Pacific Stereo History

I can't seem to get rid of this strange "Pacific Stereo" bug I've got so...I went on a hunt and located, bought and fully restored the following:
Reference: 450R by Quadraflex (45W x 2)
Reference: 610T by Quadraflex (semi-auto tt)
Reference: 210EQ by Quadraflex (20 band eq)
These black-face units are very nice looking as a system and the quality is mid-fi for sure. The strange part is I never experienced these before because they were not yet available when I worked for Pacific Stereo.
I guess the only thing left to do (unless I snap out of it) is look for some Quadraflex speakers...hmmm, then again, maybe not. Cheers!~
 
I bought my first 'real' stereo at the pacific stereo in San Mateo.
A pioneer sx650and a pioneer pl514. Along with some unknown speakers.
It was my first item bought on credit.
Quite a leap for a teenager.
 
I bought my first 'real' stereo at the pacific stereo

Same here, Pacific Stereo in Covina, CA. Marantz 2245, Thorens TD160, and Bose 601's. The Bose were soon replaced by a pair of Rectilinear Lowboy's. Spent a ton of time at that store. Had a lot of choice back then, Pacific Stereo, Circuit City, Rogers Sound Labs, to name but a few.
 
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Just found this thread and thought I'd add my memory of Pacific Stereo.

Shortly after I moved in with my girlfriend in 1976, our apartment was burglarized. We were pretty much wiped out, not that we had much - the burglar even took our pillowcases! Among the lost items was my low end Lloyds combo receiver/8 track/turntable/speaker unit.

Fortunately, we had renter's insurance so we headed to Pacific Stereo in Berkeley. We were looking at a low-end Marantz receiver when the salesman steered us to the Concept brand. He was up front aboutvits house brand status but also showed us component and performance specs for the similarly priced Concept model that were far superior to the Marantz. The solid brushed aluminum faceplate sold the deal; we left the store with a Concept 3.5 receiver, 2 Quadraflex ST-19 speakers and a low end, but decent, Marantz semiauto turntable. Man, that was a MAJOR upgrade from the Lloyds!!

But, that's not quite the end of this story. Pacific Stereo was running a Raiders Football sweepstakes with winners drawn from each store's customers. About 2 weeks after our purchase, my girlfriend received a call from the Berkeley store manager. She'd won two tickets to a Raiders game at the Oakland Coliseum. We happily headed to the game the next Sunday on BART with a thermos of hot buttered rum and found our seats on the 40 yard line. The Raiders won, we returned home with a carfull of jubilant fans and so began a 42 year relationship with my girlfriend and wife that's still going strong!

Clearly, Pacific Stereo played a significant role in my life. Thanks, PS, for the memories!
 
Just found this thread and thought I'd add my memory of Pacific Stereo.

Shortly after I moved in with my girlfriend in 1976, our apartment was burglarized. We were pretty much wiped out, not that we had much - the burglar even took our pillowcases! Among the lost items was my low end Lloyds combo receiver/8 track/turntable/speaker unit.

Fortunately, we had renter's insurance so we headed to Pacific Stereo in Berkeley. We were looking at a low-end Marantz receiver when the salesman steered us to the Concept brand. He was up front aboutvits house brand status but also showed us component and performance specs for the similarly priced Concept model that were far superior to the Marantz. The solid brushed aluminum faceplate sold the deal; we left the store with a Concept 3.5 receiver, 2 Quadraflex ST-19 speakers and a low end, but decent, Marantz semiauto turntable. Man, that was a MAJOR upgrade from the Lloyds!!

But, that's not quite the end of this story. Pacific Stereo was running a Raiders Football sweepstakes with winners drawn from each store's customers. About 2 weeks after our purchase, my girlfriend received a call from the Berkeley store manager. She'd won two tickets to a Raiders game at the Oakland Coliseum. We happily headed to the game the next Sunday on BART with a thermos of hot buttered rum and found our seats on the 40 yard line. The Raiders won, we returned home with a carfull of jubilant fans and so began a 42 year relationship with my girlfriend and wife that's still going strong!

Clearly, Pacific Stereo played a significant role in my life. Thanks, PS, for the memories!
Great Story especially the 42 year part. Good stuff, the TT, the Concept... the speakers ST=19s, compared to what else was in the store... say a couple of standard Advents... the ST-19s, they were okay and played loud plus salesmen loved them, easy sell and the margin was high. You did good, after the Lloyds it must have been hi fi stereo heaven.
 
Just found this thread and thought I'd add my memory of Pacific Stereo.

