That depends on the circumstances associated with your piece of equipment, but there will always be good reason/s that I will carefully explain.

We focus on complex, no longer supported and often ‘unrepairable’ hi-fi equipment and fix almost all of it. This is important because:

• Much of it is complex, older equipment, sometimes lacking any available service data
• Much of it has visited others who could not effect repair
• It requires a technically-focussed component-level approach many cannot offer

Think of it this way: if these sorts of repairs were easy, there’d be no demand for our services, yet we are almost always fully booked, without advertising, and are known for fixing the really hard jobs that others often cannot.

There will be circumstances where repairs aren’t viable or possible within sensible bounds, though. There are also intermittent faults that may be challenging to isolate and resolve. These considerations are part of the challenges and rewards of working with complex electronic equipment.

Viability

In cases where repair costs are likely to exceed equipment value or customer budget, we may deem the work non-viable. We consider the condition, faults, value and work needed to properly repair a piece of equipment and even the customer when making this call. Let’s look at some examples:

• A customer doesn’t want or cannot afford to have the equipment properly repaired
• Critical parts and/or substitutes are no longer available
• A repair is unlikely to be viable or reliable for technical reasons
• A repair is not worth pursuing due to equipment condition, value, or customer issues

It’s important to understand that we are not responsible for equipment condition, faults, customer budget, parts or manufacturer support availability, or repair viability. These elements are beyond our control and are no more our responsibility than they are anyone else’s.

Example

I was contacted by the owner of an old amplifier, in poor condition, with various issues. The owner had emptied a can of WD-40 into it, it had been modified without documentation, tinkered with by several people, and was dirty, damaged and not well cared for. It was brought to us after everyone who shouldn’t have touched it had already.

After several hours of working through issues with the unit, I decided that further work was not viable due to the combination of issues, all of which were beyond our control, and the increasing amount of time that would be needed to resolve them, on a piece of equipment that was not worth much.

This doesn’t mean that amplifier, or another piece of equipment with a similar story, cannot be repaired, only that it cannot be economically repaired, given the issues, condition and type of equipment.

Despite doing my best to help this customer, explaining the issues and only charging our minimum, we were blamed for not fixing the amplifier, as though its problems were somehow my fault, with me being the last person to touch it! This was a valuable lesson about the importance of not trying to help everyone, and why I avoid equipment in poor condition.

Realistic Expectations

It’s like an 85-year-old visiting the doctor, wanting to be cured of arthritis. When the doctor examines the patient and determines that the required joint replacements and therapy are not viable or sensible, is that the doctor’s fault or responsibility? Should the doctor provide their time and expertise for free, simply because the patient doesn’t like the answer?! Of course not.

There are no miracles, but most equipment is viable to repair, especially if it’s in good condition.