Amp repair cost — is this right?


I recently sent my Musical Fidelity a308cr power amp off to be recapped. This amp is somewhere around 16-18 years old and one of the power caps failed. I contacted Musical Fidelity and sent it to a repair shop they recommended. Today I received an estimate to replace 18 caps, 8 of which are large power caps, resolder the boards, and re-bias the transistors. Basically a full overhaul. The quote I received, including return shipping (prob around $100) Is over $1,300 which possibly exceeds the value of the amp. That doesn’t include the $115 it cost me to ship it out. Having never had an overhaul done on a power amp like this, I’m wondering if anyone with experience can tell me if this sounds right. I guess I was expecting something more like $600-$800 but I don’t know why since I really don’t have a frame of reference. Perhaps it was the assumption it might be 4 hours labor (say $400) plus max $200 for caps. Is $1,300+ on track? Either way I’m going to be out the shipping cost plus a $160 fee paid for the estimate.
jnehma1
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I recently went thorough this repair business myself, so a word from experience.

I took several pieces to a local shop, STEREO FIXERS, who basically took a lot of money from me and did nothing. 

In desperation, I then sent my Luxman pre-amp to the only company that said it had the expertise to fix it--MUSIC TECHNOLOGY in VA.  I called them a few MONTHS after sending it and they had not gotten to it yet.  Finally, he calls and says, basically, he cannot fix it and sent me a bill for $300.00+, which I had to pay to get it back.  It worked for 3 minutes and failed. 

When I left him a bad review, he whined about how good they were and how long they had been in business, etc., so I took it down as a matter of pity on my part.

Fast forward.  I bought an SP-6B preamp and was having some issues with it and my self-built (in 1974) Hafler 500.  I took both to the local shop, paid the $25.00 "look-at" fee, and he fixed the pre-amp--had to replace 9 parts, which he returned to me--and adjusted the bias on the amp.  Total bill was less than $100.00 for everything, and he guarantees his work.  IT all took a week in turnaround even though I told them I was in no hurry.

As a former dealer, I can tell you that fixing broken stuff is a huge pain and always has been.  The local shop, SOUTH FLORIDA SPEAKER REPAIR in Lake Worth, FL, that did the awesome work for me is amazing.  I suggest you send your item to them and see what the price might me, or, send them the paperwork and let them price the job.  It may not be less, but you will get guaranteed work.  OR, it may be a LOT LESS, and you still get guaranteed work.

Cheers!


I understand every amp is different, but I had a Rowland 112 power amp recapped in 2019 for about $400 plus shipping.  I was told Jeff did the work himself and there were other minor updates.  Rowland even gave me a new shipping box.
@teo_audio:
$100 to take it apart, remove the PCB, remove all the caps, buy new ones, put them in, pre-test, re-assemble, final test?
If so I will hire you as a tech tomorrow :-)
G

@jnehma1  Did you see my second post on this thread? Because the filter caps are snap caps (which are a lot less expensive) I revised my thinking about a fair price downwards. I was figuring at least $800 for parts but the snap caps will only be about $100; so I'm thinking $500-$700 tops.