2. misc-audio
  3. 191932-107

Reliability - what’s your experience been?

I’ve been into high fi since the 1970’s. Fortunately, equipment breakdown has been few and far between.

As best as I can recall, I needed the following repairs:

1- new motor on a Thorens turntable (noisy motor)

2- Repair of an Aiwa tape deck (noisy channel)

3- Bryston amp (broken power switch)

4- Proceed amp (would not turn on)

5- CAL cd player (noisy channel)

6- Bricasti dac (no sound- just static)

7- Simaudio cd player (failed transport)

8- Pass integrated amp (intermittent noise)

not bad for almost 50 years experience. How has your experience been?

128x128zavato
pmm
232 posts
 

Amps, Preamps, and Speakers. The most reliable.

CD players the least.

Spoke with a Hi End repair tech, he told me CD players have the highest failure rates vs Tape Decks and Turntables.

ghdprentice
6,965 posts
 

I have owned and upgraded a high end audio system since the early 1970s. Marantz at the beginning and getting better. Amber, AR turntable, Nakimachi, VPI, Threshold, Pass, Audio Research, Sony CD player (in the very beginning) and Sonic Frontiers, and Linn.

I only remember one failure… three times… the Sonic Frontiers CD player had the transport go out three times. They replaced it for free each time.

rlb61
789 posts
 

1.  Cary has been the absolute worst cr*p I've ever owned.

2.  BAT has been the absolute best gear I've ever owned ... great sound and built like a tank..

ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
3,130 posts
 

Had to replace a motor on a Nottingham Spacedeck

Bad output transformer on a Music Reference RM9. Luckily Roger had a spare even though the amp was out of production 

Bad output transformer on a Canary CA-160. These were monoblocks and the cost to repair was more than their value. I sold the pair back to Canary. Was not impressed with their customer service

Blown tweeter on a Silverline Sonata. Replaced with no drama

Bass driver went out on a Von Schweikert VR4. Albert sent one out promptly and a UPS label for the bad driver. Great customer service, RIP Albert 

 

deep_333
1,372 posts
 

The highest reliability electronics tend to come out of the island nation called Japan....which is what i tend to stick with. If i buy stuff that gets into the high end price bracket, i play it safe with such Japanese things.

I buy some cheaper American products like Schiit Audio and other Chifi things. If it fell apart, well...it didn’t cost that much (to begin with).

European stuff...nope, pass bro...i don’t feel like shipping transatlantic just to get your "high end" unreliable crap fixed...not to mention your miserable customer service!

Ok, maybe some German made stuff is an exception, the German engrs seemed to have learned a thing or two about design for reliability...

(Many lessons learned the hard way over the years...)

 

 

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