Considerations when buying an amp

[Rare Bird]

Do any of you guys consider longevity when buying amps? I could not in a million years buy a new amp & be satisfied with it no matter how brilliant it was. {not that i would but that's another story} :D

I buy a chosen vintage amp & rebuild completely, the amp will last me for life 99% guaranteed.

Does this not bother people? When i get attached to a certain amp it's for life.

Just a thought.

Does it not bother you there is a 50/50 chance of loosing your amp tomorrow or at least faced with a big repair bill, i cannot live with this possible unreliability on my mind all the time..

[AlfaGTV]

Do any of you guys consider longevity when buying amps? I could not in a million years buy a new amp & be satisfied with it no matter how brilliant it was. {not that i would but that's another story} :D

I buy a chosen vintage amp & rebuild completely, the amp will last me for life 99% guaranteed.

Does this not this bother people? When i get attached to a certain amp it's for life.

Just a thought.

Does it not bother you there is a 50/50 of loosing your amp tomorrow or at least faced with a big repair bill, i cannot live with this possible unreliability on my mind all the time..

Why would buy something that you wouldnt trust to last you at least 10 years?
Have you been fooled by cheapskate stuff or what?

None of my electronics (amps, tuners, phonostages) have ever failed, or even givenme reason to belive they may. CD players however are the devils work! :) And vinyl spinners will always demand some attention now and then.

Have you just given me reason to avoid british? ;)
:sofa:
//Mike

[Rare Bird]

10 years i want 40 years out of an amp, don't say tha's silly because it's not....I never mentioned British!

[walpurgis]

10 years i want 40 years out of an amp, don't say tha's silly because it's not....I never mentioned British!

40 years out of an amp Andr'e? Well stranger things have happened I suppose, plenty of 50 year old Leaks still doing the business. My VTL has to be 30 years old. But more to the point, are we going to last another 40 years? Not sure I want to be that old and clapped out. :eek:

[Rare Bird]

I have half a dozen amps 40+ years old still rocking in original state

[chelsea]

Just want it to sound good.
If it looks cool as well even better result.

[AlexM]

When I was younger I owned such crap cars that I felt that I should get out and kiss the tarmac if it delivered me to a destination. I did always worry about it breaking down because it always did. I never went anywhere without a decent toolkit, and in fact I rarely chose to go anywhere far away because of this. I always thought that once I had done the engine, gearbox, electrical system, suspension that it would be fine, but it never really was (of course).

The last time my car broke down was about years ago, excluding flat tyres, and I never really have to worry at that it will, and I CHOOSE not to. If I chose to run a classic car, then I would expect occasional problems, but I would accept the possibility of then occurring but if it caused me to suffer worry then I'd probably choose something reliable.

Not exactly comparable situations, but you get the point I'm sure.

Don't worry about the possibility that it might break down. It either will or it won't and if it does repair or replace it, but no need to worry about either eventuality surely? . Just stick 50p a week in a jar to pay for it if it needs maintance.

I'm not convinced that a modern product is necessarily any less reliable than an older design, in fact the reverse is probably true. Servicability may be better with an older design, but again, not necessarily... you will only know in retrospect if that is so and servicability only matters IF Iit needs a service!.

None of that makes any difference to you anyway Andre as you have decided to restrict what you might choose for other reasons, but that as you say is another storey :). Have fun and enjoy your choice and what comes with it but choose not to worry for goodness sake! . I know everything needs to be just-so for you, and you won't rest until it is, but if a problem happens just fix it and get on with your life.

... or just buy a Bryston... I belieive they have a stupidly long warranty (20 years?), so they obviously believe in the longevity of their products.

Cheers,
Alex

[Joe]

Currently listening to a 15 year old pre/power that has never missed a beat. I bailed out of valve amps because I couldn't be arsed biasing the valves every so often.

[Thing Fish]

I originally bought my Naim amps second hand. I had them 22 years and sold them still working perfectly.

I also bought my Croft pre/power second hand. I've only had them about 7 months but so far so good...:)

[walpurgis]

When I was younger I owned such crap cars that I felt that I should get out and kiss the tarmac if it delivered me to a destination. I did always worry about it breaking down because it always did. I never went anywhere without a decent toolkit, and in fact I rarely chose to go anywhere far away because of this. I always thought that once I had done the engine, gearbox, electrical system, suspension that it would be fine, but it never really was (of course).

That made me laugh Alex. I had much the same experience, but found that if you carried tools you always broke down and needed them, but if you didn't carry tools you didn't break down. Weird!

Because I was skint I taught myself 'mechanicking' and became pretty damn good. Ended up rebuilding, modifying and tuning my cars (and bikes).

[twickers]

That made me laugh Alex. I had much the same experience, but found that if you carried tools you always broke down and needed them, but if you didn't carry tools you didn't break down. Weird!

Because I was skint I taught myself 'mechanicking' and became pretty damn good. Ended up rebuilding, modifying and tuning my cars (and bikes).

Sound like it could be a good sideline Geoff " AOS repair shop ":eyebrows:

[AlexM]

[QUOTE=walpurgis;478739]That made me laugh Alex. I had much the same experience, but found that if you carried tools you always broke down and needed them, but if you didn't carry tools you didn't break down. Weird! /QUOTE]

So true! What the hell is that about??.

