Don't mess with it. The amp may not sound the same to you when returned (could sound better).
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.
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mozartfan -
if you're that curious about brand & quantity, please contact Emotiva since they did the work in their shop. Or you can try to determine that in cover-off photos in the linked article. The specific capacitor brand(s) used in the amplifier didn't matter to me at the time of original purchase (and I didn't ask/care what brand of caps were in the Citation amp that it replaced either.) What mattered was how each of those amplifiers performed with my speakers (quite well, thank you.) Personally speaking, I don't get hung up on those things. That said, I am reasonably confident that:
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Friday I'm sending my Mark Levinson 380s off to Texas for an inspection and refurbishment. For the $1,000 I'll spend, I hope to get another 20 years of beautiful music which works out to about $50 bucks a year. The alternative is spending $10 to $15K to replace it ($500 to $750 a year). I like the $50 a year number and I love the sound of the 380s. |
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- 147 posts total