UPDATED: October 2024

I cannot believe this story!

One of my customers reached out the other day to boast about this incredible find. Chris is a customer I’ve helped a lot, guiding him from cheap plastic hi-fi gear to ownership of Accuphase amplifiers like an E-205 I serviced recently, and this E-303, in a matter of months.

It’s been a steep learning curve, but, like many others I’ve helped, Chris has been rewarded with a transformation in his musical enjoyment which is awesome. That’s the power of knowledge and our advisory service and it’s something I genuinely enjoy doing.

Anyway, Chris contacted me saying he needed to show me what he’d just found. He came to my workshop with this pristine, and I mean perfect, almost unused Accuphase E-303, one of my favourite integrated amplifiers and a model we’d discussed.

Chris told me he paid just $10 to the ‘tip guy’ selling it. Nuts! Naturally, I verified the facts as best I could: “Did you really pay $10 for this amplifier?” “Yes, I swear I paid $10 for this amplifier,” etc. I followed up with a phone call after writing the story to confirm I had the details right and was told I did. The owner has not contacted me to correct any errors.

Update, October 2024

Unfortunately, all was not what it seemed with this story, despite my best attempts at verification from someone I’ve worked with extensively. I only learned this from third parties, and only after writing the article. Thank you to those individuals.

There are two ways to deal with something like this: a) erase the story and pretend it never happened, or b) address it and let people know your position. I don’t want a story like this to tarnish the trust people have for Liquid Audio, so it remains, amended with these details.

As far as I can determine, I was not told the truth about who found this amplifier or what it cost. I’ve learned that it has also been elsewhere for work. Someone even contacted me claiming he found and owns the amplifier rather than my customer. A hoaxer? Maybe even someone from the Hall of Shame? Or perhaps two people independently found $10 E-303s at their local tips at the same time…

If you’re getting the sense that I have better things to do than deal with this sort of thing, you’re right. I work hard to educate, enlighten, and help people. That I don’t know the truth and others were told a different story is bad enough. That the amplifier was taken elsewhere after my involvement is worse, though it likely relates to my uncovering details of the story.

The bigger question is why? Why be dishonest? Why waste the time, energy and goodwill of those who’ve helped you? All I know is that it’s a disappointing end to what was a great story. I hope it was worth it.

Accuphase E-303 Details

This one falls into my special New Gold Dream category of equipment finds. Naturally, I’ll be servicing this amplifier in the coming months and letting you know more about it then. It shows what’s possible when you are in the right place, at the right time, and armed with the right knowledge.

That’s right: ‘Accuphase E-303’, ‘rubbish tip’ and ‘$10’, words you rarely if ever find used together, yet here we are, at the great intersection of gold that brought my customer Chris this big upgrade over his Accuphase E-202 and E-205 integrated amplifiers.

Let’s look at a few images to see what he got here:

Regulars will know how highly I rate the Accuphase E-303. In terms of integrated amplifiers, there aren’t too many better choices than this and as a result, many of my customers have grabbed one over the years. That said, at this age (40 years) they can certainly start to show signs of age and need some overhaul work. Not this one though, at least nothing obvious yet!

The moral of this story? Get up out of the chair and head down to your local tip shop. Chris found this pristine Accuphase E-303 for $10. Can you imagine what else might be waiting for a new home?

Postscript

And the REAL moral of this story, given the developments noted? I’ve nothing particularly insightful to add. I could pull the article, but that lets those involved off the hook and completes the 100% waste of my time that I don’t want this exercise to become.

Most folks wouldn’t dream of doing something like this and that’s ultimately what matters to me and I’m sure to you too. I’ll continue to trust people until proven wrong. This is just a blip on the radar, we take note and move on. I can’t pretend to understand this one or those involved, but if I learn any additional details about what happened here and why, I’ll let you know!

Thanks for visiting and my apologies that this positive story became something rather different 🙂

[Mike, October edit]