Know of any true bullet proof equipment stories?

Bumped into one of my B&W 804s while vacuuming one day. It dropped like a rock and hit my carpeted floor with a major THUD. I thought, my G*D, that's it, the drivers are toast. Fired up my system to listen and drivers worked no problem. Now I am looking for stable speaker stands...

Most all of Nelson Pass's amplifiers both Threshold and Pass Labs are built like brick chit houses.

Back in the good old days we actually tried to do something with that thing to disable its firing relentlessness. We suceeded though I don't quite remember what we did but it took some effort.
Anyway, let's return to audio.

Inna
Yeah they definitely make sounds and their both equipment of one kind or another and arguably from both sides to be an essential piece of equipment for survival even.

I too have only owned samsung phones for a long time and AK-47's will keep firing far after we will.

Everyone else thanks a million for the entertainment you have given me and the Audiogon community at large

Not exactly audio. I once dropped my Samsung cell phone into the pond and had to dive couple of metters to recover it. Removed the battery, wiped everything off and the damn thing worked perfectly. So naturally now the entire family only buy Samsung phones.
Heard many stories about AK47. Whatever you do to it that thing keeps firing. Oops, that was not audio at all. But it makes sounds!

How about this Marconi wireless receiver, which was on a ship that sank in 1918, was recovered from the ocean bottom in 1999, and subsequently restored to beautiful condition (albeit only after years of effort)? See the section headed "Type 16 Crystal Receiver" in this article (the link doesn't seem to work consistently, though, and if it does be patient waiting for the photos to download).

The online article doesn't include a photo of the set in as-found condition, but it is included in the print edition I have, and as found it looked like what you might expect it to, following 81 years at the bottom of the ocean.

Regards,
-- Al

Back in the early 1970s I used to work at the Allied Radio Shack 5-state service department. We had a Realistic receiver come in that was so melted from a fire that the knobs were blobs. The unit was sooty from one end to the other. It was sent to us for checkout- the only thing we found was the FW had died due to a bad Intermediate Frequency IC chip. But that particular receiver was prone to that particular kind of IC failure, so we could not definitively say that the fire caused it. It was on display in the local retail store for months- playing.

Having owned many Marantz receivers and amplifiers from the 70's, I would say these above all others enjoy legendary bullet-proof status. Who can forget this classic Marantz magazine ad for the 2270 receiver?

http://www.classic-audio.com/marantz/mfire.html

A guy owns the Pioneer SX-1050, it was never serviced and still sounds good.

Oh thanks for all the great stories, I always said McIntosh was bulletproof literally, Its cool to hear other stories, especially the marantz, now thats impressive!

Thanks again
Toby

Bifwynne

I completely agree, I luckily have an amazing local tech/salesman/speaker builder who is a friend and I can bribe with beer.

I firmly believe in building relationships with people in your community. Its amazing what a little listening and appreciation will get you.

It helps I used to work with him, but if you can find someone who loves what they do, their looking just as much for someone like them that they can talk to. I was amazed when I went and had beers with him the first time and he actually wanted to talk about stereo outside the shop!

Life is all about relationships, remember this and youll get some great advice and if your lucky when something goes wrong youll go straight to the top of the list

My comment is a little off topic, but picks up on a story similar to Hifixpert's experience about reputable companies that stand behind their gear. In my case, the equipment is an Audio Research VS-115 tube amp.

Yesterday in the late afternoon, while checking tube bias, it came to my attention that the bias voltage in one tube was zero. I immediately called ARC and spoke to Calvin Dahl. Calvin diagnosed the likely problem as being a burned out bias resister, which happens from time to time with tube equipment. Calvin checked the serial number of the amp and advised that it was still under warranty. He also provided me with the name of a local ARC authorized service technician.

