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When is used used up?

Is there a rule of thumb that says the savings of buying used equpment is offset by the age of said equipment? Surely, aging negatively effects circuits -- welds weaken, capacitors lose capacity, transistors tire, wiring oxidizes, etc. My first amp in 2000 was a Mcintosh 250 in A- cosmetic condition. When I replaced it five years later with an HK PA2400 (used), my system took on new life (more than the increase in wattage).
Seems like when a component is old, it's old, be it sacred cow or not.
garn509

Showing 1 response by lacee

lacee
811 posts
 
Depends on the gear.
I have a 1961 Bell tubed integrated amplifier with the original RCA 6v6 and Telefunken tubes.

I have owned it for almost 5 years, and don't play it much, but I've never had a problem.
As far as how many owners and how much use it has had I am not aware of, only that all the insides are stock, and no mods.

Everytime I take it out and insert it into my main system, it works,perhaps I am just lucky and it's on borrowed time.

The strange thing is, this unit isn't too far off the mark from some of my more expensive gear and certainly not tubey sounding or rolled off and distorted like some of the 1970's solid state receivers I have heard.

That being said,I just don't understand how gear from the 1970's that was mid fi, mediocre, seems to have taken on cult status and is referred to as Vintage and demands big bucks.

To me it's just old, it wasn't great then, how could time have improved it?
So to me if it works, you like it, got it for peanuts, then congrats, but when it needs fixin, it's useful time is up.
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