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Total cost of ownership - how to reduce it

Audiogon members love their music - but I am not alone, I think, in finding that the requirements in terms of cost and time for keeping the system running at optimal, can become too steep. Can we help each other out?

Today I have spent two hours trying to find a failed tube in my system. Two months ago I had a bad episode with a repair service that did not repair and did not return my stuff. Some weeks ago, I blew a speaker driver, I am still waiting for the replacement. Thinking, I need a tube tester, since my system has a lot of tubes - I got the tester, but it blew tubes, not "dead on arrival" but "over-excited" - and has to be repaired. I am perhaps especially unlucky. But I ask myself, how much is enough? When such experiences accumulate, I can understand people plugging into Mp3, it is simple and it works.

I have thought about my situation and diagnosed two main types of problems - maybe, relevant for other Audiogon members also.

The first is where you buy a thing used and then get it upgraded by the manufacturer. You pay quite a lot for this, and you would expect the whole thing is checked - but it is not. In two cases now, I have experienced that even if the upgrade works fine, the box as a whole is not checked, and develops problems a year or two after the upgrade.

The second case is where you pay for an upgrade that is more like a new build (e g of a speaker) or rebuild (of a cartridge). Now, there is no lagging wear and tear problem, but it turns out that the upgrade parameters were not fully developed, things have to be changed or checked afterwards (speaker drivers dont work optimal, needle not quite in place, etc).

I would be the first to recognize that some of these costs (time, mainly, but money also) should be accepted. I have paid local repair costs without complaining, and have used many hours of my own time. As an advanced user, I accept some extra costs.

It is just that, sometimes it gets too much.

I would like other Audiogon users' thoughts on this dilemma, and especially, what can we do to reduce the total ownership costs.

Your thoughts and experiences welcome.
o_holter

Showing 1 response by sleepwalker65

sleepwalker65's avatar
sleepwalker65
832 posts
 
Back to the topic, TCO is made up of two factors: original investment cost and repair&maintenance cost. You have control over both.

As far as OI goes, make a short-list and choose high quality equipment that meets but doesn’t exceed the “must-haves” on your list. For instance, don’t pay for a high end DAC if you are only listening to analog sources.

As far as R&M goes, choosing quality in your OI goes a long way, but you must still account for replacement of wear and tear items such as styli, tubes and speaker components. Buying equipment that’s suited to task and not pushed to the limits most of the time helps. Cleaning, handling, power supply and environmental factors helps also. Learning to tackle some or all of the R&M work can reduce your TCO if you already have some of the tools, equipment and inclination for those tasks.

Bottom line for me is maximizing my enjoyment of music and my equipment by being deeply involved in the R&M side pays off in spades. I carefully selected vintage gear and built a system that cost me less than $5K but performs at the level of many $30K systems. That $25K differential pushes the threshold of diminishing returns far beyond my wants. And I’m having lots of fun in the process!

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