Season’s greetings to my legendary customers, subscribers, friends and family!

Can you believe it’s Christmas again?! I don’t know where the time goes but welcome once again, to my 2024 recap. A massive thank you to all who’ve helped make 2024 another fantastic year and again my busiest yet. Here’s hoping the holiday period is a happy and healthy one for all.

As usual, Liquid Audio will close for Christmas and reopen later in January. If you have enquiries, it’s best to leave them until after I reopen.

Liquid Audio is closed from 22 December 2023 – 13 January 2025.

summer_holiday

Stats

I’m definitely at capacity and I think most realise that, with my ‘fully booked’ sign visible for most of 2024. Again, we saw huge site traffic with nearly 400K views in 2024. That said and as I’ve been predicting for years, things have finally levelled out in 2024, 14 years after creating the website!

My 2024 views are almost identical to those for 2023, with 373K at the time of writing. We will surpass the 2023 totsl by December 31 though, so that’s nice to know. Still, levelling out is quite normal and even if the number decline, that’s OK. As long as people are visiting and enjoying things, I’m happy.

2024 recap

We saw significant gains in engagement over previous years, with the number of article likes (41, up from 14), comments (381, up from 268) and subscribers (up to nearly 2,000 now) significantly increasing. Thank you to all who’ve commented, liked and subscribed, I truly appreciate it!

January 2024 was my biggest month ever with 42,725 views, a crazy number. My YouTube channel is still growing super-slowly, with my only ‘viral’ video about a shonky battery manufacturer going slightly nuts with around 30,000 views and hundreds of comments in 2024.

The most popular articles and pages on my site include those on the Quad 405Marantz Model 6300, Mission Cyrus One, Yamaha NS-1000, Technics Sl-120 and Sansui AU-919, Kenwood KD-500/550, plus the Hall of Shame of course. In graphical form, the top 10 in views for 2024 looked like this:

2024 recap

Views by country were similar to previous years and looked like this:

2024 recap

Thank you to all my viewers, especially those in non-native English-speaking countries. Wow!

Wins

Perhaps the most notable change in 2024 is that I wrote 26 articles this year compared to just 8 in 2023, a 3x improvement. I was delighted with that, considering I was even busier this year. I aim to continue that in 2025. There is no shortage of content!

I also significantly expanded existing FAQs, some of which have become my most popular content. My FAQs on old vs. new CD players and playing CDs in BluRay players, for example, have gone crazy in the last couple of years, so much so that I think I need to convert them into regular articles.

I made significant hosting and website changes in 2024. As usual, these were aimed at improving the visitor experience. I boosted my hosting plan and site speeds are now in the top percentile or two of sites in the entire world according to speed testing, an impressive result.

I also made some workshop changes, adding some additional shelving and tidying up, and I’ll make a few more during my summer shutdown.

liquid audio workshop
As always, there is too much here in the workshop including some completed equipment awaiting collection. I’ll be tidying up this and the inside workshop over the break. Wish me luck!

Most enjoyable for me of course was the wonder range of customer equipment I got to work on in 2024, a wide range of amplifiers, preamplifiers, cassette decks, CD players, and turntables, with the focus on amps and turntables, Accuphase, Krell, Sansui and a few others.

Also enjoyable is the continuing evolution of my hi-fi system. I’ve not yet gotten my L-07DII back on the bench, though I did work on/repair two other Kenwood L-07Ds this year. I’ve evolved my system with four pieces of Accuphase electronics and a new pair of B&W 803 Nautilus, complementing my NS-1000s. I’ve also added a stunning Fidelity Research FR-64S tonearm to my recently serviced Luxman PD-350, some new soft furnishings, etc.

IMG 2211 scaled
Since this photo was taken I’ve added my Pioneer CT-F1250 and Nakamichi 670ZX cassette decks.
Luxman PD-350
FR-64s
RS-141
My gorgeous Luxman (Micro) PD-350, Fidelity Research FR-64S tone arm and RS-141 headshell with SME silver wires, Ortofon MC-A90 moving coil cartridge and custom-made 1.2kg record clamp. This vinyl rig sounds extraordinarily good, even more so after a recent service. I’ve been playing a pink 180g reissue of The Church’s amazing album Seance. This is a fantastic pressing and my copy is dead flat.

Acquiring my Accuphase A-75 class A power amplifier was another highlight of 2024, as was commissioning two other beautiful Accuphase class A power amplifiers, an A-60 and an A-65 for one of my most ‘hi-fi addicted’ customers.