Shortly after I moved in with my girlfriend in 1976, our apartment was burglarized. We were pretty much wiped out, not that we had much - the burglar even took our pillowcases! Among the lost items was my low end Lloyds combo receiver/8 track/turntable/speaker unit.

Fortunately, we had renter's insurance so we headed to Pacific Stereo in Berkeley. We were looking at a low-end Marantz receiver when the salesman steered us to the Concept brand. He was up front aboutvits house brand status but also showed us component and performance specs for the similarly priced Concept model that were far superior to the Marantz. The solid brushed aluminum faceplate sold the deal; we left the store with a Concept 3.5 receiver, 2 Quadraflex ST-19 speakers and a low end, but decent, Marantz semiauto turntable. Man, that was a MAJOR upgrade from the Lloyds!!

But, that's not quite the end of this story. Pacific Stereo was running a Raiders Football sweepstakes with winners drawn from each store's customers. About 2 weeks after our purchase, my girlfriend received a call from the Berkeley store manager. She'd won two tickets to a Raiders game at the Oakland Coliseum. We happily headed to the game the next Sunday on BART with a thermos of hot buttered rum and found our seats on the 40 yard line. The Raiders won, we returned home with a carfull of jubilant fans and so began a 42 year relationship with my girlfriend and wife that's still going strong!

Clearly, Pacific Stereo played a significant role in my life. Thanks, PS, for the memories!

Wonderful story! I've ridden BART many times to the Mausoleum for A's games. Night games were cold.
 
There is a guy in Fremont California that reopened a Pacific Stereo store that had been sitting empty back in 1991 and it’s still open. Looks the same inside....
 
There is a guy in Fremont California that reopened a Pacific Stereo store that had been sitting empty back in 1991 and it’s still open. Looks the same inside....

He does Automotive stereo, not home audio. :)

I realize this thread is on P.S., while I was to young to shop at Pacific in the 70/80's, I did recently pick up a set of JBL L-19A's with Pacific Stereo stickers on the inside of the cabinets and crossovers. Not something you find everyday.

IMG_5626.JPG

IMG_5630.JPG

I'm in the process of rebuilding the crossovers, the new caps/inductors should be in this week. If so, ill snap a few pix of the stickers when I have them opened up again. :)
 
I bought my Quadraflex system brand new in September 1976 at the Pacific Stereo store in Bellflower, Ca. I had just turned 18 and this was my first purchase on credit.
The items included a 979 receiver, a pair of ST19 speakers, and a Marantz 6300 turntable. All of which I still listen to today (42 years later).
About 25 years ago, I replaced the woofers because the foam surrounds rotted out. I installed some (very heavy) Radio Shack woofers which turned out to be of far better quality than the originals. The ST19 speakers I bought were in-store floor samples and I was told they had upgraded tweeters and mid range speakers - which are still in place today.
20 years or so ago, I added a Radio Shack equalizer to the system. This made for a huge sound improvement.
This is still the best sounding home stereo I have ever heard. ...Or maybe I don't get out enough.
 

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Would always frequent the PS in North Hollywood. Don’t recall ever buying anything but liked to look and listen.
 
Great thread! Great memories! I worked for Pacific Stereo in their service departments for years. Started in the Seattle region, worked in just about every store including the big one in the University district (I think there was a Peaches Records next to it). Transferred to the bay area where I was with them in Emeryville up until their demise after Burke Mathis got a hold of the company. The thing that really set them apart from the other retailers was that we had a service department in every store, with top-notch equipment and a huge warehouse of parts. I still use the bench and equipment I got from the company which bought the parts/service inventory after they folded (White Glove electronics). Pacific was an unbelievable experience back in the day. Crazy people, crazy times, lots of parties, many destroyed brain cells.
 
I bought my Quadraflex system brand new in September 1976 at the Pacific Stereo store in Bellflower, Ca. I had just turned 18 and this was my first purchase on credit.
The items included a 979 receiver, a pair of ST19 speakers, and a Marantz 6300 turntable. All of which I still listen to today (42 years later).
About 25 years ago, I replaced the woofers because the foam surrounds rotted out. I installed some (very heavy) Radio Shack woofers which turned out to be of far better quality than the originals. The ST19 speakers I bought were in-store floor samples and I was told they had upgraded tweeters and mid range speakers - which are still in place today.
20 years or so ago, I added a Radio Shack equalizer to the system. This made for a huge sound improvement.
This is still the best sounding home stereo I have ever heard. ...Or maybe I don't get out enough.
I had a friend that had those around 79 or 80. I remember preferring my Heathkits over them. They sure were cool looking.
 
