Testimonials . . . . .

C. & K. DANIELEWICZ

COBBITTY, NSW 2570

6^th August, 2001

The dread of every audiophile, with pre-CD era equipment, must be when maintenance or repairs become necessary. This happened to me several years ago when my Marantz amplifier and Garrard turntable (both circa late 1970’s) started to "play-up".

The current distributor for Marantz looked at the amplifier, said parts were no longer available and my only alternative was to buy a new system. Since both units were not totally wrecked, I didn’t take up his suggestion.

After much searching on my part, Dr. Hi Fi at Waverley came to light. Cost of repairs were minimal when compared to new equipment price and both units can look forward to another 20 odd years of service.

Also, a few years ago, I wanted to introduce my eldest son to the world of hi fi. So for his 17^th birthday, I bought him a modular system from Dr. Hi fi. My old Marantz would power an Onkyo CD player, Rotel tuner, Technics twin cassette deck through a pair of Pioneer speakers.

All this was pre-loved equipment which was refurbished and guaranteed for 3 months (I think). It is now 3 years old with no failures and still going strong. I consider the system great value for money, as well as very pleasant on the ears !

Robin and Peter at the establishment provide friendly service and knowledgeable advice. I now travel about 160 Km round trip from Cobbitty for periodic service on my much loved old equipment ( including a Revox tape recorder, AR6 speakers etc) and all I can say in closing is that it’s worth every single kilometre!

Regards,

Dan Danielewicz

Excerpts from an article in Australian Hi Fi magazine February 1991 by Chris Green…

"…due to the back-room nature of their work, hi fi servicemen (are there any hi fi servicewomen out there?), do not generally have a high public profile. They are rarely approached by members of the public, more often preferring to receive equipment for repair via retail outlets, distributors and even manufacturers themselves.

An exception to this rule is a shop-front hi fi service centre well-known to Sydneysiders for many years as Dr. Hi Fi. It’s run by Robin Gandevia and capable assistance of qualified tradesman Peter Loreggia..

According to Robin, the cloistering of servicemen creates a weak link in the chain of information that is necessary for the proper diagnosis of faults. A few words with the customer can give a revealing "case history" that can be worth hours of work later. Mostly a referring to dealer notes: "One channel doesn’t work", or worse still, merely: "doesn’t work".

Dr. Hi Fi’s "surgery" is without doubt the cleanest, tidiest and most "aseptic" that I have ever seen. And I was inclined to believe his protest that this was not because he was expecting my visit! There are neat, labelled drawers of parts and racks of belts in graduating sizes, immaculately-maintained racks of test equipment, shelves of components awaiting surgery and shelves of convalescent components waiting to go home.

The visible stock of parts is just the tip of the iceberg. In a nearby storeroom is a huge stock of parts. Robin does not rely on manufacturers and distributors for parts. He finds it more reliable to keep his own stock of high-quality equivalents (most often of far better quality than required by the component’s original specifications)."

Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph on February 8, 2002 the "Exchange" column (p 25) contained the following Question and Answer…

Q. I have been trying for many months to buy a player for my old 78s. I have two players but both are out of action. Do any readers know of a place in Sydney that does repairs? Or even an individual mechanic with a flair for this kind of work?

J. M, Mortdale.

I had my old Thorn record player repaired at Dr. Hi Fi Pty Ltd, 76 Carrington Rd, Waverley, NSW 2024. Their phone is 02 9369 2008 and the fax is 02 9369 3069. This repair was done in December 2001 and the results and cost were 100%.

V. L., North Bondi.

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Last updated: 29 November 2002.

Testimonials