Your Longest Lasting Component?

[Barry]

Okay, I’ll add to this; reluctant to do so before believing I was the only idiot that hung on to Hi Fi through the years in the belief that “new” doesn’t necessarily mean “better”.

My Volts; purchased 11/07/81
Not quite the same beasts now but…….
The Quantum Electronics 102 & 207DA bought the same month and year.

Decca London Gold; bought second hand in 1982 which I still have despite not having a deck or even an LP. Just can’t bear to let it go.
Sugden A21. Unfortunately not working but nothing too serious just haven’t got around to sorting it out. They were built by hand I believe and component matched

2 X Thorens TD160S sold a few months ago. I’ve had a Linn LP12 Valhalla and a Systemdeck in between but for my kit and ears a properly modded TD160S did everything the Linn did and cost considerably less. I struggled with the Linn for a few months and sold it for more than I paid for it
My mate bought my No1 Thorens which I spent many happy hours tinkering with when I still had access to an engineering workshop. The other went on ebay.
While I was in full modding fever a number of my friends took the Linn route; you couldn’t walk into a Hi Fi shop in those days without someone trying to sell you a Linn in preference to any other deck All bar one that I know of have since got rid of their Linns and gone for alternatives.

Looks like I may be as daft as the rest of you after all

Don't ever get rid of that Decca Mark; I've just revisited mine - it needs some fussing and careful set-up, but when you do, you'll be rewarded with the most exciting and joy-producing sound off an LP that you could imagine.

Regards

[Barry]

Nice one, Barry. Those are seriously long lived components and deserve our respect and admiration. Have you had any of them serviced, I'm thinking especially of the Quads?

Hello Martin

No, the speakers have never needed attention. My Quad 44 has recently needed a new mains-switch (after an estimated 20,000 operations, at least), and my FM3 tuner (again, after an estimated 50,000 hours of use) required a new transistor in the stereo decoder and a couple of new bulbs for the illumination of the tuning scale. My 405 power amps have been 'worked on' by me, but they too have proved to be superbly reliable. The reliability of Quad gear is renowned; possibly why the BBC use/used their products.

The Thorens decks (I have three) still use their original drive belts and idler wheels (though I do have spares for these). The only things I have had to replace have been the rubber suspension 'mushrooms' (they harden with age and will collapse in time) and on one deck, I have had to replace the switch click-suppression capacitor.

The fluid in the lift-lower damping dashpot needs replacing on the first SME arm I cited, but I have learnt to live with it.

Looking back I seem to have enjoyed 40 years of trouble free listening!

Regards