21 year old AV receiver - waiting for the end?

@czarivey

no QUALITY pro techs anywhere near me in Toronto within a three hour driving time radius will  service AVRs that are not still under “useful” warranty, …for the two reasons I highlighted .

They are quite clear, and unambiguous…. “No Thanks” .and concise upfront.

SOURCE :

(1) CANUCKAUDIOMART posts coast to coast repeatedly highlight and emphasize this, and it’s also bolstered my personal direct experiences. It’s a frequent recurring CAM query popping up at least monthly, for someone desperately pleading for an AVR repair fix .

(2) That sentiment is also been personally confirmed with the major bricks and mortar dealers that I’ve personally contacted (the majority) .

Similarly, dealers won’t take in ANY AVR on a dealer trade-in that is out of warranty either . I had a discrete HT system $6000 7.1 AVR that was within 6 months of its warranty expiry date, that all dealers would not take in on a trade . Sobering experience…. Never to buy another AVR again … embryonic boat anchors and a poor investment LT. Fortunately I was able to sell it privately and move on to 7.1 system discrete quality 2-3-2 YBA power amps , and a quality 7.1 AV pre-amp /.processor ( the latter is a pre-planned and expiring usefulness = a disposable as the CODECS change);.

Maybe you have a different local tech service AVR experience …. great ….. carry on …. BUT it sure as sh*t is not universal unfortunately.

@akg_ca 

I have a safe assumption that nearest tech can be found in less civilized nations such as Mexico, Cuba, some parts of Europe, plenty can be found in Eastern Europe including Russian Federation. 

In fact anywhere where people aren't learning at school to live for the cost of the others, but learning how to create things on their own, there are techs that can repair pretty-much anything...

Canada and USA have very limited quantity and they soon become first very poor sited and using walker then we are all not forever after all. 

Any sources or entities you've listed meant to have someone knowledgeable to handle problems, but, after you've mentioned DEALERS -- gimme break as you're not looking the right places. Maybe you'll find one in the Slab City -- BIG CHANCE

@czarivey  been lately disappointed with pretty much ANYTHING new today so newer-better thing may hurt financially and functionally."

A senseless blanket statement. So, you're saying that everything new is overpriced and inferior. 

@czarivey

I always send all my stuff to independent professional techs for my service and repairs ,unless it’s under still under warranty that requires dealer documentation support to send it to a distributor designated repair shop,

I have my current trusted local independent pro tech Audiofave who is top shelf: European trained, prompt, experienced and fair price,

. Who can ask for more? Contemporaneously, he is the designated Canadian shop for seversl of the major Brit and Euro audio product Canadian distributors.

WRT dealers, there is a hierarchy of after-sale support : a paltry few of longstanding larger audio bricks and mortar ones with an in-house seasoned tech, and 99% have their own designated fave independent 3rd party. In the 45 years in this hobby, I know them all within a 150 mile radius. And the numbers keep dwindling over the years .

Of course we all intuitively trend to the independent shop for convenience and price and service …the challenge is finding a good and trusted one. I have a ranking list of quality types, and they all currently all decline AVR repairs out of warranty.
They all sing from the same songsheet …..dem’s da breaks …( 2-Channel audio  …all good … no problem ) 

As you point out, maybe you can go find SOMEBODY to fix the issue SOMEWHERE …. But At pro tech rates generally north of a $100 an hour and up …it’s all competitive and not insignificant.

. How much cash and personal time are most forum fans herein going to invest in a 20 year Uber-old AVR with an estimated best case minimal market FMV that will be dwarfed by the actual new costs to upgrade or repair it.?

carry on and choose wisely, sir.

@roxy54

So many times I’ve tried to tell contrary and that many times verified that it is inferior and it is overpriced pretty much anything

@akg_ca

Fixing Rotel AVR for about $250 worth if necessary when the time comes, but while it’s still alive, no need to bother and no need to worry and no need to listen stories about smoke and be terrified about that.