My #@%$ Cat Destroyed My ARC REF 5SE. Soliciting Suggestions.


(Public service announcement-keep your pets away from your audio equipment)

I love my cat. But not as much as I once did :-)
The short story is cat pee corroded the main board to my ARC REF 5SE. 

Homeowners insurance doesn't cover repair or replacement because owning a pet means you assume liability/responsibility. Ironically, or strangely enough, If my neighbor's cat or dog did this, I could collect.

My options-
Repair it. Fixing it will cost 7K. The main board alone is 6K.
Buy a pre-owned replacement at close to similar price. And if I go pre-owned, what's the market on a REF 5SE with a destroyed main board.
Go in a different direction.

What would you do?

TIA,
David
128x128wharfy
I’ve repaired many an audio item, and even done full parts removal from boards, 99.99% isopropanol based scrub and forced pressure spray wash on said board and chassis, and so on. And I just can’t quite see the unit as being irreparable.

Work, lots of work, insane work, yes.

But irreparable? no.

The scenario is more that ARC won’t and can’t do it at an effective cost, for them.

So they give you a price and option, that keeps them in their comfort zone. All reasonable for a company that tries to remain in profit mode. Looking at it without any projected emotions...they no one any freebies.

If you live in the big city and the tech is a ARC repair center or empowered to repair ARC, then you might get the same answer as you got from ARC.

If the tech is, again, in the ’big city’ they have plenty of other work that is far far less painful or insane, or less time consuming for far greater return... than a nightmare level work load and low profit margin rebuild -of the likes I’m speaking of. Thus the answer being the same as from ARC. Importantly, the big city techs...are mostly going to be specialists, not broadly experienced restoration specialists.

If it was me, to take a risk, I’d buy the unit for $500, or more properly, notably less than $500... and then spend a few days of overall hard complex nuanced expert experienced work... over a far longer time period (done in chunks)... and bring it back to life, better than original.

Just...because.

The work level and work load, in getting it back to order, and even the potential that it may not be possible... means that the purchase of the unit to be rebuilt, must be at a junk fire sale level..and then..the potential value, as a rebuilt item.. would have to be in my hands, and there is no incentive other than that to get involved, at all.

At this point, if it was pulled out of a garbage dumpster by a competent and seasoned tech, of the highest order..and also in pristine external condition.... there is no doubt in my mind that it would eventually be repaired, fully.

So, yes, repairable. but not effectively for you, overall.
Where's the sympathy here? My image of audiophiles as very nice people just took a major hit. Take no delight in "schadenfreude" and don't be quick to criticize and give advice. These guys are like Job's friends, who were the source of the cliche: "With friends like these..."

Maybe someone should compile a list of "worst things my pets and kids did to my audio system." We could all commiserate.

Sorry for your huge loss. My worst incident was my cat knocking my tonearm and taking out the stylus and cantilever from my cartridge.