https://audiocynic.comThe Audio Cynic, by Bill Leebens and Tj Tomasetti: what actually fails in audio and electronics, what it costs, and whether it is worth fixing, with the uncertainty left in.en-usSat, 29 Aug 2026 20:29:41 +00001440https://audiocynic.com/magazine/why-hifi-industry-hates-repair-marketing-sidehttps://audiocynic.com/magazine/why-hifi-industry-hates-repair-marketing-sideFri, 28 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Tj wrote about repair from the bench. I spent decades on the other side of the wall, selling the dream. Nobody sets out to build something unrepairable. It's just that repairability is a line item, and line items get cut.Heritage & Industryhttps://audiocynic.com/magazine/why-hifi-industry-hates-repairhttps://audiocynic.com/magazine/why-hifi-industry-hates-repairFri, 28 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000A lot of high-end audio is designed to be thrown away. Not on purpose, mostly. But follow the pattern: potted modules, dealer-only firmware, parts that quietly disappear.Tj's Workshophttps://audiocynic.com/magazine/the-twelve-dollar-soldering-ironhttps://audiocynic.com/magazine/the-twelve-dollar-soldering-ironFri, 28 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Repair got framed as a specialist activity you buy access to. The first real bench tool costs about twelve dollars. The actual barriers are information and parts, and those are business decisions.The Magazinehttps://audiocynic.com/magazine/ask-tj-humming-receiverhttps://audiocynic.com/magazine/ask-tj-humming-receiverFri, 28 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000A hum is a symptom, not a diagnosis. What it usually means in vintage gear, and how to know whether the repair makes sense before anyone quotes you.Ask Tj / Ask the Benchhttps://audiocynic.com/magazine/why-component-level-repair-mattershttps://audiocynic.com/magazine/why-component-level-repair-mattersSat, 22 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Board swapping is often the fastest way to make a repair bill bigger. Component-level work starts by finding the part that actually failed.Audio Repair Field Guidehttps://audiocynic.com/magazine/when-not-to-fixhttps://audiocynic.com/magazine/when-not-to-fixSat, 22 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000The hardest repair answer is sometimes do not spend the money. A useful decision weighs replacement cost, parts, sentiment, and risk together.The Magazinehttps://audiocynic.com/magazine/what-i-learned-at-ps-audiohttps://audiocynic.com/magazine/what-i-learned-at-ps-audioSat, 22 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Years around audio support and bench work taught me that a repair is also a trust problem: bring the music back, then explain what happened.Tj's Workshophttps://audiocynic.com/magazine/the-capacitor-problemhttps://audiocynic.com/magazine/the-capacitor-problemSat, 22 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Electrolytic capacitors age. Here is what that can mean for an amplifier, receiver, DAC, or other older piece of audio gear.Audio Repair Field Guidehttps://audiocynic.com/magazine/right-to-repair-meanshttps://audiocynic.com/magazine/right-to-repair-meansSat, 22 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000Right to Repair is about whether the device you paid for can remain yours after the first failure, not just a slogan on a poster.Tj's Workshop