Why didn’t you repair my equipment?

This is a question we’re rarely asked, and the answer depends on other questions, like:

1. Did the budget allow for the complete/recommended repair?
2. Were the faults/equipment viable to repair?
3. Were any intermittent faults involved?
4. Was additional work beyond the initial scope of work needed?

Technical Stuff

Taking an older piece of hi-fi equipment for perhaps the first proper attention it has ever received doesn’t mean all of its issues will be resolved on the first visit, or for a small cost. Yes, we often achieve amazing results on first visits and frequently DO resolve every issue, but we’re also known for working on complex equipment with complex faults. Equipment we see has often been deemed unrepairable by others, and all of the issues with a piece may not be solvable or even appear on a first visit.

This classic Technics SE-A100 power amplifier that had visited almost every repairer in Perth before we fixed it is the perfect example:

We fix most equipment where repairing it properly is viable and agreed to by the customer. This is important because much of it:

• Is complex, older equipment with complex faults
• Has visited others who could not effect repair
• Has been damaged by those previous repair attempts
• Requires component-level fault-tracing and diagnosis
• Is fragile and contains parts that can disintegrate the first time someone touches them!

You’ve got to keep in mind that if these sorts of repairs were easy, there would be no need or demand for our services, yet we are almost always fully booked, have a perfect 5-star review record and receive enquiries from around the world specifically about complex repairs to older equipment!

Join the dots, and you’ll understand that if we haven’t repaired something, there will be a good reason for it. Equipment owners are always carefully briefed. Whether they like or understand the answer is, of course, beyond our control, but in 99% of cases, they understand and are thankful to have received such a high standard of service.

Viability

There are many circumstances where repairs aren’t viable, typically when repair costs are likely to exceed the equipment’s value or the customer’s budget, usually with very affordable equipment and equipment in poor condition. Parts and labour can quickly drive costs beyond what a good, working example of a piece is worth. Intermittent faults can contribute to this by chewing up diagnostic time.

We consider the make and model, condition, faults and the remedial work likely needed to properly repair a piece of equipment when making the viability call. Examples of non-viable situations include where:

• A customer does not want to have their equipment properly repaired
• A customer does not have the budget to have their equipment properly repaired
• Critical parts and/or substitutes necessary for repair are no longer available
• A repair is unlikely to be reliable due to equipment condition, wear, aging, etc.
• Equipment is in very poor condition, dirty or damaged

People are sometimes disappointed to learn that their equipment may not be viable to repair. Whatever the circumstance, it’s vitally important to understand that:

We are not responsible for the condition, faults, fragility or repair viability of equipment presented to us. We will always do our best to help, but these things are beyond our control.

Example

I was contacted by the owner of an old Philips amplifier, in very poor condition, with various issues. The owner had emptied a can of WD-40 into it; it was modified, damaged, filthy and was brought to me as a basket case. The owner seemed to understand that he was lucky I was willing to look at his amplifiers, though I learned later that assumption was wrong.

After working through the issues, I concluded that further work was not viable due to the poor condition and additional problems with the piece, none of which were my fault, of course. Despite charging our minimum, I was ‘blamed’ for not fixing the amplifier, as though I’d somehow done something wrong by simply being the messenger!

This was a classic double whammy of an unreasonable customer and a hospital handpass, as we call it here in Australia. I should not have accepted the job, but I wanted to help the customer. We move on.