02-08-2016, 10:28 AM
(02-08-2016, 06:23 AM)ppppenguin Wrote: Trevor, you're a braver man than I, taking on a job like this. The amp could have been so badly misconceived in the first place that it needs nothing short of a full redesign.
I said the same in post #9.
I don't doubt that Trevor could produce something that is much better than what currently exists, to a high standard that is safe and legal, etc, but my worry is that £400 is nowhere near enough for what is a bespoke one-off design. Especially including getting those transformers rewound. Even though it seems that Ed will do that for a good price to help him out, the customer should be paying a fair price for the work. Which would be at least double what he's been quoted. Even that might not pay a decent hourly wage at the end of the day.
It's something I see time and time again - we engineers are naturally shy and conservative, and we don't put ourselves forwards, and we seriously undervalue our skills and ability. As a result, we barely scratch a living doing this stuff. Now that "commodity" repairs (TVs, etc) have gone, we need to target the "high-end" customer, like this one - someone who is happy to pay £1500 for just a few mods will surely be happy to pair a fair wage for a total rebuild. Remember, some of these hi-fi folk will happily pay 4 figure sums for wire, so it's not like they're unwilling to invest in their beloved systems. These days, the hi-fi market is an excellent place to establish yourself in, but you mustn't sell yourself short. Trust me; knowing what I know about the hi-fi world, that can actually be harmful to your reputation - it's not about how good a job you do, as you've already seen with the previous "engineer's" work.
Sorry - no offence intended. Quite the opposite, in fact. Got the t-shirt, etc...
All the best,
Mark
