Quad 63s or 2805s?

[Lawrence001]

One of them is faulty. The dustcover membrane on the front of one is torn, and its top mounting strip is loose. I played some music with a double bass and it started farting! Only double bass, not drums, or even some electronic dance music, just double bass. Of course I didn't play any of that when I listened to them at the vendor's house, so it didn't show up. Now there will be the fun of trying to sort it, probably myself, as it is a long way to Quad or OTA.
I have found out how to remove the covers, at least, but the screws have been butchered, and on the back of one, four out of five are missing, plus there are three types of screw used. The vendor claimed these had recently been serviced by OTA!

Have you contacted the seller via eBay messaging? If he has any decency he will get this sorted for you. If you paid by PayPal he'll have no choice.

[awkwardbydesign]

i do like the rich, yea olde colours and style of the room. it reminds me of better times.. must be nice place to sit

The hall is even more olde.

[struth]

Very nice. I like those styles and colours in right house

[awkwardbydesign]

Hi Richard,

I'm sorry to hear about your woes. I have recently had a similar experience with my purchase of some 63's. (Although not the sellers fault at all in my case I suspect). Listened to them at the sellers house and they were fine. He was a lovely guy who could not have been more courteous and even if the problem was already with the speakers he did not know about it. Got them home, farting from a bass panel on low bass notes.

As mentioned, my situation differs from yours in that it sounds like yours had issues before you bought them judging from the missing screws etc (I don't think OTA would leave them like that).

Is it the actual panel that is torn or just the dust cover/membrane working loose? I believe it is the latter in mine and is apparently not the most difficult fix in the world. (This info from my seller who has actually very kindly offered to help me sort them when we have the time). It basically involves removing the socks and gently heating the dust cover until it re-seats itself (or something similar to that explanation).

The diagnosis of it being the dust membrane rather than the panel/diaphragm is only from what I've read, it sounds like an audible buzz/fart from a specific area near where the bass meets the treble panel.

Even though I've owned quite a few I've never actually been inside a pair of Quads, I might be biting the bullet soon though.

As I've mentioned before though, unfortunately this is one major caveat of ownership as they are delicate. However when properly setup, working and looked after they can run problem free for years even decades.

They are worth getting right.

Of course there is always OTA and Quad repair route to go but as I know for-well this is galling having just spent money for what you assumed were a fully working serviced pair.

Best of luck.

Chris

I've had them apart (not hard, but getting the side strips back on can be, they are very tight) and replacing the dust cover should be easy enough. I think it is too stretched to re-use, and the top fixing strip isn't seated. I need to test it without the damaged dust cover to tell if that is the only fault. OTA say they did service these two months ago, and replaced the bass panels, but are both of these speakers the same ones? I've written to the seller, and I'll see what he says.

[awkwardbydesign]

Have you contacted the seller via eBay messaging? If he has any decency he will get this sorted for you. If you paid by PayPal he'll have no choice.

I paid by bank transfer, which is reasonable, as ebay won't protect the seller unless the item is delivered by courier to the buyer's registered address. I did contact him, with details and photos, and he said they worked fine at his house. But I have now put the info into ebay's system for further action if needed. If it's just the dust cover I won't bother, but if it's expensive I will. First thing is to refix the mounting strip and then use a hairdryer to tighten the membrane. If that works, it's job done.

[mikeyb]

If it's been serviced and they've left screws out that's a pretty poor job, can't believe they don't keep a note of serial numbers either, sloppy. How the heck do they know it's one they've worked on if it has to go back to them if a fault is found after a service ?

My thoughts are that perhaps there been a swap somewhere, but then again I trust no one.

[awkwardbydesign]

I did ask the seller if he had two pairs, and could there have been an inadvertent swap. He said no, only one pair which came back from OTA and were then put on sale. To be honest, I would doubt a swap occurred*, or even that he fiddled with them. So it would seem that OTA are responsible. I have messaged him again, as I suspect he thinks I am trying to scam him, but I said if it is a reasonably cheap fix, ie. dust cover repair or replacement, I am happy to do that myself. But if it is masking deeper problems I will be back! All this is via ebay, so I have it all on record just in case. At the moment I am still waiting for Quad to reply to my email about a new dust cover.
And my wife says she likes the look of them, now she has had a couple of days to get used to them.
* Consecutive serial numbers.

[Lawrence001]

Something doesn't feel quite right here as I thought OTA were highly respected. Hard to say what the truth is though with the information you have.

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

[Mike Reed]

Strange situation, but surely ANY company servicing goods must keep a record. Besides, where's the invoice and service doc's. One doesn't have this kind of work done and not keep the paperwork, esp. if there's a chance of selling them on. Baffling!

[JohnG]

I have had many conversations with OTA about refurbished 57 models.
If they have carried out works and not supplied the parts only, they can offer valuable info on the works carried out.
There are many private jobs on the market with OTA parts referring to the items as OTA rebuilds.
A play of words to 'Caveat Empor'