I like fixing cars and got pretty good at tuning them too. I realised that my hobby had crossed over into a life impacting problem, and that getting to your destination without incident really is better than finding yourself by a roadside in the rain at night with a torch in your mouth and a screwdriver in your hand...

I used to joke that my car had travelled further vertically on garage ramps than it managed going forwards in the intended direction of travel.

Anyway, back to the thread....

[walpurgis]

Sound like it could be a good sideline Geoff " AOS repair shop ":eyebrows:

Well I've just welded a patch into the sill on my ancient Golf estate and re-undersealed it this week (still got to respray the roof yet, laqueur's peeling), right after fitting a water pump and timing belt on my Suzuki van (bugger of a job on a mid mounted engine). It never stops, so no way am I doing other people's cars! Getting to the age where I ache after this. :D


Apologies for drifting the thread Andr'e! :)

[Stubies]

That made me laugh Alex. I had much the same experience, but found that if you carried tools you always broke down and needed them, but if you didn't carry tools you didn't break down. Weird!

Because I was skint I taught myself 'mechanicking' and became pretty damn good. Ended up rebuilding, modifying and tuning my cars (and bikes).

Yes, i remember that when i was young......


Hey, wait a minute, i still have that!!! :scratch:

In the past few years i owned a Mercedes and a Peugeot - both of them convertables - and both of them have been complete utter Sh*t for repairs, often and expensive.

I have also had a Kia, Honda and Toyota at various times - an they were flawless.

The next car i have will be from the east! Im done with european cars again.. (very sorry to say)

Appologise to the OP, we may be hijacking the thread....


So back to topic.:D
No i dont consider longevity of amps when i buy them, i would expect some troubles after twenty years, but nothing a bit of solder wouldnt fix. i do hesitate to buy older CDPs if it is hard to get parts. That said, i just purchased 2 CPS that are 15+ years old - so im just crossing my fingers!

[walpurgis]

To give Andr'e a bit of breathing space on his thread, I'm starting a new thread in 'Abstract Chat' called Car Chat! :)

[AlfaGTV]

The electronics in my posession have been well behaved and am currently using stuff from around 1975 onwards... Thats my Celestion Ditton 44's, up to my newest product, the Embla networkstreamer/preamp/ DAC from 2012,
Daily use of Luxman amps and tuners from early eighties tells me theres nuttin' to worry about!
Okaj, i have changed the pilot light on a couple of em, but that is excusable...
This is still Class A amps were talking about, which means lots of heat being generated.
I also have a Xindak SLM A-40MkIII, chinese Class A amp from around 2005... That one does need some fettling though, bad caps, relays and in need of bias adjustment.
(when it is warmed up and connected through the inputs that still work it sound bloody good though!)

Neverhad anything electronic go bad by ordinary use... Had to repair the TPS unit for my Heybrook TT2 though, bad PCB and to much heat, but not under my supervision.

I wouldnt worry to much about it André, yoir ears will be useless long before your electronics give up! :D

Regards Mike

[The Grand Wazoo]

I wouldnt worry to much about it André, yoir ears will be useless long before your electronics give up! :D

His ears are already useless - he likes Brain Salad Surgery and he can't hear the genius of One Direction. There's got to be a problem there, surely!

[twickers]

I actually considered this recently and decided to buy a new amp. Maybe could have bought a better used amp, but hoping this one lasts a few years. Not really one for diy etc..

[MartinT]

I'd like to think I can keep my amp in good repair no matter what happens to it. It would be the same whether I bought new or used. As it is, my Chord is 12 years old and still going strong. I hope it'll see me out.

[Rare Bird]

His ears are already useless - he likes Brain Salad Surgery and he can't hear the genius of One Direction. There's got to be a problem there, surely!

:booty:

[AlfaGTV]

:lol:

[trio leo]

I had my Albarry M408 mono-bloc amps for over 25 years and I sold them still sounding great, I've had my Thorens td 124 and Allison 3 speakers 30 years, some kit is well built and lasts for years, many people on this forum have got old kit still sounding great, it's all about the enjoyable performance a particular piece of equipment brings to your system, if you're happy with it keep it.
I bought my current amp last Christmas, I dare say I will keep it forever.

enjoy your music

regards Al

[dantheman91]

Interesting thread guys. i do have back up amps goes without saying really.

i have a 15 year old MF E100 that should still last another 20 years but i dont know

[Mr Kipling]

As long as it's got VU meters - what's there to consider!?!

[DSJR]

My current main-system pre/power is forty years old and has been breathed on by me, despite this not being necessary to be honest (the preamp needed a new volume pot as the original had a long-standing flat spot and I bought a non-working bitser preamp from the US for a replacement). This amp system was Top End at the time and still compares well to current faves of mine :) The office system has a choice of two preamps, one sixteen years old and the other well over twenty, driving an ex video suite HH power amp that looks as if it's been used 24/7 all it's life... Oh, and that's forgetting the Quad 33/303 :)

For me, a good amp should do the job properly (that's a given), but should have internal 'consumables' that can be replaced in years to come if necessary. If the processor in my AVI preamp ever fails (it's not in the signal path, but all functions are governed by this dedicated IC), the preamp is scrap according to the marketing director of this firm!

[realysm42]

All Sanders gear comes with a lifetime warranty, which is reassuring.