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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
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.
mike60
275 posts
 
The mechanical components seem more problematic. Dont see much talk about speaker failures for eg. It is very hard for a small exotic manufacturer to be able to afford to invest the time and money in rigorous testing, and they also dont have the extensive field experience that a manufacturer of millions of units has, so to me it is no surprise. I have been mostly lucky but i accept that reduced reliability can be a part of the experience at this level. A trustworthy dealer and a manufacturer that will be supportive makes all the difference. I think this is why relationships are critical in this industry. I dont want a relationship with the guy who sold me my $100 DVD player, but i really have to trust the dealer who sells me a $50k turntable!
bizango1
276 posts
 
Rok2id
It's kind of nice to know I have more money than brains-makes me feel like I've arrived or something. But even if I now have more money than brains it still doesn't mean much if I don't have a lot of brains left.

Snackeyp,
I agree with other posters that you must have had an unlucky streak. My stuff has been almost flawless for many years except for one on/off switch on a Rotel amp ($4.00 part). Only other issue was a BAT preamp I sold to another member who said it had hum but worked fine in my system after we worked out a return and refund. Later sold to a happy member w/o hum.

Sorry to hear about your frustrations that must distract from your musical enjoyment. Maybe my stuff hasn't been high-end enough and I need to raise my aspirations in order to acquire dissatisfaction.
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