Pacific's Reference 180R (Quadraflex) Repair/Restore, pics!

[Pacific Stereo]

Another Quadraflex saved from having to go to stereo heaven! Just got done with one of these little beauties. This one came in blown up and not working. A look inside revealed quite the meltdown.



Not only did this thing bias itself into patty-melt oblivion, but that transistor got so hot it melted the plastic insulating bushing where the screw goes. Never seen that before. The output stage also took the main bridge rectifier with it.

This unit had never been serviced and has obviously been out in the real world. It had the usual dust and dirt inside.



This customer did not want a complete overhaul and rebuild, but rather a repair and upgrades to keep reliability high. So this unit got a complete rebuild on the blown-up side and a partial rebuild on the not-blown-up side (replacement of the items that cause this, and a recap). The capacitors in this unit are most definitely past their time. Caps in the power amplifier stage and power supply were changed out for high-quality parts.



Here's the parts. Missing the main fuse, as that had already been taken out by the owner.



A little clean-up and she looks much better inside. The input electrolytics were changed to film parts (they're by the bias pots).




Testing revealed that there was no stereo in FM. Joy. Of course, the customer wouldn't have known that, since he couldn't play the unit! As FM repair was not part of the original estimate, this customer got a little free bonus. Now FM is in stereo.

Here's a look at her all lit up.



And of course, what would a Pacific thread be without the glamour shots?





All in all, a good-sounding little keeper, and very pretty. Back to making music she goes!

Photos copyright 2012 Pacific Stereo. No use for any purpose without written permission.

[Soul Music]

Great job, nice to see a good piece of vintage audio equipment brought back to life.

[Socal Sam]

Another obsessive restoration from P.S.!

How does the sound quality change from pre and post re-caps?

[ke4mcl]

those quadraflex units look ALOT like something nak would have built. i wonder if there was ever friction between the two design departments?

[Pacific Stereo]

Well, I have no reference (hah!), since I haven't heard a 180R since.. oh... 1982? And this was blown up, so it couldn't be listened to without repair. But in my experience, recaps always make a very big difference, usually in the punch and speed department. Clarity improves and bass almost always changes, and always for the better.