The technician kindly agreed to check the unit and effect the necessary repairs IN MY HOME because the amp is a little too heavy and bulky for me to drag around. Two hours later, the tech showed up. The repair took all of 45 minutes to do (i.e., replace a burned out bias resister), and voila, I'm back up. Of course, the repair was covered under warranty.

I'm sure that other members can offer similar stories about their experiences. And maybe they should -- in another thread. But since my experience is so fresh after just reading Hifixpert post, I had to post my story too. Kudos to ARC -- and Bryston too.

Here's one. Not exactly audio, but years ago when I was in the Air Force I was bringing a Hewlett Parkard o'scope back to the shop after calibration. The scope was sitting on a foam pad in a box. Unfortunately, the box was not secured and the trucks back door was opened. When I accelerated from a stop sign the scope slid out the back of the truck and bounced along behind us for 20 yards or so.
Pick the scope up and took it back to the shop and checked it out. The thing worked perfect. I used that piece for about three more years and never had an issue with it. Now that was a bullet proof piece of electronics.

Drivers in OHM Walsh speakers are enclosed in a metal mesh can. No exposed parts other than terminals. Older models are highly tapered from bottom to top and hard to topple.

About as bullet proof as they come. My first pair stuck around for almost 30 years before I traded them in in good working order for a newer model.

Not to jinx it but my Linn Axis table has been running flawless now for about 25 years, and still with all original parts.

I also have a 30+ year old Dual 1264 that still runs fine except the record changer feature needs some work.

Pass Aleph amps. You can dead short the leads.
No damage.

I have a NAD 5000 cd player bought new in 1991 if memory serves me correctly. It served well for years in my main system. I then put it in a dusty, humid garage/work shop for 5 years or so. It now serves duty in a secondary system in the family room while I work from home. I dusted off the old cd player snd it's still playing without missing a note. Not too bad for a 20 year player with countless hours of playing time.

A curious toddler can do crush tests on any bullet-prof equipment and yes I'd doubt if it would work after LOL!

This is pretty much the best one I've heard.

Marantz 2270

"Any speaker made out Kevlar!"

OK, if you want go there. The original Cerious Technologies speakers were made out of ballistic ceramic with a carbon fiber wrap. I believe the wrap was kevlar or a close relative.

Any speaker made out Kevlar!

I certainly agree with the comments on Crown gear. And in the highly unlikely event something does go wrong, you are going to be supported by a longstanding and credible company that takes customer service seriously. Much the same can be said about Bryston. I have owned much Bryston equipment over my many years in the hobby, and only experienced one problem (which may have been my fault). Bryston repaired the problem -- free-of-charge -- within one day and thus I was only without my component for about one week, shipping included. INcidentally, when that issue did occur I sent a Sunday e-mail to Bryston, and received a reply from Jim Tanner within a few hours on that same Sunday.

Vintage Crown DC300A amplifer. Bought vintage amp last year for my son. The amp was poorly packaged and as luck would have it, was dropped during shipment to me. Part of the chassis was bent. It went back to Crown for a factory check and chassis repair. The drop only did superficial damage to the amp. Otherwise, even after 35+ years since it was built, still specs perfectly. My son loves it! I wonder if it would work under water, maybe as a boat anchor????

friend of mine owns edge nl 12.1 amp. he said it had very good build quality, and then he stood on top the amp (he weighs 170# +). and stood there.

cleaned the shoe marks off the amp. it was playing the whole time. edge gear is very well made.

disclosure -- i'm selling an edge preamp.

When I was young idiot I hooked up four pairs of speakers to a Kenwood KA 7100 integrated and played it that way for several years and nothing bad happened.
When I was an older idiot I hooked up a Marantz 500 power amp to two pairs of speakers even though it clearly advised that a fire hazard would result and guess what...? It caught fire after only a couple of minutes. And no it didn't play after that.

Most of the Classe DR models.They seem to be fabulously built and great sounding. I would also included the Adcom GSP-565 pre-amp. There not beautiful to look at but seem to be built very well and hold there own for the asking price used.