Accuphase A-75
My Accuphase A-75 effortlessly delivers many times its rated continuous output power with zero strain, sounding liquid-smooth. Probably can’t get to 1.21GW, but hey, no flux capacitor!

Challenges

Managing my time, energy and demand for bookings continues to be the biggest challenge. Being stricter in terms of bookings and filtering people who are more draining has significantly reduced interactions with those who perhaps have less consideration for boundaries, time etc than one would like.

I’ve also had a couple of non-payers this year, the first time in a while. This is inevitable as we get busier, but thankfully and most notably, the customer with the Mitsubishi DA-A10 and DA-P10 pre and power amplifiers I wrote about in November finally collected and paid for these beauties! This was a great result in the end and I’m sure he is enjoying them as we speak. I have just one outstanding invoice now and the value of items awaiting collection far outweighs it. Thanks to all who pay their bills on time!

Space is also a challenge for me in terms of how much customer equipment can be with me at any one time. Prompt collection is very important and this is why I have to severely limit interstate jobs for example. Larger boxed pieces like the Luxman M-6000 with me now take up a significant amount of space. I love working on them of course and that Luxman M-6000 is one of my next projects.

Giga-Thanks!

Thanks as always to the great Perth retailers and staff who support my work by referring customers and collaborating, especially Dan at Addicted To Audio, Pierre & Jim at the now sadly gone Revolution Turntable and Simon, Tony and Mark at Douglas Hifi. Thanks also to my legendary colleagues and ‘repair bros’ Jason @ The Speaker Doctor and John @ JW Electronics. These gentlemen also care about the details, so please support all of us. A special thanks to Jason for all his support over the years, it’s immensely appreciated.

I’d like to acknowledge those who’ve donated equipment they no longer want or need. We resurrect vintage hi-fi gear so that others might have an opportunity to enjoy it after a little TLC. Many thanks for supporting this endeavour and thank you to those who’ve purchased any of the equipment we’ve saved.

Lastly, and most importantly I’d like to acknowledge my customers, website visitors, advice seekers, subscribers and all who’ve supported me and my little mission to preserve and rejuvenate great hi-fi gear and educate people about it. Without all of you, my small business would not be possible.

To all who entrusted Liquid Audio with equipment inspection/service/repair/overhaul, purchased equipment, engaged me for advice, made a monthly donation, bought me beers, wine, CDs, records and tasty biscuits and to everyone who simply made the effort to say thanks for my efforts, a 1.21 ‘jigawatt’ THANK YOU for supporting Liquid Audio!

2024 Equipment Gallery

Now, I know this is everyone’s favourite section but I’ve already spent several hours on this and it’s Xmas Eve, so I hope you don’t mind if I do something slightly different this year. For the first time, I’ve chosen one piece of equipment that I’ve particularly enjoyed working on each month.

The rules are 1) It must be customer equipment and 2) we can only have one piece of equipment per month. This is difficult where I’ve worked on various incredible pieces in a month, as I did many times this year, but let’s try this and let me know in the comments what you think. Reducing the scale of this section helps me, especially at this busy time.

Let’s go!

