Many aspects of our approach make us different from other outwardly similar businesses.

The short answer:

Liquid Audio is a specialist small business, preserving classic hi-fi stereo equipment, in an industry with many unskilled ‘recappers’, shotgun parts replacers and few genuinely respected technicians. For perspective, people around the world regularly express how much they appreciate our approach and wish we were nearer. This is what I aimed for when starting this business, and it summarises my answer to this FAQ.

Those interested in the longer form answer, allow me to elaborate.

Reputation

I’m honoured to assist customers from WA, Australia, and beyond, proud to have the hi-fi community’s respect, and thrilled to be entrusted with so much beautiful equipment. Some of Perth’s best hi-fi retailers recommend/use Liquid Audio, and we’ve been offered several service partnerships for prestige brands. I’ve declined these so far. *

Liquid Audio is widely respected for what we do: attention to detail, professionalism, consumer advocacy and contributions to the hi-fi community. A reputation like this can’t just be ‘crafted’ though; it must be earned, something we’ve also done, with hard work, original thinking and dedication to excellence for over 15 years. 

We are respected as much for what we don’t do, too. Our consumer advocacy outing terrible workmanship has saved many. NOT accumulating terrible reviews, court cases, multiple business name changes, a long list of destroyed equipment, not screaming at customers, stealing content, spewing nonsense, not replacing everything because we can’t fix faults, not taking every job we are asked to do or being barely literate certainly helps Liquid Audio stand out. Harsh? Sadly, not.

Authenticity & Originality

It will not surprise some that our approach is frequently emulated. I’ve spotted my designs/words/repairs/style in many places over the years, sometimes directly lifted from my site. Some of the most egregious copying happens locally, and you’ve likely seen various examples without realising it. 

Designing and maintaining a large website, doing all the technical work, taking the photographs, writing what now amounts to over 650,000 words and handling the admin —basically, creating and doing everything yourself —is, without a doubt, hard. BUT, it creates a unique authenticity that can’t be copied. That’s the beauty of this focused, self-driven approach. **

Integrity

As a youngster, I longed for a hi-fi repair business/technical and hi-fi specialist with a passionate owner who really knew his stuff and who cared and could talk about proper hi-fi gear, but there weren’t any. So, fuelled by my passion for hi-fi, electronics, all things technical and my unhealthy obsession with detail, I set about creating that specialist small business.

Fast-forward 15 years, and I’m still amazed to be almost constantly overflowing with local and interstate work, with no advertising or fake ‘reviews’. Our high customer engagement and loyalty demonstrate that people appreciate what we’re doing and that it isn’t easy to find. This site was visited nearly 400,000 times in 2024 alone, and we have over five million combined views, great numbers even for a large business!

Perhaps most importantly, though, you’ll never find me ranting at customers or arguing with people online. Nothing is farmed out, as at least one notorious Perth repairer does. Everything here is created and completed by me, the old-fashioned way: with care, hard work and attention to detail. THANK YOU to all those who get it! But we don’t please everyone, of course.

Best Practice

• Our mantra: create, inform, add value, never harm
• We are dedicated to technical excellence
• We inspect equipment rather than guess its condition/faults
• We advise when equipment is damaged or not viable to repair
• We recycle dead hi-fi equipment to be enjoyed again by others
• We champion integrity, professionalism, quality and value
• We care only for hi-fi stereo equipment – no toasters, mixers, VCRs
• We have fixed rates for Akai and Accuphase to Kenwood and Krell
• We specialise in component-level circuit board repair and fixing faults
• We advocate for improved industry standards and outing poor businesses
• We build long-term relationships with customers, distributors and manufacturers
• We created a unique, free 650,000+ word, 650+ article and video resource
• This business is powered by a lifetime immersed in science, audio, music, etc

Businesses championing professionalism and quality over making a quick buck are sadly rare these days. Folks looking for a ‘cut-price, cut corners’ approach won’t find it here, though such businesses exist, delivering predictable results: blind ‘quotes’, shortcuts, poor workmanship, ‘Swell-Long’ capacitors, devalued or destroyed equipment, terrible reviews and even court cases. 

We take our goal of quietly preserving hi-fi equipment and bringing enjoyment to its owners seriously. We work to the highest standards, adding value to cherished equipment and delivering the best results for customers who care about the details as we do. If our approach resonates with you, don’t hesitate to get in touch.