That depends on the particular circumstances associated with your piece of equipment.
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, generally deemed unrepairable
- Many pieces have visited others who could not effect repair and are often worse off for it
- It requires a technically-focussed component-level approach that many don’t or can’t 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. There will always be circumstances where repairs aren’t viable, or even possible within sensible bounds. There are intermittent faults that may be challenging to isolate and completely resolve. These considerations are part of working with older 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 overall repair viability. These elements are obviously beyond our control.
Example
I recently worked on an old amplifier, in poor condition, with various issues. The owner had emptied an entire can of WD-40 into it, it had been modified without documentation, messed with by various people, and was dirty, damaged and not well cared for. It was brought to us after everyone who shouldn’t have touched it, had.
Mike, why even bother looking at equipment like this?
Level-headed enquirer
Generally, I wouldn’t, but I didn’t know about the internal condition or the customer when I agreed to help. Unfortunately, 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 not of our doing and beyond our control. This doesn’t mean the amplifier can’t be repaired of course, only that it cannot be economically repaired, given the issues, condition and type of equipment.
Despite doing my best to help this customer, carefully explaining the issues and only charging our minimum, we were blamed for not fixing the amplifier and I was not thanked, despite the terrible condition of the equipment and going out of my way to help the customer. in hindsight, I should never have taken on the equipment or customer and it’s a useful lesson learned.
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 beyond viable, does that become 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 plenty of affordable gear is viable to repair, especially if it’s in good condition and hasn’t been tinkered with too much.