Luxman M-10
What better way to start than in January, with this glorious Luxman M-10 power amplifier owned by a lovely customer and collector of high-end hi-fi gear. This amplifier is so shiny that the camera has a hard time capturing it. I very much enjoyed working on this beautiful amplifier.
Sansui BA-F1
For February we have another amplifier, and yes, I really enjoy working on amplifiers. This is a stunning Sansui BA-F1 power amplifier I restored in February and what a beautiful thing it is. I love Sansui, but you already know that!
TEAC VRDS-25
March brings us to this absolutely lovely TEAC/Esoteric VRDS-25 CD player. I love these things and you probably know that if you follow my work. If you need a nice CD player, you can do a lot worse than one of these.
Technics SL-1200G
April saw me work on this beautiful Technics SL-1200G for a long-term customer of mine and a true gentleman. I resolved several set-up issues with this highest version of the SL-1200. His Audio Note Kondo cartridge is now correctly set up, but this deck really needs a different/better-suited headshell. This work will follow, likely in 2025. This turntable is a classic example of how critically important knowledge advice and technical expertise are, and no fault of the owner.
Krell KSA-100
Wow, May now and what else can I say about this truly spectacular Krell KSA-100 I restored for her very happy owner. This beauty received all sorts of TLC and some technical attention that even had the factory Krell people talking and querying what they thought they knew about the correct set-up procedure for these venerable classics.
Linn Sondek LP-12
May’s runner-up is this wonderful old Linn Sondek LP12 I restored. This story was especially touching as the owner who had perhaps given up on this old deck literally wept when he saw it, rejuvenated as you see her here, with genuine new parts including a service kit, lid and hinges, oiled plinth, etc. Nothing makes me happier than a reaction like this, it is truly why I do this. That’s why I broke my rule and included a second entry for May. Sorry!
Accuphase P-800
OK, so May is a bust and I might as well mention 3rd place and the brute of the year, this behemoth, beautiful Accuphase P-800 power amplifier! This monster visited me for commissioning and service, prior to sale and what a stunning, monster power amplifier it is. There is nothing this beast cannot drive. My apologies, back to the rules…
Pioneer PL-50L
June saw one of my more satisfying jobs, the repair of this beautiful yet relatively modest Pioneer PL-50L direct drive turntable. This 100V gem had failed after reviving a 240V jolt. No fuses, no service data, but we were able to save her. Very satisfying.
Technics SE-A5
July saw the culmination of an epic repair of this beautiful Technics SE-A5 power amplifier. This thing had intermittently bugged her owner and me for too long and to say we were both happy when I finally nailed the repair is an understatement. Many thanks to her patient owner. I also replaced the problematic speaker terminals and solved various other issues with this wonderful classic.
Kenwood L-07D
I reckon the highlight of the year was August because I got to work on TWO legendary, ‘The Daddy’ Kenwood L-07D direct drive turntables, my favourite turntable of all time. I repaired the VTA mechanism on the tonearm and even repaired the boron HS-07D headshell, a huge win for one of my best customers and collectors of high-end vintage hi-fi gear. Manufacturers don’t make equipment like this any more, but we can still own it. Yes, I will write this one up in 2025, that’s a promise! until you see one of these beasts in the flesh, you simply cannot believe the carved-from-granite-and-metal vibe they have. They are so heavy, it’s incredible
Sansui AU-20000
September’s highlight was, without a doubt, this epic and incredible Sansui AU-20000, perhaps Sansui’s best integrated amplifier and certainly my favourite Sansui to work on. Will you just look at this beautiful thing? It was such a pleasure bringing this one back from the dead, especially as it had suffered in the hands of a recapper before she visited my workshop. Predictably, recapping didn’t fix any of the technical issues with this amplifier, but a technically informed approach thankfully did!
Yamaha B-3
One of my most hi-fi addicted/afflicted customers regularly brings me incredible pieces and did all year. These Yamaha B-3 VFET amplifiers came to me in October and will need no introduction to VFET aficionados. Each is a 100V VFET stereo power amplifier cable of the most sublime, organic sound you’re likely to hear this side of a Yamaha B-2, Perreaux PMF-5150B or class A Accuphase power amplifier. I post-purchase inspected and serviced these, making some worthwhile improvements to their performance. I could show you three or four other amazing amplifiers from this owner, but those articles will follow, in time.
Accuphase C-280V
November saw another piece of Accuphase, another end-game acquisition, this time an Accuphase C-280V preamplifier. This one was purchased by a long-term customer and came in for post-purchase inspection and service. Like the next piece, equipment of this calibre is both stunning and transformative. You have to see and hear equipment like this for yourself.
Accuphase A-65
Wow, and what better way to end the year than with this epic, stunning, Accuphase A-65 class A power amplifier that visited me for commissioning and service in December. The owner of this beauty acquired it after much harassment from me and I know he’s pleased he did. Amplifiers like this are transformational. They are also expensive, that’s the problem! The A-65 is similar to my A-75. There are no problems with the meters, the electronic shutter of my phone has captured a moment before the right meter has refreshed its display.
Sweet Toshi
Thanks for all the good vibes, sweet Toshi!

Merry Christmas!

As always, thank you for visiting and taking the time to peruse my little hi-fi repair blog from Perth, Western Australia. If you are still waiting for a job to be completed, rest assured, I’ll finish it soon, with love.

Don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any suggestions for improvement. Likewise, get in touch after we re-open if you’d like me to look at any of your hi-fi stereo equipment.

Here’s to a great 2025! Have a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and a relaxing holiday, you LEGENDS!


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