Have you calculated how much that SCORE really costs?

jcamero

Who are you people anyway?
So I picked up a pair of JBL L16 Decades at GW for $15.80. Good price! They needed TLC, so here's the cost of my SCORE. $15.80 for the speakers. $17.00 for new surrounds. $26.50 for grill fabric. $7.00 for a hot glue gun and glue. $2.09 for 72 clothes pins, (clamping surrounds to basket after gluing). Another $5.00 for Tung Oil finish and sandpaper. (I had the Tung oil and sandpaper), just figured about what I had used. MY time, about $75.00, (based on my work salary). So my SCORE actually cost me $143.39 when all said and done. I really don't mind the true cost of the score, this is a labor of love, as well as a hobby, taking me away from the stresses life has to offer. And yes, this project was worth the effort. :)
 
Not really … don't look at it that way. To me a "score" would be record hunting. The nearest record stores where I am sure to come home with some nice inventory are 2 + hours away.

So if I calculated the cost of gas, meals, time and hotels (often times I spend the night in a particular city) .. is it worth it economically? Realistically I would have to say no. Could do just as well online (less money). Would not have as much fun though .. wife looks forward to record hunting trips (shopping/meals/entertainment .. etc).

:dunno: … fun is fun .. that's about as much thought as I put into it.
 
We do not think such thoughts, and they are certainly NEVER discussed in polite society!! And most especially not in front of wives,gf's or any significant other,for that matter.......The torches are being lit,the Mod's are being notified,and you will be banished forevermore for this egregious breach of protocol:p
 
Yep, time is money, especially when time is short.
I try to do repairs (limited to minor stuff) on rainy, cold days when there isn't much else to do. I quit searching for "steals" many years ago, as this area has way to many people competing for the scraps.
 
Just the time cleaning a chunk of electronics takes the score out of it. Seven hours on a Sony ST-5130 but it looked new when done. Now 18 hours on a Pioneer SX-828 just to knock the dust dirt and corrosion off of it and remove a couple aftermarket rear switches. A few caps and transistors, maybe a buck fifty and one bulb to make it work right and sound decent.

The time needed to make these units right is more than the parts or supplies, solder, sandpaper (quarter sheet), finish and feed-n-wax don't add up to much but the time does.

Guess it just depends if one needs to make bank on time spent enjoying a hobby. Most folks don't get paid for their time doing all sorts of activities except work. This audio restoration is just another one of those underpaid hobby/pastime hours.
 
I've made similar calculations often on my "scroes".
As it's fun and my hobby, the $$$ spent is like any hobby - the cost of having one.
If at the end of the day, I end up with a beautiful piece of equipment that works good as new, even better.
All old gear needs some kind of work, that's the fun part.
Finally, if I can sell rebuilt scroe for the money I have invested (sometimes more) - even better.
I don't count my time, as I choose to do this, I don't make a living from it.
Then it would stop being my hobby.
 
The $75 you refer to as your labor cost is what I call “sweat equity”.
If you had brought the speakers to a pro shop it’s likely it would have cost far more than that.
This is why - for those of us that can perform repairs this can be a very cost effective hobby.
If you need to bring your gear to a technician (and often ship it) then it can be very expensive.
The “score” is only there if you can do it yourself.
 
I hit the thrifts almost every weekend and not every trip is a winner so ultimately that should be considered when I have a score but there are some things that go beyond a simple calculation.

For example when I first started hunting for gear and music my son or daughter came with me and we had a blast. No amount of money could have bought me that time spent with them.

Also it is a bit of a pet peeve of mine when people equate their hourly salary at work with their time doing any other activities. This type of calculating assumes that time away from work is equal to time at work and that you have the ability to convert this time whenever you like into cash. I assure you that unless you own your own business with a unlimited supply of customers that this is not the case.
 
I really don't want to think about how much my Phase Linear 700b score has cost me after replacing the large caps, losing a channel after 7 months and attempting repair (unsuccessfully), and finally going with full White Oak upgrade. Bringing it up for the first time today - fingers crossed.
 
The 375 dollar Citation 16 i scored last year is up to right at 700 bucks right now. I replaced the big filter caps then sent it out for a service and partial re-cap recently.
 
Don't forget to add in all those hours wasted scouring craigslist and gas wasted in hunting yardsales. It doesn't take long before one is behind the 8 ball on that priceless treasure before it even comes through the door for cleaning and repairs.
 
To me, a "score" is more of finding something that I have always wanted, or at least wanted to play with for a while. Of course, I would like to find whatever at a really cheap price, but a fair price is often good enough for me to consider it a score.

This is a hobby, and hobbies rarely make money--they cost money and time--and time is money, despite what others may argue--or at the very least, "opportunity cost"--could b doing this or I could be doing that.
 
So I picked up a pair of JBL L16 Decades at GW for $15.80. Good price! They needed TLC, so here's the cost of my SCORE. $15.80 for the speakers. $17.00 for new surrounds. $26.50 for grill fabric. $7.00 for a hot glue gun and glue. $2.09 for 72 clothes pins, (clamping surrounds to basket after gluing). Another $5.00 for Tung Oil finish and sandpaper. (I had the Tung oil and sandpaper), just figured about what I had used. MY time, about $75.00, (based on my work salary). So my SCORE actually cost me $143.39 when all said and done. I really don't mind the true cost of the score, this is a labor of love, as well as a hobby, taking me away from the stresses life has to offer. And yes, this project was worth the effort. :)

I for one have all the tools and products needed for such a job except the surrounds, and fabric so it would not cost me quite as much and having had my own business I know that labor
is not something I can count on too much being compensated for in my field. But, now you have everything to do another so your cost will be even less if another project like this one comes along.
And of course I think the best thing to come out of this is the feeling of accomplishment and a bit of pride for what you have done. And I more then agree with Katalyst. Once you take a hobby and
turn it into a business it no longer feels like a hobby anymore and turns into work. I make hand made briar and morta smoking pipes (tobacco type) as a hobby and to bring in extra money, once I let people
start commissioning pipes from me I had time schedules to meet and no longer was it a hobby. So I quit taking commissions and made pipes in my own time and found that even more people
wanted them, maybe just because I wasn't turning them out like a factory.
 
My scores are working equipment that really doesn't need anything. Broken none working is more what I would call a burden and just more work. The way I see it if I have to work for or on equipment, I might as well just go to my work and make far more money. This way I can buy far far better equipment.

Working on audio gear is not my hobby, I like listening to music and the equipment is a tool to do that.
 
I just finished a listening session with the JBL's, the pleasure far exceeds the monetary investment, and yes, I would not hesitate to find another project. In fact, these are the 4th pair of speakers I've rehabbed in the past month or so, including ADS L300's, Phase Tech PC60's, and 1st generation Frazier Monte Carlo's.
 
The hunt (and restoration) is a big part of the fun. Presumably, there are those who actually do save some money trolling thrift stores and garage sales. However, if you look at it strictly from a dollars and cents perspective, including time spent hunting, compared to say buying new from Parts Express, Amazon or Chi-Fi, I question if that much is actually saved pursuing vintage.

It's like folks who claim they save grocery money by deer hunting, or gas money by driving a motorcycle (when the weather is nice), or vacation money by "owning" a timeshare. It generally just ain't so.
 
I don't pick up any speakers that need new surrounds. Unless they are Snells, KEFs, or something really nice that you only come across every five years or so.
Of course I would pick up those uber expensive JBLs that everyone talks about if the drivers were original.

Everything else I just don't want to mess with anymore.
 
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