HiFi Reliability

[swiftmick]

Has anyone else had simular experiences with unreliable award winning products?

Over the years I have read and relied on reviews of various award winning products, only to experience poor reliability?

Products bought new, unpacked and placed on a hifi stand set up turned on, only to find after the 12 month warranty expires. So does the product?

Most alarmingly, British products. Award winning Subwoofers, Cd Players and Amplifiers.

I wont name the manufacturers, that wouldnt be fair.

But this is costing me a small fortune, plus a lot of ear bending from the other half.

About time reviews included reliability of the product before giving it praise.

And before anyone says I have just been unlucky. Even hifi reviewers in magazines have experienced products not working on opening the box.

 

[Leif]

I've not bought much, but a Teac system was still working after almost 20 years until I gave it away to a charity shop. My Arcam Solo Mini is working fine after 6 or so years. My Pure DAB radios are both working fine, one is 15 years old. The only failure I have had is an Apple Airport Express which failed after 2 years. Most stuff is made in China anyway. The boutique British hifi is made here, but these days the production standards should be high. However, small companies might well make stuff in small batches by hand, and that allows more room for failure in my opinion when compared to an automated production line. But I have no evidence for that view.

 

[chebby]

The only item that has ever failed (since I started buying hi-fi and TVs back in the early 1980s) was my Quad Vena bought in August 2015 and fixed/serviced by Quad under warranty back in June/July this year.

 

[Al ears]

About time reviews included reliability of the product before giving it praise.

How could they tell if a new product will be reliable in the long term? (At least for the year after purchase.)

I was wondering that.

Obviously most reviews are of new and new to the market items and their reliability would be an unknown factor.

 

[chebby]

About time reviews included reliability of the product before giving it praise.

How could they tell if a new product will be reliable in the long term? (At least for the year after purchase.)

They'd have to have racks and racks full of components on test for months (years?) not just powered on but being used at different volumes into different loads, switching between different sources at a range of ambient temperatures - within those specified in the instructions - and have someone regularly powering the stuff off and on etc.

Can't do it.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

I can only assume if everything keeps failing on you then something is amiss on your end.....to have kit keep failing on you like this is more than just a bit of bad luck . I've had numerous bits of gear over the years from Japan and the UK and nothing has failed on me..in fact I just gave my son an old technics midi system from 1995...it's working perfectly even the electronic eject on the cassette decks.

Are your components getting too hot due to inefficient ventilation.....do you exert your hi-fi to loud volume for extended periods?

Just some questions you may ask yourself as I think it is more than coincidence.

 

[chebby]

There is also an argument for only ever buying display/demo stock. (The longer it's been on dem the better.)

At least you know it works and has been tested when you walk off with it.

 

[nopiano]

I have had few problems, given I've been buying and using Hi-Fi for over forty years.

A Denon AV receiver went noisy on one channel, but by then it was about five years old and with no hdmi it was effectively redundant. Never again!

A budget Yamaha cassette deck stopped doing anything after 5 or 6 years. Probably more to repair than replace. Might just be a fuse, though. Checked the mains. Neatly stored in box now.

Had my previous CD player repaired after over ten years. Fine thereafter.

Had a speaker terminal crack - plastic moulding - replaced at reasonable price by original dealer.

I think that's it. My Nakamichi cassette deck must be around 35 years old now. I got it secondhand in about 1998, and it had just been serviced. Still works well. Shhh!

 

[Andrewjvt]

So he's the question
If you've had to send back.a.product for repair does it cause doubt to the sound quality after or not?

 

[chebby]

So he's the question If you've had to send back.a.product for repair does it cause doubt to the sound quality after or not?

Regarding my repaired Quad: Initially there was a sort of slightly irrational 'waiting for the other boot to fall off' feeling for a while after it's return. (But it had been on test for 24 hours after repair at Quad and another 24 hours at the dealer's place.)

I have since forgiven it and i now have it in a second system.

 

[davidf]

Has anyone else had simular experiences with unreliable award winning products?

Over the years I have read and relied on reviews of various award winning products, only to experience poor reliability?

As the war for exclusives and firsts increases and increases with publications and online blogs/sites, new products get reviewed before they've even hit the shelves most of the time, so can't really make any claims about reliability. With the reviews I have done so far, I do have an intention to write follow up reviews, covering many aspects including reliability, software improvements etc etc. magazines can't really do that as they have to cover everything new rather than a smaller selection of carefully chosen products.

Products bought new, unpacked and placed on a hifi stand set up turned on, only to find after the 12 month warranty expires. So does the product?

Firstly, ANYTHING can go wrong, even straight out of the box. It doesn't matter how expensive it is or where it is made - it comprises electronic components and/or mechanical parts. Sometimes products don't travel well, sometimes a duff component decides it's had enough after a few hours of use.

Once a product is reviewed by a publication, it won't get reviewed again, unless it is put into a supertest, but these seem less and less common nowadays, maybe because manufacturer's refuse to enter them, as only one product can win, and if yours doesn't, it could drasticaly reduce sales.

