Amp repair cost — is this right?


I recently sent my Musical Fidelity a308cr power amp off to be recapped. This amp is somewhere around 16-18 years old and one of the power caps failed. I contacted Musical Fidelity and sent it to a repair shop they recommended. Today I received an estimate to replace 18 caps, 8 of which are large power caps, resolder the boards, and re-bias the transistors. Basically a full overhaul. The quote I received, including return shipping (prob around $100) Is over $1,300 which possibly exceeds the value of the amp. That doesn’t include the $115 it cost me to ship it out. Having never had an overhaul done on a power amp like this, I’m wondering if anyone with experience can tell me if this sounds right. I guess I was expecting something more like $600-$800 but I don’t know why since I really don’t have a frame of reference. Perhaps it was the assumption it might be 4 hours labor (say $400) plus max $200 for caps. Is $1,300+ on track? Either way I’m going to be out the shipping cost plus a $160 fee paid for the estimate.
jnehma1

Showing 2 responses by dekay

Wow...

I'm surprised that you were even able to "contact" Musical Fidelity, let alone receive a response - period.

DeKay (a previous MF owner).
My 2 cents...

Even if the cost is $500, or so, above other quotes...

You mentioned that they use higher quality parts (than the originals) and if they do quality work you should be good to go for another 20 years.

This said (per your previous postings) you have rarely used the unit for years and years and years.

It would be a great amp to experiment with the new inexpensive Magnapan planers (or any other speaker requiring loads of power), but if you have no use for it why bother?

DeKay