Lifespan of a quality solid state amplifier?

what are the sonic indications of caps gone bad? I have a yamaha M60 power amp from around 1978, I might dust it off and put it back in service. It would be my most powerful amp.

Digepix:

Thank You.

maybe they should make caps out of plutonium. One less thing to worry about.

the twenty year half life thing is just wrong and does not apply. No amount of posting will make it right. Half life refers to radioactive material. And it is not mean time between failure. MTBF most often is measured in hours.

"How would you know if your self described "low end" systems have deteriorated when they don't sound that good in the first place"

You have just put your finger on one of the best things about going sub lo-fi. They never break and if they did, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Lo-Fi Rules!!

Maybe he attended Harvard.

You graduated in one day? Damn!