Some award winning products may not be individually checked/tested due to mass production trying to meet demand. My own choices for what I get in here aren't based on any awards - I'm aiming to stick to more reliable manufacturers in the first place - cuts down hassle for me, cuts down hassle for the customer - I'm not going to stock an unreliable product just because it is popular.

Most alarmingly, British products. Award winning Subwoofers, Cd Players and Amplifiers.

I wont name the manufacturers, that wouldnt be fair.

Even if a product is from a British manufacturer, it may well have been assembled in China, or use modules produced in China, which could affect reliability. That's not to say all Chinese manufacturing is sub par - when done properly, it's as good as any other continent. Some British manufacturers have their own factories in China which they have full control over - it's OEM manufacturing where quality can suffer. Better manufacturers tend to identify issues and eliminate them.

Maybe I've been lucky, but over 35+ years of owning hi-fi, I've had very few issues.

 

[insider9]

I buy 70-80% of my gear second hand. As long as the item works from switch on I've had no issues whatsoever. My current speakers are about 30 years old with nothing ever being done to them. The amplification I have is ranging from 5-20 years old. In fact I stick to streamers/dsp/dac/headphones new the rest will most certainly always be second hand.

The brand new items have not failed me either with the exception to the one that failed as I connected it to the wrong power supply. It still got a warranty repair even though it was my fault. Most manufacturers want their customer to be happy and are looking for repeat custom.

If your equipment is failing at that rate I'd look for reasons why that may be. Are you mistreating it? Are you having other electrical issues around the house? Is it one particular brand that's unreliable? Is it fit for purpose and properly matched?

Particularly the last point. You're not trying to run a pair of Apogee speakers with a budget amp not suited to handle severe loads? Or expect big low bass from a pair of standmounts and turn tone controls all the way. Or expect party levels from nearfield monitors or expect small speakers to fill the room? Or crank it up to full volume while taking a shower? You know what I mean :biggrin:

 

[gasolin]

Hififreaks in denmark includes 3 years warranty, free shipping both ways and you when you retun it you get all your money back,30 days return policy

They sell marantz,audiolab,triangle,boston,mission (speakers, not amps,cd players),wharfedale,qed,kimber.....

 

[tonky]

A month before the 2 year warranty was up on my shop demo'd Unitilite the CD drawer failed. It was fully replaced with no charge at all. Just glad it was one month before and not one month after or I would have had to pay labour costs. So - very pleased and all works perfectly.

tonky

 

[plastic penguin]

Has anyone else had simular experiences with unreliable award winning products?

Over the years I have read and relied on reviews of various award winning products, only to experience poor reliability?

Products bought new, unpacked and placed on a hifi stand set up turned on, only to find after the 12 month warranty expires. So does the product?

Most alarmingly, British products. Award winning Subwoofers, Cd Players and Amplifiers.

I wont name the manufacturers, that wouldnt be fair.

But this is costing me a small fortune, plus a lot of ear bending from the other half.

About time reviews included reliability of the product before giving it praise.

And before anyone says I have just been unlucky. Even hifi reviewers in magazines have experienced products not working on opening the box.

Generally speaking all hi-fi components are reliable. Of course you'll get the occasional hitch (and I've read on here horror stories by most brands): Roksan Kandy LIII had issues flagged up a few years ago; Cyrus new CDPs when they changed drawer-loaded to post box (as I call it) had initial firmware problems; A couple of people mentioned budget Cambridge amps had volume fade (attenuator) to one speaker when turned down low; Rega have had issues with their turntables and one make of amp.... these are normally isolated issues.

My Leema Pulse had earthing problems but that was rectified by Leema Acoustics. There have been a number of other brands where owners have had occasional problem. IME hi-fi is no different to any product: Some cars are more reliable than others, but that's a sweeping generalisation.

Perhaps look outside of award winners.

 

[insider9]

Has anyone else had simular experiences with unreliable award winning products?

Over the years I have read and relied on reviews of various award winning products, only to experience poor reliability?

Products bought new, unpacked and placed on a hifi stand set up turned on, only to find after the 12 month warranty expires. So does the product?

Most alarmingly, British products. Award winning Subwoofers, Cd Players and Amplifiers.

I wont name the manufacturers, that wouldnt be fair. 

But this is costing me a small fortune, plus a lot of ear bending from the other half.

About time reviews included reliability of the product before giving it praise.

And before anyone says I have just been unlucky. Even hifi reviewers in magazines have experienced products not working on opening the box.

Generally speaking all hi-fi components are reliable. Of course you'll get the occasional hitch (and I've read on here horror stories by most brands): Roksan Kandy LIII had issues flagged up a few years ago; Cyrus new CDPs when they changed drawer-loaded to post box (as I call it) had initial firmware problems; A couple of people mentioned budget Cambridge amps had volume fade (attenuator) to one speaker when turned down low; Rega have had issues with their turntables and one make of amp.... these are normally isolated issues.

My Leema Pulse had earthing problems but that was rectified by Leema Acoustics. There have been a number of other brands where owners have had occasional problem. IME hi-fi is no different to any product: Some cars are more reliable than others, but that's a sweeping generalisation.

