Robin Gandevia MInstSCE (Eng.), MTETIA is a highly regarded specialist in the hi fi audio industry both in Australia and overseas. Clients benefit from Robin’s 45+ years experience. There is a minimum charge of $180.
Quotes and Estimates
With modern electronics, often the majority of the work in a repair is in diagnosing which components are faulty. With many components, the only way to prove they are faulty is to replace them.
Equipment sometimes has more than one fault. Secondary faults may not be evident until the first apparent fault is fixed.
A circuit board can have thousands of soldered connections. One or more may be "dry". The repair cost is in finding the little so and so's! Until all are found and corrected, one doesn't know if that is all that is wrong with the item.
There are many other examples. Quite often, the same symptom can be caused by several different causes. After a process of elimination, one establishes which it actually is.
Thus, to give an honest quote, we may need to complete the repair. The alternative is to quote on the basis of a "worse case scenario", without diagnosing the cause. Neither is acceptable.
Our policy is to repair an item if we consider it is cost effective for you, otherwise we will write it off. Clients may put a "limit" on a repair. It is easier and quicker to establish if the costs look like going over a certain amount (in which case we stop the repair).
You may ask why can't we ring you with an estimate. Again, the same applies with estimates as quotes. To keep our rates down, we need to be very efficient. Most repairs must go on a main workbench once, and either be repaired or written off. To have to stop a repair and then wait until we can get in touch with a client is disruptive and inefficient.
At Dr. Hi Fi, we know better than most whether an item should be repaired or not. When we decide to go ahead with a repair, we take some risk. If the repair turns out to be a lot more than we thought, we reduce our fees to what is reasonable for the item relative to its age and value. Sometimes, we spend a lot of time only to conclude that a repair has to be written off. Again, we absorb most of the costs, charging a nominal fee (often just one hours labour).
Repairing modern electronics for a client requires mutual trust. Dr. Hi Fi's reputation is unsurpassed - we have been servicing hi fi equipment professionally since 1978. We hope you can understand the situation - please don't hesitate to ask if you have any queries.
Back to TopCosts
Our fees are based on parts and labour plus any significant materials. Robin Gandevia MInstSCE (Eng.), MTETIA is a highly regarded specialist in the hi fi audio industry both in Australia and overseas. Clients benefit from Robin’s 45+ years experience. There is a minimum charge of $180. On certain items a small soak test fee may apply.
Dr. Hi Fi accepts cash and Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT). Credit cards are NOT accepted.
Dr. Hi Fi accepts cash, Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT) and often cheques. We do not accept credit cards.
Equipment should be collected within seven days of it being repaired, otherwise a storage fee may apply.
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Warranty
All work done by Dr. Hi Fi is fully guaranteed unless specified. Less than 2% of repairs are returned under warranty, due to our thoroughness.
The symptom itself cannot be guaranteed, rather the cure. For example, a cassette deck may be running slow - corrected by replacing a worn belt. Some weeks later, the motor may also become faulty, giving the same symptom. As the motor was not replaced before, the symptom can't be covered by a warranty. Fortunately, this is rare.
IMPORTANT: Unfortunately, hi fi equipment that is older than 30 years can be repaired and then something else goes wrong with it due to its age. As such, no warranty at all is offered on equipment that is 30 years or more old.
Any additional work done as a result of a service and overhaul is detailed and covered by our warranty. Of course, only work done can be covered by the warranty - we can't give a blanket warranty on the equipment. However, we do try and assess the likelihood of future problems, and may not recommend repair.
Please view the Service Bulletins section for some additional warranty information on specific types of equipment.
Back to TopWarranty on Compact Disc Players
Compact Disc players present special difficulties in repair. Often, the same set of symptoms (mistracking, difficulty reading or playing the disc etc.) can be caused by many different components, including the laser. A faulty laser can be quite difficult to diagnose (if a faulty laser's condition could be quickly diagnosed, life would be much simpler!). But for most conditions, a laser can only be fully tested by listening to the player, which may require that all other faults be repaired beforehand.
This is time consuming and costly, and may result in the unit subsequently being considered not worth repair due to the high cost of a new laser. Often we absorb most of our labour costs in these cases.
The other significant problem with C.D. players is testing them. There is no magic piece of test equipment that can thoroughly monitor them over a long period, other than the human ear! Many repairers do not do this form of soak test. When necessary, we do it.
We ask clients to appreciate the complexities and difficulties that may arise with C.D. repairs.
Back to TopWhat Dr Hi Fi Does NOT Work On
Dr Hi Fi will only work on equipment that I think is worth repairing where everyone will get a satisfactory result. May I detail equipment I do not work on...
- Audio Visual Receivers (AVR)
- Speakers, including Sub woofers (powered or not)
- Equipment that is less than 10 years old (except turntables)
- Equipment that is over 22 kgs (with rare exceptions)