Originally Posted by
Beobloke
The problem I have with modifications is that some people don't know when to stop, or what the consequences are of the changes they are making. I have absolutely no problem if people want to mess around with interconnect, speaker and mains cables as this is a fairly harmless (mostly...) pastime but, as an engineer, I do get quite irritated by enthusiastic bodgers thinking they know better than the qualified design teams of large organisations delving into equipment and faffing around with it. I know of several manufacturers' repair departments that spend much more time than they would like, undoing modifications to their products to make them work again, and I've done it myself on more than one occasion.
As an example, internet "wisdom" has long prevailed that changing capacitors can cure all known ills but often it can do more harm than good - witness someone I know of who changed all the caps in his high end direct drive turntable "as a precaution" and completely stopped it working! A friend of mine who does a great deal of repairs now adds a minimum of £10 to his repair costs if the owner confesses to having already changed capacitors - I've even known him to take the new ones out and put the old ones back in, once he's proved there is absolutely nothing wrong with them!
As an aside, the latest episode that is annoying me is a chap on a different forum who is currently "modifying" a fine pair of Mordaunt Short bookshelf speakers by slapping unnecessary coatings all over the drivers, attacking the cabinets with a chainsaw and junking the crossovers. I used to work with the guys who designed this speaker and we used them on many occasions for reference duty at Mordaunt Short - they were actually something of a 'sleeper' in the range and incorporated much of the technology that was adopted into the new range that followed them, at a lower price. However, the stuff he's removing was there for a very good reason and I would put money on it that the damn things will both measure appallingly and sound hideous when he's finished, which makes me a bit sad. And why is he doing all this? Because some other "expert" on the forum is egging him on by telling him it's a good idea!
It can be a nightmare yes... I usually add a hefty premium to my bill if equipment has been messed with and have also refused to repair a few bits of kit that have been got at to an extreme extent. On one occasion I had a big Jap amp in which must have cost the guy £30 in postage to send to me... after a quick look inside I repacked it and phoned him to say he will have to arrange to have it collected as I ain't touching it! Most of the wiring had been messed about with and all by twisting the ends together and wrapping them in sellotape!
Arkless Electronics-Engineered to be better. Tel. 01670 530674 (after 1pm)
Modded Thorens TD150, Audio Technica AT-1005 MkII, Technics EPC-300MC, Arkless Hybrid MC phono stage, Arkless passive pre, Arkless 50WPC Class A SS power amp, (or) Arkless modded Leak Stereo 20, Modded Kef Reference 105/3's
ReVox PR99, Studer B62, Ferrograph Series 7, Tandberg TCD440, Hitachi FT-5500MkI, also FT-5500MkII
Digital: Yamaha CDR-HD1500 (Digital Swiss army knife-CD recorder, player, hard drive, DAC and ADC in one), PC files via 24/96 sound card and SPDIF, modded Philips CD850, modded Philips CD104, modded DPA Little Bit DAC. Sennheiser HD580 cans with Arkless Headphone amp.
Cables- free interconnects that come with CD players, mains leads from B&Q, dead kettles etc, extension leads from Tesco