How old is too old?

if you can’t listen to this.....without wanting to turn if up.....

"I’ve got the Key...." ;)

Finally Friday, although not the Beginning it once was....;)

Too physically old for the meat I move about in.....had enough ennui for another lifetime to be an annoyance in.....*L*

@pcrhkr , I'd considered that Crown pair a bit too long ago vs. the Kenwood 07 bits I went with....
Happy with them but one still wondered....*S*  Happy Crown 'went pro' so I can still  hear them on occasion...  Still impressive stuff.... 👍😎

A couple of thoughts from someone who is still involved in servicing vintage audio gear:

We’ve only experienced 2 instances where items have, literally, burst into flames on the test bench.  This seemed to align with the 50-year mark on electronics.  I recall the moment after hitting the "send" button on my computer to let a customer know his Vietnam-era reel-to-reel was ready for pickup, and was then "distracted" by flames (and smoke) coming from the transformer.  This was after MANY hours of diagnostics, parts replacement(s), testing -- and listening.  The term "burn in" took on additional meaning that day.  

As for aging CD players, I have formed a little analogy.  It’s a "perfect storm" of read errors when the laser weakens and "slop" develops in the mechanism.  Imagine an old guy trying to hit that little bullseye in a urinal with weakened stream that he can’t hold as steady as he used to.  That’s the case of old CD player laser pickups.

On the other hand, we’ve had 60+ year old speakers in the shop that were still fairly competent electro-mechanical acoustic transducers. 

Then there’s the issue(s) of out of warranty service support.  It’s not uncommon to see items costing several thousands dollars "orphaned" by the manufacture with no service strategy in place whatsoever to take care of them if/when they break.  At a tender 10-year mark they are directed to the recycle center -- or become what we refer to as a "science project" where the hours invested to get them up an running does not align with a fiscally-responsible plan of action.  

All that being said, we are still stunned at times at just how much music can come out of those old boxes when "newer thinking" is applied and/or parts are upgraded (or bypassed altogether) that make them sound worse.

And ... there is something quite therapeutic about handing (and releasing) physical media.

I think I will just cross the bridge when I come to it. My current Marantz is doing fine. Unless some deal comes along that is too good to pass,

As for streaming...not now...not ever.

Purchase a used SONY SACD from eBay or AGon and be done with it. If you like its performance, then try to get a spare.