How many years is a flagship component good for?

I would put my $350 Accuphase C-200 up against any new pre and it's almost 40 yo

Stanwal, are you using Martin Colloms's arbitrary ratings as some sort of objective indicator of performance levels? That scale of his is a bit of a laugh, and based entirely on his subjective tastes. It can't be taken seriously.

Statements to the effect that a $15K premp is like a 10 y.o. $25K preamp are nuts; there is no scientific correlation between price and performance, or between age and performance. Forget such comparisons. Remember, good engineering costs no more than bad.

As always, if YOU like a piece, use it; your ears are arbiters. That said, old gear needs freshening if technical inspection sees performance dropoff.

I think the "$15K premp is like a 10 y.o. $25K preamp" statement is refering to inflation, not quality.

Kristian, I take it quite seriously as you would yourself if you knew more about audio. I have spend nearly 50 years in audio myself and am quite confident in my own taste but lack the time, money or energy to hear everything on the market. Therefore I have decided to place faith in reviewers whose taste resembles mine. I first encountered Martin Colloms when he was chief designed for Monitor Audio in the 70s. I bought all the ones they brought over to the Chicago CES the first year they exhibited over here and almost became the first importer. I have followed his work and writings ever since and know of no one else in audio who has had the breath of designing and reviewing experience that he has had. Is he infallible? No one is but I have always found his views helpful even when I disagreed with them and you cannot ask more of anyone. The point about price is that many of todays products have prices that have been inflated for beyond their worth. Ones almost as good are available at a fraction of the cost. The best is always expensive but yesterdays best is affordable for me and todays is not.