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Are High End Audio Products Unreliable?

I don't know if it's just my bad luck but since I've gotten back into high end audio in the past year I have purchased several components that have developed problems that I have never experienced while owning mass produced Japanese components of the 70's and 80's.
First was my Well Tempered turntable. Granted , it was old, but the design is so simple that it should be pretty bomb proof. That one got a lot better once I got everything dialed in, but what a pain in the butt just to get it there.
Second was my Lehmann Black Cube phono preamp, which developed a bad channel. Then it was the Parasound JC-3 phono preamp that was bad out of the box, but was replaced with a new one (no issues since). Next, my Cambridge Azur 840C CD player developed issues loading CDs (no other issues but this is annoying). Then I bought a Furutech GT-40 DAC that had noise when playing computer files through the USB (replaced with a new unit which works great). Next, I bought a CARY SLI-80 amp that was physically damaged out of the box but worked fine at first, but after a couple of weeks developed an issue with the remote relay and required me to send it back for repair. I got a new unit from Upscale that is working great.
I'm not a total hamfist who is hard on equipment, I swear. I'm super careful with my stuff, I run everything through power conditioners, and know how to set up equipment. I must be unlucky. Or have others had similar experiences as mine?
128x128snackeyp
rok2id's avatar
rok2id
7,823 posts
 
The Japanese designed their equipment to be problem free, mainly because, at the heyday of Japanese electronics, it was a cutthroat business. No one could afford to put out junk and survive. Today the high end business is aimed at a very few folks, most with more money than brains, so, It could be that the Boy geniuses working in their garage or the boutique makers in the mountains, are a lot better at desiging the outside than they are at designing the inside. More into magic / hype, than audio engineering. The make beautiful stuff, just not very reliable.
Lo-Fi Rules!
Peace.
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
I don't consider an old Well Tempered table, Lehmann, or Cambridge "high end".

IMO
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
i think one can say that some high-end products are unreliable. there are so many, and only a small sample of them have been mentioned.

for example, audio research, cj, magnepan, martin logan, vandersteen, ayre,halcro, levinson, krell, magico,hansen, lamm, esoteric etc., have not been mentioned as unreliable.
jrtrent
45 posts
 
I had trouble with a conrad-johnson preamp about 27 years ago (which was taken care of quickly and courteously as a warranty service), but can't think of any other product that's given me problems. Not that I buy lots of stuff, but everything I've had from Thorens, Naim, Linn, Rega, Vandersteen, Audio by Van Alstine, and Grado has worked great. Part of this may be due to my having purchased everything except the Audio by Van Alstine gear from local dealers, who typically check everything out prior to a sale to make sure you get a complete, properly-functioning unit, and the AVA stuff is built to order and tested prior to shipment.
nickjn
111 posts
 
Personally i've never experienced such things on hifi but it happens.
Some companies quality control is failing in some way.
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