Transistor and integrated circuit otherwise as for the 33

Quad 44 As the 34, but more versatile, will also drive the valve amplifiers

Quad 11 A superb monoblock valve amplifier

Quad 303 The first Quad transistor power amplifier

Quad 405 The first "current dumping" amplifier

Quad 405 2 The much improved version of the original

Quad 306 Like the 405 2 but smaller and lower power

Quad 606 Like the 405 2 but larger and higher power

Am2 Unpowered am tuner for the Quad mono and Quad 22

Am3 Am tuner matching the Quad 33

Fm   FM Tuner otherwise as the Am

Fm2 Valve FM tuner to match the Quad 33

Fm3 Transistor and I.C. Fm tuner for the Quad 33

Fm4 Fm tuner to match the 34 and 44.

Loudspeakers and other items not listed - telephone with queries.

 

QUAD REPAIRS

All repaired equipment guaranteed 12 months,

(obviously excludes repairs carried out free of charge!).

How do you go about having a piece of Quad hi-fi equipment repaired here at London Sound?

And why?

And what about mending, restoration, rebuilds, rebuilding, servicing, renovating - well, all words that say almost the same - read on, and you will see what we can do for you. And our unique 12 month guarantee is explained, (don't waste time with repairers lacking confidence to guarantee their repairs properly).

Don't want to wade thru the lot?  Email Mike Solomons with your queries at:-

 

 

EMAIL:-

 

Quad@londonsound.org

 

 

Or

 

TELEPHONE:-

020 8868 9222

 

 

 

The picture above is me in the workshop at the back of our shop, with the computer that you'll be emailing to in the background, (well, actually the old computer - we've updated).

 

Now read on to learn more about us!

We are slowly preparing special pages for the main products we deal with. The first ones are for Armstrong, Leak, Radford and Rogers, and this is the new Quad page - just click on the name on the left - or in this sentence. More will follow soon.

What Quad products can we help with?

Pre amps:-

 

Quad mono Valve pre-amp, or control unit for use with the Quad 11 power amplifier

Quad 22 As above but stereo

Quad 33 Transistor, for use with any of the solid state Quad power amplifiers

Quad 34 Transistor and integrated circuit otherwise as for the 33

Quad 44 As the 34, but more versatile

 

Power amps:-

 

Quad 11 A superb monoblock valve amplifier

Quad 303 The first Quad transistor power amplifier

Quad 405 The first "current dumping" amplifier

Quad 405 2 The much improved version of the original

Quad 306 Like the 405 2 but smaller and lower power

Quad 606 Like the 405 2 but larger and higher power

 

Tuners:-

 

Am2 Unpowered am tuner for the Quad mono and Quad 22

Am3 Am tuner matching the Quad 33

Fm FM Tuner otherwise as the Am

Fm2 Valve FM tuner to match the Quad 33

Fm3 Transistor and I.C. Fm tuner for the Quad 33

Fm4 Fm tuner to match the 34 and 44.

 

Loudspeakers and other items not listed - telephone with any queries.

 

Maybe you've been told "parts not available"

If another repairer has told you this, he may be right - but. That BUT is a very big but! For example, if the output transistors of an old amplifier have failed, it is not unusual to find that transistors of that type number are not available, but that other suitable substitutes are currently in stock! It can happen that we are unable to find spares, but then we either modify the equipment to use other parts - or make them!

 

The key benefits of repair at London Sound:-

 

High standard of workmanship, (we couldn't give a 12 month guarantee otherwise)!

With rare exceptions, all repairs are carried out by Mike Solomons, who has over 35 years professional experience, (it was a teenage hobby before then!). (Or, as I have often said, "put another way - nice people like you bring me interesting equipment to work on - then actually pay me for it!  What better way to earn a living!  For you, the benefit that, happy in my work, I do my best for you.")

We give Free Estimates and stick to them.

We operate from a high street shop with, (during our opening hours), an open door, (not a private home or industrial estate with a locked door to block out complaints).

This is not a selling operation, (so either we repair, or make no money - no false advice to buy new!).

All repair work guaranteed 12 months. Clearly, in writing, with no unreasonable exclusion clauses!

We specialise in older equipment, (Why? Usually good equipment is quite old when it first breaks!) How old is 'older equipment'? Most units repaired here are between ten and fifty years old, some even older!

We hold a wide range of spares and service manuals.

When spares are not available, we have the required knowledge and data to substitute and repair. Our facilities include basic woodwork and metalwork, for re-construction, and modification where required, as well as, as you would expect, full electronic research and development facilities.

We are here to stay - Mike Solomons personally owns the freehold of the shop - without a mortgage - so you won't come here one day to find we've gone because of a rent review, (He says, "I now give them, but fairly, not suffer from them!").

 

So what comes next?

Email, telephone, write or call into the shop, for a free estimate. Note, our estimates are completely free, you only pay us if your equipment is repaired in accordance with the estimate.

