High End Components - How long do they last?

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.

I still have a Carver Silver cube from the early 80's.

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

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