21 year old AV receiver - waiting for the end?

@akg_ca

Techs won’t touch them because of two main reasons:

(1) Replacement Parts are unavailable and the only possible source is Frankesteining from another old sold-for-parts unit , if even possible.. In your very old model case, it’s a Hail Mary case, at best. Techs intuitively won’t invest valuable time to source this.

(2) The costs to potentially fix it invokes a further not insignificant labour cost . In the end, their final parts and labour and taxes invoice to you will grossly exceed its FMV. Techs prior experience in resulting bad debts risk predicates a hard “pass” from the get-go

Not sure what you mean by "Techs", because I have slightly different opinion -- an opinion of a tech. I own Sunfire SRA amplifier that was built around that era and started HUMMING pretty LOUD... Guess What? Few caps and transistor had been identified in the driving stage while the output stage and large filter caps were perfectly fine. Now the transistor isn't the one that was original -- found NTE replacement and BOOM -- back in business no sound quality compromise.

Many techs can ID problems without having any circuit diagram by tracing hum with either oscilloscope or headphones.

All parts are being re-marked and often manufactured with different names and markings as equivalents to the prior parts. After techs had identified the problem(if any) they will try to find OG part and if not, they will find an equivalent part.

To the best of my knowledge, your unit built in 2002 is repairable and serviceable.

@roxy54 ...Had been lately disappointed with pretty much ANYTHING new today so newer-better thing may hurt financially and functionally.

@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

@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.