realistic expectations rant for cost of recap.

OP here.. wow I never meant to start a 3 page thread from a simple rant. I never meant to ruffle feathers either. I never said I could not AFFORD a recap on my unit. I was simply pointing out that I could purchase a fully restored 1080 for the price I was quoted for a simple recap of the one I already own. I bought this unit fully expecting to put another 6 or 700 in to it.
 
In the mean time practice on something less expensive to improve your skills to see if you are up to the task.

I've already been doing that and I can assure you that I wouldn't touch the 1980 unless I have 100% confidence in myself which may never happen.
 
And to the OP.

Prices in CA are as high as they get in the US and nothing like in your area and others I'm guessing. Don't go by those whacked out rates.

You don' have to spend a grand to get a recap done. That' the ridiculous route to go.

Find the guys doing this work on AK and get some quotes. I' sure you'l find someone that doesn' require 100 bucks an hour.

Good luck!
 
I'm always amazed when people are surprised that a final tally on the entire journey (acquiring and restoring) a vintage ANYTHING (receiver, car, table) is more than the thing is worth on the open market. As if somehow it should be profitable to enjoy a hobby. It isn't. Never has been and never will be.

ESPECIALLY when talking vintage audio. Does anyone really think that when you have to scour the entire country for the 3, 4 or 5 techs that can actually do this kind of work at the level we all want the price is going to be low? No. It just isn't.

Do it yourself (which usually means having or acquiring thousands of dollars worth of equipment AND the knowledge to use it) or pay through the nose for someone who has all the equipment already and has spent decades honing his craft to do it for you. I will happily pay through the nose and all I expect in return is the enjoyment of beautiful music. Certainly not any profit.

But if I do ever decide to sell my restored receiver, it will probably fetch way more than what a new receiver (that probably cost the same or more) will go for in three years' time.
 
Do it yourself (which usually means having or acquiring thousands of dollars worth of equipment AND the knowledge to use it)
In many cases, members manage to do these restorations with just a DMM. You are correct in that if there is a problem or for tuner work then more equipment is necessary.
 
Did you buy it that way? Did you buy it thinking you needed to pay someone to do a recap? Do you have to have a recap?

I'v seen some of them disappear also with equipment.

That’s a scary thought!! Especially when one has already sent a prized unit out for a restoration
 
And you should see what's going on around here now. I live in San Mateo and the shop is in the city. The cost of living and working here is doubling over those past 8 years. A low cost 3 bedroom home like I'm living in 8 years ago $450.000- $550,000 are now going for $900,000- $1.2 million. The same house to rent 8 years ago $1700- $2000 if you can find one to rent today $4500- $6000 a month.
My sister in law lives in Los Altos. She said there are kids with good jobs at Apple that are living in their cars because they can't afford rent. It's crazy.
 
One thing I would like to point out about vintage gear. If you need a tuner or receiver with excellent FM reception, no one is making one now. The only way to get a good quality tuner is to go vintage; 1990's or older. Or the Sony XDR-F1HD tuner. Look at Magnum Dynalab and MacIntosh websites. The specs are not as good as the best vintage tuners.
 
I have the same problen down here ...no service facillities...i am needing service on my SAE TWO A-7 integrated amp. would to like to get it totally recapped while its in for service. Considering some of the AK vendors that advertise here. dont know any of them ...and most look like they only work on the ultra high end / expensive equipment. so I am kinda leary of calling any of them. 20180330_123656.jpg
 
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It's reality time.
Many people get into vintage hifi because you can pick up some cool gear for a pittance of it's original price (especially when adjusted for inflation).
The reality is that if you can't do it yourself (sweat equity) it can be quite inexpensive - but if you have to pay someone to do your restorations your paying for labor, and that's a finite resource.

Your best bet is to buy a restored unit and sell your fixer-upper (IMHO).
 
I have the same problen down here ...no service facillities...i am needing service on my SAE TWO A-7 integrated amp. would to like to get it totally recapped while its in for service. Considering some of the AK vendors that advertise here. dont know any of them ...and most look like they only work on the ultra high end / expensive equipment. so I am kinda leary of calling any of them.

I looked at some of the vendors and they don't seem to be McIntosh only, except Terry DeWick but that is known. You ought to call a few of them if you haven't found someone that might be able to help more local. Folks show the good stuff to make you think they can handle anything. In the case of the Mi location, one of the photo shoots was of an SX-950, nothing special about that one.
 
OP here.. wow I never meant to start a 3 page thread from a simple rant. I never meant to ruffle feathers either. I never said I could not AFFORD a recap on my unit. I was simply pointing out that I could purchase a fully restored 1080 for the price I was quoted for a simple recap of the one I already own. I bought this unit fully expecting to put another 6 or 700 in to it.

A restore on an SX 1050 runs in the $600-750 range around here these days ( Austin, TX). That doesn't include any tuner work. That includes recapping,cleaning all of the pots jacks and switches (probably more than once), resoldering bogus connections as needed, replacing known sketchy or stressed parts, removing faceplate, full cosmetic detailing of faceplate and knobs and labor to replace whatever lamps you need+ bench testing and setting offset and bias a couple/few times and running the unit on the bench for a couple of hours..

Parts cost can run from $40-80 or so max using good quality Elna Silmic, Nichicon and Wima films as needed. If you need the main power supply caps add more (maybe double the parts cost money on stuff like SX 1250) Turnaround time is usually quoted at 4-6 weeks or so, but many come in under that. I usually quote this by the job after seeing the piece in question, in person. Filthy units simply cost more to work on; if they need scratches polished out of the dial lens, I'm gonna do it. I'm pretty surprised to see some of the dirty stuff that comes in having been "worked on" by other techs (no offense, sometimes cleanup is the hardest part of these jobs).

I suspect part of the $1000 estimate you got includes covering for worst case scenario (somebody else was in there and made a shit-mess) and a "hassle-fee" for re-packing the unit plus some telephone make-nice time; Phone time can suck the life out of a repairmen unless we're judicious about getting off of the phone. A "Quick question" usually costs me at least $10 worth of time because I feel compelled to provide a thorough answer when possible.
 
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I know what you mean. That’s why I’m currently on the wait list of a well regarded known tech. To me it’s worth the wait.
Great attitude. Done right it's worth it's "wait" in gold. Haha.

More importantly both receivers I had restored I had to send back to fix gremlins totally unrelated to their work but they still looked under the hood.
There is no 100% guarantee that once restored nothing will go wrong again so don't get your skirt bent out of shape folks. That's shipping both ways again on top of what you paid.
But to have the peace of mind that these techs will back up their work is worth paying for. Every. Penny.
Now that I'm listening to it, the price paid seems to have faded as the music is front & center working flawlessly & sounding beautiful.
Thanks Rbuckner & BBergstrom!
 
I have the same problen down here ...no service facillities...i am needing service on my SAE TWO A-7 integrated amp. would to like to get it totally recapped while its in for service. Considering some of the AK vendors that advertise here. dont know any of them ...and most look like they only work on the ultra high end / expensive equipment. so I am kinda leary of calling any of them. View attachment 1169085

There are a couple of good, reasonably priced techs in the Austin area, look into Austin Stereo Service, very reasonable, very experienced. From my experience with them, my guess is he'd recap that one for about $300. In Houston, Bammel has been in business for decades, he's an absolute ace but pricey, but whatever you take to him will be restored to perfection if you want to spend what it takes.
 
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