Great thread! Great memories! I worked for Pacific Stereo in their service departments for years. Started in the Seattle region, worked in just about every store including the big one in the University district (I think there was a Peaches Records next to it). Transferred to the bay area where I was with them in Emeryville up until their demise after Burke Mathis got a hold of the company. The thing that really set them apart from the other retailers was that we had a service department in every store, with top-notch equipment and a huge warehouse of parts. I still use the bench and equipment I got from the company which bought the parts/service inventory after they folded (White Glove electronics). Pacific was an unbelievable experience back in the day. Crazy people, crazy times, lots of parties, many destroyed brain cells.
I agree that the service department emphasis was a key differentiator in those days ... of course I may be biased as that's the role I spent most of my PS years in. I still favor some of the same test gear on my home bench as we used in the service departments (e.g., HP 339A, ST FM1000a, etc.). Tom Anderson was wise, at the time, to let Jerry Phillip maintain a focus on service for so many years. I still wonder what happened to the Faraday cage we had for tuner design/diagnostics.
 
I spent a LOT of time in Pacific Stereo looking at all the gear. The store in Santa Monica was one of the first stores I frequented. I also remember being in the Torrance store as that is where I bought my TC-K75 deck. I traded in my TC-K65 deck when the K75 came out with the solenoid transport. I miss the liquid crystal display of the k65. Unfortunately I've lost all my receipts for my gear, but most was bought at PS. I know my Column II's came from the Santa Rosa store as I bought them when I was living in Mendocino County. I know I bought my Pioneer tuner, amp and RT-707 there too but I can't remember which store. I do remember pouring over the brochures I'd picked up, trying to educate myself about the specs.
I also remember a vineyard being put in, brand new, with lots of grading being done before the rows were established, and someone said it was owned by the former owner of PS who'd sold out to CBS and made a fortune. It was an impressive place as I'd been working on a vineyard at the time and could appreciate the amount of work that went into the prep of the land before they planted the vines.
 
I spent a LOT of time in Pacific Stereo looking at all the gear. The store in Santa Monica was one of the first stores I frequented. I also remember being in the Torrance store as that is where I bought my TC-K75 deck. I traded in my TC-K65 deck when the K75 came out with the solenoid transport. I miss the liquid crystal display of the k65. Unfortunately I've lost all my receipts for my gear, but most was bought at PS. I know my Column II's came from the Santa Rosa store as I bought them when I was living in Mendocino County. I know I bought my Pioneer tuner, amp and RT-707 there too but I can't remember which store. I do remember pouring over the brochures I'd picked up, trying to educate myself about the specs.
I also remember a vineyard being put in, brand new, with lots of grading being done before the rows were established, and someone said it was owned by the former owner of PS who'd sold out to CBS and made a fortune. It was an impressive place as I'd been working on a vineyard at the time and could appreciate the amount of work that went into the prep of the land before they planted the vines.
The vineyard and tasting room you remember is that of Navarro Vineyards, owned by Ted Bennett, who was the marketing power behind Pacific Stereo's growth. He's doing very well and I always look forward to seeing him, either in Philo or at an occasional lunch here in the SF Bay Area. Here's a link to Ted's operation ... I highly recommend a visit if you're in the area: https://www.navarrowine.com/main.php.
 
The vineyard and tasting room you remember is that of Navarro Vineyards, owned by Ted Bennett, who was the marketing power behind Pacific Stereo's growth. He's doing very well and I always look forward to seeing him, either in Philo or at an occasional lunch here in the SF Bay Area. Here's a link to Ted's operation ... I highly recommend a visit if you're in the area: https://www.navarrowine.com/main.php.

Yup, that's the place. I worked at a place up the hill from there up on the ridge.
Philo, haven't seen that name for a long time. Used to love driving from there to Cloverdale as fast as I could when there wasn't any traffic. Ah to be young and foolish again....
 
I had a couple of those too, but for about double the amount on yours. Sure wish my wife hadn't tossed them out. When we got married I had all the original boxes for all my gear too. Then life happened.:(
That is actually my brother's receipt. I ended up with a few pieces when he got rid of it. When I bought my Sansui setup, I bought most of it from Lombard's in Sacramento, and the rest from Sun Stereo in Modesto (across the street from Pacific). Back in those days there was a stereo shop on almost every corner.
 
My brother bought the first High end stereo I ever heard from Pacific Stereo in 1977.It was on Garden Grove ave in Garden Grove California.All Marantz Components.I never really knew what good music was.
 
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