Free means free!

If such repairs cannot be carried out, then we charge exactly nothing, even if we have carried out a partial repair then found major further difficulties! The only cost to you is transport.

 

ALL REPAIRED EQUIPMENT is guaranteed for twelve months.  NOTE, the guarantee covers the equipment, not only parts fitted or a specific repair making the guarantee comparable with the manufacturer's original when the equipment was new.  "All" means "all", not just some. Whether old or new, whatever the equipment age, the guarantee on repairs is the same. We've even guaranteed the repairs on some mid 1930's vintage radio and radiogram units for twelve months - without difficulties! How? If the work is done properly, it isn't a problem!

There is only one exception, and that is for repairs carried out free of charge!

Not quite the same as buying new, as you don't have all the shiny new instruction books to read, packaging to dispose of etc! Neither do you have to research, purchase, or learn how the new item works - and find out what to do if it doesn't quite have the same facilities as your old unit!

 

So why do we give a twelve month guarantee?

 

REPAIR GUARANTEE

Where you get a guarantee on repairs, (some repairers give no written guarantee at all), the "Industry Standard" is usually either one or three months.

 

It gets worse than that, as most repairers' guarantees are usually very tightly restricted just to the basic repair carried out - so, for example, if a volume control is replaced, but weeks later the amplifier fails again - as long as the volume control itself still is OK, you automatically have to pay again in full for repairs!

 

At London Sound, the repair guarantee is for twelve months. Clear, bold, in writing, and unambiguous. There are no unreasonable exclusion clauses.

 

 

So - how much will it cost?

 

 

HOW MUCH?

 

ESTIMATES ARE FREE - ALWAYS

 

OUR ESTIMATING PROCEDURE:-

 

1)   On the 'phone, we can often give a rough guide. It is also possible by email and by ordinary mail - it just takes longer, as we may ask questions, and have to wait for replies. "Longer" isn't all that long - apart from holidays, we usually reply to emails within 24 hours - often, during the day, within minutes.

2)   Usually, when you bring the equipment here, on a brief assessment of the fault while you wait, we will give a free estimate. We will also give you a further much higher figure, to be a 'fixed ceiling', not to be exceeded without your written consent. This procedure is called a Qualified Estimate, and is much safer for you than an ordinary estimate, which can legally be exceeded, sometimes by a large amount!

3)   If you agree the estimate, the goods will be accepted for repair. You will be given a written copy of the estimate, with the upper ceiling figure clearly in writing, so you know you are safe. Normally, you will soon receive an invoice on completion of repairs, which will not exceed the 'fixed ceiling'.

4)   However, if repairs cannot be completed within the original agreed estimate, a further written estimate or report will be sent. In this case, for your protection, unless a revised estimate is agreed by you in writing, with an advance payment made to prove acceptance, you may collect the unrepaired equipment, with no charge at all to pay.

5)   BY MAIL. We can also carry out repairs by mail. Even then, the estimates are free, but the cost of carriage both ways is your responsibility.

 

 

So why is London Sound Different?

 

From the start, I have tried my best to carry out repairs to a high standard. Why? It is far better to do the work properly, than to try to evade responsibility for cutting corners and getting it wrong. Everyone would agree with that, but not everyone has the skills, integrity and self confidence!

 

I have to admit that, many years ago, in the early stages of my business, I lacked the required confidence, and only gave the usual 3 month guarantee. However, on the rare occasions when things went wrong within less than a year, I never felt able to charge. And yet as I became more experienced, breakdowns after the first few days became rare - and I found myself having discussions with regular customers about repairs carried out five, six seven or more years previously - with the equipment still OK!

A typical example of such a discussion occurred in 1980, as London Sound moved into its shop in Eastcote. I remember it well, as a man with me at the time, (the B.T. engineer fitting in a 'phone with our "old" number, which had provided some problems), had been deriding the idea of customers remaining loyal over a period of years. On the 'phone, a man said, "You repaired my Rogers Cadet III about 8 years ago. Don't worry, it's still OK, but I have a problem with another piece of hi-fi - - -" Not only had the Rogers remained in good working order for 8 years, but so had my reputation! Amazingly, another owner of a Rogers Cadet III telephoned me with an almost exact copy of the first message, in 1990, when we moved to the present shop!

So firstly, why do breakdowns occur within days? Sometimes what we jokingly call a "faulty customer" - a failure to use the equipment correctly! But sometimes it is genuine - and then, whether after days, months, or even a year, if I am wrong, I always prefer to put things right, rather than argue. As, I would hope, but rarely find, should anyone else.

So what triggered the decision to give a written twelve month repair guarantee? It was those discussions with past customers, with tales of equipment which I repaired lasting for such long periods after the work was done! I simply decided to claim credit for what I was doing anyway!

 

 

EMAIL:-

londonsound@msn.com

(Emails are free)

 

Or

 

TELEPHONE:-       020.8868.9222

 

 

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