JOHN TOWNROW

CLASSIC AND VINTAGE HI-FI EQUIPMENT

103 Grove Lane, Harborne, Birmingham B17 0QT----- 0121 427 4740

Tuesday - Friday 10.30 - 6.00 Saturday 10.30 - 5.00

COVID UPDATE. We are available generally during our normal business hours but we are operating an appontments system so please call or email before making a visit.

 

ABOUT US

We deal only in second hand equipment. It is mostly classic and vintage. Some we sell on our own behalf. Some we sell on commission. Some is refurbished to new or nearly new condition.

We see many items which have been purchased on internet sites which have turned out to be defective. Everything we sell may be purchased with the confidence that it is as it should be.

(This page is under construction. Additions are imminent.)

LISTINGS

The items listed below give an idea of the kinds of things we offer/sell and typical prices but it is not an exhaustive list and might not be fully up to date so please make contact to find the current situation

GENERAL

 

AVI ADM9 (pair). USB model cherry. £445.(sold)

AVI ADM9.1 (pair). Piano black. Good condition £600 (sold)

AVI 2000 series pre-amp (line level, no phono) + pair of power amplifiers. £750.

AVI ADM9.1 Piano black with gloss black Apollo stands. £695(sold)

AVI ADM9.1 Red Spot. Piano black. Very good condition £650 + £100 for stands.(sold)

SPENDOR BC1 various. P.O.A. but generally £950 - £1200 including "C" stands.12 months guarantee.

QUAD 33/303 sets. Fully serviced by Quad, complete, 12 months guarantee from £875.

QUAD AND SPENDOR

We try to have permanently available Quad 33/303 sets and Spendor BC1s. Currently we have good stocks of both. This is particularly useful as Quad service turn round is close to 3 months at present.

We don't list them here but we usually have available low cost amplifiers, CD players, cassette decks,loudspeakers and record players for building useful systems on a modest budget. Please ask.

ADM9s. All ADM9s and DM10s are very good performers when working correctly as any we sell would be. They represent some very good design and engineering but it must be understood that repair support is almost entirely unavailable. We can repair damaged bass drive units but that's about it. We would not offer a 12 month guarantee on any we sell. Second hand ones are usually between £450 and around £900 depending on the exact version of which there are several (including the DM10) going back 15 years. They can't be used without the remote control. In the event of failure the owner is left without both amplifier and speakers. Happily AVI actives are generally reliable. Failure other than from abuse is rare.

SPECIALITIES

QUAD II Power Amplifier

QUAD II valve power amplifiers (pair). Rebuilt with new resistors and capacitors. Fully stripped down and paintwork refinished to new. Phono sockets replacing the Jones sockets (but the latter supplied loose for subsequent refitting). All new valves. Fully guaranteed. Supplied in dedicated Quad boxes. From £1695.

QUAD 33/303 Pre/power amplifier set. Iconic products which are very useful. Fully serviced and guaranteed. Supplied in Quad boxes. From £875.

QUAD 44
Pre-amplifier. Extremely verstile. Fully serviced and guaranteed. Supplied in Quad box. From £495.

Please note that our refurbished Quad products have little in common with those readily available second hand on the internet and elsewhere. See below.

SPENDOR BC1 loudspeakers (pair). These ground breaking loudspeakers are "something else". Our BC1s are special in that they have the correct drive units; serviced as necessary; function correctly; have cabinets restored to new or near new condition; new grills and grill padding where necessary; guaranteed. £995 True original "C" stands with castors and spikes £195. New "C" stands with castors and spikes £195.

WHY QUAD 303? Because it is a very good amplifier as well as a design icon and has first class service back up facilities.
WHY OUR QUAD 303s? These amplifiers will provide the performance of which they are capable only if in a good state of service. Nearly all amplifiers offered for sale have not been serviced for many years. Even if working they are not giving of their best. We regard a service by Quad as absolutely essential and this costs around £180. All our 303s have had this work done before sale. The work involves routine replacement of components which are vulnerable to ageing and precision alignment of the circuitry.
Most second hand 303s are incomplete. They lack some or all of the vital connection accessories, instructions and Quad cartons. Not so ours. Ours are guaranteed for 12 months.
These issues justify the higher price of our 303s as compared with the usual second hand examples
WHY QUAD 33? Because it is a very cost effective pre-amplifier to partner with the 303. Results and versatility are good. Some care needs to go into phono cartridge selection. Line level inputs are fine.
WHY OUR QUAD 33s? Because they have been serviced and come complete with necessary accessories, instructions and Quad cartons. Ours are guaranteed for 12 months.
WHY QUAD 44? An improvement on the 33 with its huge versatility. It has five interchangeable input modules and three different output levels making it a good match for both 303 and Quad IIs.
WHY OUR QUAD 44s? As with the 33 ours have been serviced and come complete with necessary accessories, instructions and Quad cartons. Ours are guaranteed for 12 months.
WHY SPENDOR BC1s? When the BC1 was introduced in the early 1970s it was a huge step forward in moving coil loudspeaker design. The work was done by Spencer Hughes and the BBC research department. For the first time a moving coil system was challenging the supremacy of the Quad Electrostatic in the area of accurate realistic sound reproduction. With small changes the BC1 remained in production until the mid 1980s. There has been no significant progress in passive loudspeaker design since the BC1. Consequently the BC1 is just as useful today as it ever was and at lower cost than any new loudpeaker that comes anywhere near the BC1 in performance. It is a design icon and an important part of our audio engineering history. It looks rather nice, especially on its dedicated "C" stand. At 25" x 12" x 12" (64cm. x 30cm. x 30cm.) it is large enough to work properly and yet has a footprint of only 12" x 12" (30cm. x 30cm.) on its stand. This is hardly more than that of a bookshelf loudspeaker when on a floor stand.
WHY OUR BC1s? Most BC1s offered for sale are deficient or defective in one or more and sometimes all of the following respects: damaged or degraded cabinets; missing labels; damaged grills; disintegrated grill padding foam; unauthorized modifications; incorrect drive units; drive units faulty; cartons absent; original instructions absent etc. Our BC1s do not have any of these problems (except, perhaps, absent cartons). They are refinished, restored and serviced as necessary. They are guaranteed for 12 months.
The above image is from the front cover of early Spendor sales literature for the BC1. The classic "C" stand is shown. Most production stands had black castors. We now supply spikes as well. These may be easily substituted for the castors.


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