Well, I routinely listen to the BBC on a Collins R390A receiver that is nearly 50 years old. Except for cleaning, alignment, and tube replacement, it has never had any downtime. Hardly audiophile sound, to be sure, but it does put pay to the myth that tube gear doesn't last.
will |
PROOF THAT SOME THINGS LAST FOREVER;here is my chance to share some long time experiance. 23 years ago I bought a used Bryston 4B, at that time they came with a transferable 3 year warranty. [i bet a lot of you never knew that] after about 8 years it broke down, I took it in to a repair shop but after hearing the estimate , it required about $200 in parts, no mention of labour, and I was broke at the time, I took it home unrepaired. The tech said give Bryston a call they have a good reputation concerning repairs. I questioned him but he just repeated give them a call. I being broke did not know what good it would do but I didn't know what else to do so I did. I still remember a guy asking me if I or anyone had messed with its insides. When I said no, he said, send it in, these are not supposed to break down! I did, thinking I would never see it again. It was Dec. 15 on Dec 22 or23 A knock at the door blew me away. There was my amp, fixed and shipped from Toronto to Victoria at Brystons expense, I did owe $17 cod for the new box. [i never had one] A few years later I spotted a full back cover add of the most popular audio magazine, declaring the new 20 year warranty, and that it was retroactively including each and every Bryston ever made! Now since then I have had two of my post warranty over 20 year old 4B amps break down. I paid repair bills of $110 and $130 [both less than $100 usdollars] THE MORAL IS; it cannot possibly be expensive to keep a Bryston amp working FOREVER, or Bryston could not have kept them ALL working for 20 YEARS! Larry |
I still have a Carver Silver cube from the early 80's. |
Hi Koen
I'm the third owner of this pair. The original owner purchase one I believe in 1956 and had it in a mono set-up. He sent it back to McIntosh in the late 50's to match it for a stereo pair. I purchased them from the 2nd (less than 1 year) owner in 1990 after they had been in storage for many years.
They capture the eye of all that see them unlike other gear I've owned. Sure a lot prettier than my current amp which is business only. |
Tubegroover, that's almost half a century, fantastic! |
depends: components can last a long assed time.
dynamic speakers, less so.
planar speakers, maybe less, maybe more than dynamics (depends on factors like owner is a smoker, humidity, etc).
powered speakers (like subs), probably the shortest life span.
rhyno |
I still have McIntosh MC-60 mono amps from the 1950's. Is this considered hi-end? They still sound wonderful btw and I can't part myself from them. |
Grandpad, great to hear I'm not the only one! Wished I had'nt sold my Revox years back, nor my AR D-79. The Stasis II cost me exactly $2800 hard earned bucks! The ML X-over was used and cost $800 and I still use it today to drive my Maggie basspanels, which I forgot to mention and which are also late seventies!They still function perfectly (and so do we audio -methusalems! (: ) |
Bryston has had 20 year warranties on their audio gear for a long time now, but from what I read, warranty work is seldom needed on their products. I think that says a a lot about Bryston, but also a lot about their competitors who presumably produce equipment just as good as Bryston-- OK, some worse, and maybe some even better.
I don't own any Bryston gear, but I certainly do respect their products and their warranty policy. Cheers. Craig. |
I have found the life of state-of-the-art components is longer than a state-of-the-art mate.......and less costly.
Did some sports car racing at one time..and the(yes..less than politically correct) joke of the time went:
"what's the difference between being mated to a lovely lady and having a Ferrari?.......in the long run the Ferrari is cheaper and more reliable".... |
Does the performance deteriorate over time even when everything is working properly? I guess the best analogy would be a car. Even though the car is still working but the acceleration is not what it use to be. Does the same thing happen to high end component. |
Hey Detlof, my Stasis 2 is still going strong, as is it's running mate, a Levinson ML-1. Keep company with a Revox B77 Mk II and Yamaha T-1. Ah the 70s. Total cost of these 4 pieces probably wouldn't buy a good preamp today. And ignorance was bliss - didn't worry about ics, pcs and speaker cable, just enjoyed the music!
Take care of your gear and it will take care of you. |
I bought LUXMAN when they first come to America in 1975. I still use my amp, preamp and tuner as a second system. My first system is now 1995 vintage Krell. |
Foreever if treated properly. |
I have a linn sondek that is 26 years old and still going strong . This is now in the second system as I have a basis 2001, graham 1.5tc in the main system. the linn has had many upgrades over the years but not in the last 8 or 9 years . I still like the linn. |
It's hard to say because even well built products may require occassional maintenance. For electronics a capacitor failing, or a solder joint loosening are probably the most common causes of equipment not working. While annoying, these problems are easily fixed, but they can occur in even the best built products. Mechanical devices such as CD players and tape recorders have shorter life spans. As opposed to electronics, mechanical devices will require a periodic rebuild. |
If you are not adverse to replacing parts that wear out, and assuming you can get them, then they last forever. I know someone who just replaced the FET's on his old Conrad Johnson stuff. The replacement FET's came from CJ. |
Mes, love your sense of humour! It was the highest of ends I got to so far. How're you doing?? Music coming back to life? Drop me a line, if you like! Regards, Detlof |
Until you read a review of something that supposedly sounds better. |
I have some Bozak speakers with internal amplifiers that are 25 years old. I refurbished the cabinets but have done nothing inside which is rare because the cones usually disintegrate. |
I still have some stuff from Levinson, the man (X-over) and a Threshold Stasis II, when Pass still owned the company. Both units are from the seventies and still in use. I once inadvertedly dropped the amp about 10 feet down and since it's built like a tank, it survived it. The X-ver needed a minor repair once in its power supply. I also have a couple of Quads 64, they however gave a bit more trouble through the years. Cheers, |
The holy grail of guitar amplifiers, to a lot of folks, is a '59 bassman. Probably have to do a cap replacement once in a while but there aint no reason for em to ever die if the design is sound. |
Until you find a higher end component :) |
