Toss It Or Floss It

[WOStantonCS100]

A recent thread on stylus replacement (to do, or not to do) has me returning to the thoughts I originally had when I lost the third of three receivers in approx. 6 years, all purchases from the ubiquitous chain stores.

The questions were:

How long do I expect new gear to last?

Will I be able to get it fixed if it breaks and at what cost?

Will I want to pay that cost?

And, perhaps, most importantly:

If I pay a lot for it, shouldn't it last a really long time (decades), provided I take care of it and do the required periodic maintenance?

Is it even possible for me to perform the necessary periodic maintenance?

You can probably guess by my signature that the answer to many of these questions have heavily influenced my gear choices as well as ignited my initial passion to build, assemble and/or service my own gear.

So, what are your answers to those questions?

[Thing Fish]

My Linn LP 12 cost me what I considered at the time to be a fortune (1991). When certain upgrades came in I couldn't afford them. (still can't) Does that make it a bad deck?

I paid what I considered a lot for a cartridge at the time ( around £150) I expect it to last at least 15 years. I worry as I can't afford to replace it!! eek!

Thus far all seems well and I am not seduced by the pressure to spend fortunes on major upgrades. I just enjoy what I have and the music I play.

I suppose I am a poor person interloping as an audiophile.

My Naim 62/90/hi-cap amps are still going strong after 25 years so are in my eyes very good value.

[Alex_UK]

My Naim 62/90/hi-cap amps are still going strong after 25 years so are in my eyes very good value.

Absolutely, Dave - I think there's a lot of sense in that approach, and with kit like Naim there will always be service backup.

[jantheman]

Whatever I buy I expect (unrealistically) to last a lifetime. Being honest, I really can't remember the last hifi thing I had to dump because it went bust. (Stylii excepted/wear and tear). Hang on....yes, it's coming back to me now...a crappy Sony minidisk player.....possibly the only thing I would say I wasted money on.
I hope the stuff I have now lasts me out, no $$ available to buy any more. I would say that reliability has improved but cost cutting is still endemic.
My modest system is in most cases the sort of equipment I have aspired to ever since I was a fledgling. It was bought on the basis of sounding good, being generally reliable and having a good backup. The old 'you get what you pay for' is as true today as it ever was but having to lash that much cash is a real killer but if you manage to keep your gear long enough, theres a payback.
No more upgrades just to buy the latest and greatest giant killer, just enjoying what I have.
Kit is just a means to an end and that end is to play music. If you have funds availabe then fair enough but I wouldnt forego dinner on the table to to be able to buy the latest must have.

[Lodgesound]

Good equipment should last for many years and be repairable if it does happen to break down.

Increasingly folk have little or no disposable income to spend on this equipment now (myself included) - I have to buy broken or damaged gear and repair it.

The situation is being compounded by the ludicrous prices being charged for high and mid-end gear by manufacturers now. After going round Heathrow I honestly do not know how they expect any kind of sustainability at these prices - everything I saw there I think it would be fair to say was AT LEAST 20% overpriced.

IMHO the price of high-end equipment needs to come into line with real world economics now.

[MartinT]

Good warranty and service facilities have a lot to do with it. Equipment does go wrong and no matter what you choose you can't avoid the occasional failure. What you can do, though, is look at the warranty and research the available facilities.

Cheap Chinese gear is all well and good, but look to get something repaired and it all falls apart very quickly. My expensive (but not 20% overpriced) American SACD player failed recently, after five years of service. Cheaper machines would have been irrepairable but mine had the whole laser transport replaced under the manufacturer's warranty. That's the kind of service I paid for, making it great value for money despite the high price tag.

[DSJR]

Domestic electricals was "assumed" to have a five to ten year service life, depending on what it was and how it was used. CRT TV's could last three years on maximum contrast (as suppiled by Sony and Panasonic on some models), to over ten if ran more appropriately and B&O sets the same. Our lawn mower was a wedding present fifteen years ago and must be on it's last legs now (reminder - I have to cut the grass today:)). Even our plasticky Dyson vacuum cleaners are both over ten years old now and on the single occasion they each needed service, the manufacturer was excellent, cheap and efficient - we'd happily buy another - and all those DC1's you see down on the dump could probably be cheaply fixed too, I bet, even if they're not the latest thing.

Where audio is concerned, some vintage stuff was built too well. The Garrard lab 80mk2 dates from the mid 60's, yet mine is in good nick, runs superbly well and the auto mechanicals are so over-specified there's no way there's any wear. Other "proper HiFi" mechanical classics are even longer lived - Garrard 301's, Thorens 124's and old Revox G36 tape decks immediately spring to mind. Electrical goods such as vintage radios and amps etc will all need servicing though as capacitors fail through old age and use, but will run for decades again once sorted.

As for modern AV receivers lasting a very few years, I'd respectfully suggest that they were either inappropriately over-used, or that there may be mains supply issues causing them to fail. There are many Yamaha and Denon AV units going for a song over here because they've been technically surpassed in the rush to buy the latest thing, but if you don't need 7.1 with huge power outputs and acres of socketry on the back, some of them could still find good use for a modest outlay.

[Spectral Morn]

As for modern AV receivers lasting a very few years, I'd respectfully suggest that they were either inappropriately over-used, or that there may be mains supply issues causing them to fail. There are many Yamaha and Denon AV units going for a song over here because they've been technically surpassed in the rush to buy the latest thing, but if you don't need 7.1 with huge power outputs and acres of socketry on the back, some of them could still find good use for a modest outlay.

I have a Denon AVR1 se bought cheap and I see no need to change it ( no blue ray or HD TV in this household) It creates wonderfully weighty movie soundscapes with plenty of detail. I also picked up cheaply a more modern Yamaha (highend AV amp, can't remember the model number 2700 maybe :scratch:) and the Denon eats it for breakfast sound wise even though it only has Dolby EX and DTS 6.1 :eyebrows::)

All my early audio purchases are still working 20+ years on down the line.


Regards D S D L

[Marco]

Yesh, that's 'cos you give them a wee kiss every night before you tuck them up in bed :kiss:

Marco.

[Spectral Morn]

Yesh, that's 'cos you give them a wee kiss every night before you tuck them up in bed :kiss:

Marco.

Drat !!!!!.... rumbled.....:eyebrows::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:


Regards D S D L