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Does electronics deteriorate with time?. Yes. However things like amplifiers and AVRs not much. Record decks will wear, the bearings grinding around will eventually need replacing,the belts dry out and crack
CD players have a plastic heart and all plastics become brittle with age.
Tape recorders were even worse. They have a lot more moving parts
Loud speakers .. depends. Magnets should lose some of their field, paper cones rot ,many use plastics for suspension parts and they can crack.
But getting back to amplifiers and AVRs. Generally very little to go wrong except heat damage.
Valve amplifiers which basically consist of a few transformers ,valves a choke or two and a few paper capacitors are of indefinite life. The heat does not bother them and the valves eventually lose emission,but can be replaced.
Transistor amplifiers are more heat sensitive. Partially because they use more electrolytic capacitors and these can dry out over time.
To put things into context. When I was a youngster, a local radio shop man gave me a treasure trove of 1920 to 1930 vintage radios,in non working order. The majority of which I did tickle back into life..so these would have been sitting idle in an attic for 30 years. That is the lifetime of valve equipment
In the 1980s I bought new a stereo receiver transistor Nikko brand 5050 ..and when I still fire it up, It works . a bulb on the display needs replacing. But other than a bit of rust on the DIN plugs it is fine.
In the 1990s I replaced it with a Marantz SR66 AVR ,which was in daily use until 2 years ago,when the upgraditis virus struck. I am sure it works just as good.
In 1995 I got a JVC Home cinema DVD player 5.1 ( model number?. ) It is still in use, but with a minor glitch it has a switching on problem ,sometimes, but otherwise is fully functional as a DVD player and audio setup..and is in a summer home.
In 200? I got a Sony DAV 260 Home Cinema to replace the JVC ,with HDMI ,to match a Sony LCD TV. It is in daily use. .. Rarely using the DVD drive but I know it works.
Recently I have bought for various locations 3 AVRs ,all just pre HDMI to use a receiver and amplifiers.
All have been trouble free. a Yamaha, a Sony and Harmon Kardon. Pre HDMI Quality AVRs probably 13 years old are phenomenal value those without HDMI in particular...This would be particularly true of the HK which was available at 10% of its original price.
The secret for the longevity is that the air circulation is very good. |
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