Quad II and Leak hifi help?

[BryonyJ]

Hi folks,

I wonder if any of you could offer me some advice. My dad died a couple of years ago, leaving a wall full of hifi and records. Among his kit are a pair of Quad II valve amps and a Quad 22 control unit. There's a Leak Trough Line II tuner, a Leak valve pre-amp, a Leak Varislope Stereo and a Leak Delta 70 amplifier. My mum and I really have no clue what to do with it all. Dad knew that it was very decent equipment, but I have no way of testing whether things work or not. I know he used some of the Leak equipment in recent years, but I have no idea when the Quads were last given an airing.

The equipment is in Cheshire with my mum, but I live in the Midlands and regularly go down to Bath - does anyone know of anyone or a company that would be able to test the equipment and/or refurbish it before we try to sell it that would be within reaching distance of anywhere between Cheshire and Bath (this is assuming I could lift it - it weighs a tonne!)? Dad's instructions were to sell it, but it's taken us 2 years just to get to a point where we're able to think about doing that.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Bryony

[dave walsh]

If you've not already seen the "Repair and Restoration Services Offered" section Bryony there may perhaps be some possibilities there! Hope that helps. I'm sure you will also get other advice/comment on the merits of selling with or without restoration from other more experienced Forum members.
Dave W

[paulsherwin]

The Quad stuff is worth quite a lot of money, even as found and unrestored. Presumably there is other equipment like record decks of a similar quality. If I were in your position I would sell everything unrestored, as high quality professional restoration is very expensive and potential buyers will have their own ideas about how it should be done.

Search eBay completed sales for an idea of what the items sell for on the open market.

Beware of people offering to 'take it off your hands' for little money.

[Nickthedentist]

Yes, sell it as-is on eBay, divided into sensible lots.

You need lots of good pictures and accurate (correctly-spelled) descriptions; you've done well in this respect in your posting above, many newbies don't! Be honest about its provenance; decent buyers will be glad of this.

As Paul says, let the auction run to its end as you might be surprised what some of the stuff (esp the Quads) achieves.

Good luck,

Nick.

As Paul says, let the auction run to its end

And do a 10 day one spanning two weekends.

[Sean Williams]

Lets not start discussing auction details here please.

Cheers
Sean

[Michael.N.]

There is a for sale section on this very forum. OK it may not be the best way of maximising a return but it has it's advantages, you aren't paying any middleman. It's usually done old style i.e. cash.
Anyway, another option for you to consider.

[Nickthedentist]

Very true, but you have to specify a definite price which may be hard to do unless you've done your homework first.

Nick.

[PJL]

Just a note that although it is probably not worth restoring before reselling, a continuity check of the transformers will help them achieve a good price.

[AC/HL]

Bryony is not technical, and won't understand this. Practical advice only please.

[paulsherwin]

Originally Posted by Michael.N.

There is a for sale section on this very forum. OK it may not be the best way of maximising a return but it has it's advantages, you aren't paying any middleman. It's usually done old style i.e. cash.
Anyway, another option for you to consider.

This forum isn't the best place to sell equipment of this type if you want to achieve a good price. Most members have an engineering background and don't have a lot of sympathy for the 'golden ears' people who claim to hear magical qualities in old hifi equipment (the pejorative term 'audiophool' is often used, a play on 'audiophile'). There is a lot of interest in this stuff in the Far East and the US, and you need to tap into this if you want to get the best price (which I'm sure is what your dad would have wanted).

[BryonyJ]

Thanks so much for all your replies. I've done my homework so I can see what the Quads (in particular) would be worth in various different states - it would be useful to ascertain whether they work or not, so I can make sure we're not taken for a ride, so I'll work on finding someone who can help me do that first (I'm not daft enough to just plug them in and switch them on!).

I'm a bit wary of ebay after a bad experience with an international buyer, but I know it's the best way of reaching a wide market. Having said that, I think it would be very difficult to send these amps anywhere because they're so heavy and (presumably) fragile.

I'll keep thinking! Many thanks again.

[Peter.N.]

You shouldn't have a problem selling on ebay providing you either receive the cash before parting with the goods or at the time if they are collected. It certainly will give you the widest market.

Peter

[mole42uk]

Hi Bryony, you have a PM

[Herald1360]

Originally Posted by BryonyJ

Having said that, I think it would be very difficult to send these amps anywhere because they're so heavy and (presumably) fragile.

It's not difficult but it is time consuming and you will need to double pack everything and preferably send the valves and amplifier in separate packages.

Wrap items well in bubble wrap or similar, place into tightly fitting triwall box, then repeat the process for the box so you end up with "box-padding-box-padding-item".

I've sent Quad II and QC2 out safely enough that way.

[Patrick Dixon]

I'd second the advice not to restore and if you are wary about dealing overseas, then specify a UK only sale and/or collection only.

Looking at the electrical items you've listed I think the pair of Quad II amps are the only item that's worth serious money - the others are worth less than £100 each (and could be worth much less). I imagine if he had what you've listed there's also a record deck (player) and some speakers too, and these could also be worth serious money (or not) depending on what they are and their condition.

The records are the biggest problem because to realise the best price you would have to catalogue and sell and pack and post each one individually. If you sell as a job lot you might get 1 or 2 pounds each. Ideally you'd get someone trustworthy to look through and tell you which are worth anything, and then sell the rest as a lot or give to a charity shop.

Anyway good luck

[dseymo1]

Have you considered keeping and enjoying the records and/or the equipment?

[robprof]

Hi Bryony,

I am an audio amplifier engineer in the Midlands (Kempsey) specializing in vintage audio restoration. If you still have your Quad IIs I will happily test them for you free of charge. This involves testing both sets of valves, transformers, chokes and resistors/capacitors.

Hope this helps!

robprof