Perhaps look outside of award winners.

Got a used Roksan Kandy L3 (LIII) at the minute as a few others. It replaced KA-1 Mk3 and L3 is better sounding of the two. No issues whatsoever and really impressed with it.

 

[steve_1979]

I wont name the manufacturers, that wouldnt be fair.

It would be fair to name them if they are producing unreliable products. It's best to warn others.

It would also be fair to name any hifi products have been reliable and performed perfectly for years.

 

[Al ears]

I wont name the manufacturers, that wouldnt be fair.

It would be fair to name them if they are producing unreliable products. It's best to warn others.

It would also be fair to name any hifi products have been reliable and performed perfectly for years.

Name names. It might be a tad interesting.... or maybe not...

I cannot recall a failure of any of my kit that wasn't normal wear and tear , however I do get through a lot by selling on.

Probably my longest lasting item that I ever owned was a Pioneer A400

 

[CnoEvil]

I have since forgiven it and i now have it in a second system.

Forgiveness is vital...otherwise the piece of kit gets sent to Coventary, or worse, Excommunicated.

 

[jjbomber]

About time reviews included reliability of the product before giving it praise.

They should do this as a footnote. The obvious example was Canton. It seemed to be every week that someone was on here complaining about a faulty soundbar. I think a footnote should be added to the reviews to point out this problem and drop them a star. If the fault is rectified and the complaints stop, then the footnote could be deleted and the missing star returned.

Don't forget that products should be fit for purpose, rather than just fit for the warranty. If you bought via a credit card, pat yourself on the back. I had an LG TV which packed up after 2 years and a month, so a month out of warranty. Yes, the power supply, as you had probably guessed. As LG wouldn't do anything I made a Chapter 75 claim on the credit card. They refunded £400, and also the cost of the engineer's report to confirm the TV was beyond repair. The TV cost £600, but under Chapter 75 you get what the product would be worth second hand. In my case they estimated the TV would have been worth £400 working.

 

[CnoEvil]

I have had few problems, given I've been buying and using Hi-Fi for over forty years.

A Denon AV receiver went noisy on one channel, but by then it was about five years old and with no hdmi it was effectively redundant. Never again!

A budget Yamaha cassette deck stopped doing anything after 5 or 6 years. Probably more to repair than replace. Might just be a fuse, though. Checked the mains. Neatly stored in box now.

Had my previous CD player repaired after over ten years. Fine thereafter.

Had a speaker terminal crack - plastic moulding - replaced at reasonable price by original dealer.

I think that's it. My Nakamichi cassette deck must be around 35 years old now. I got it secondhand in about 1998, and it had just been serviced. Still works well. Shhh!

As someone who has also been into hifi for 40 years+, my list would be:

- Intermittent channel fault with Audiotronic Cassette Deck ( ACD 770D)....sent back and fixed.

- Background hum on Teleton GA203 Amp....sent back and fixed under warrenty.

- Tweeter in SL6, replaced by dealer under warrenty.

- Arcam DV79 playback issues...sent back and fixed under warrenty

- Arcam AVR600 returned several times with known issues.....sent back and fixed under warrenty.

So not a lot...but as things get technically more advanced/complicated, as in AV kit (used as hifi), there is a much greater chance of faults developing.

 

[Andrew17321]

Until Tuesday, I have had no failures of HiFi equipment over the last 55 years. I was using my 47 year old Thorens turntable today (new cartridge 5 years ago, though old one was still working) - works perfectly! My loft has lots of legacy equipment that I grudge throwing out, eg a good quality fm tuner.

So what happened on Tuesday? The mains adapter for my Sonos Bridge went bang. That was after more than 8 years of continuous use. Replacement was £5.99. The Bridge was fine. So I can hardy complain about unreliability of HiFi equipment.

A few TVs have died on me, including a two year old Sony and a satellite TV recorder; and a few hard disks.

My conclusion is that good quality HiFi products seem reliable.

 

[swiftmick]

Thanks for all your comments.
And no. I dont thrash any part of my hifi.
Each item is treated with care.
And equipment failur has been various items over a number of years.
But perhaps the hifi press could take a leaf out of car editorials?
Some car magazines will keep a vehicle for 12 months reporting every month or so on how well the vehicle is or not performing .

 

[Tonestar1]

Couldn’t WHF or another print/online publication launch a "JD power" type survey that shows the reliability of manufacturers over the previous three or five years? It could also include customer satisfaction levels after an issue has been reported. This wouldn’t be too difficult to implement and would encourage manufacturers to try to top the table either by providing better quality products in the first place or providing excellent customer service when things go wrong. Some may say it could harm advertising revenue but surely it hasn’t done What Car any harm publicizing these results as part of every review.

 

[davidf]

The problem is that it relies on people telling the truth for starters - there's too many idiots out there that are just out to spoil things or hold grudges against manufacturers for whatever reason.

Also, why would WHF out a manufacturer for reliability issues when their mag might rely on some of them for articles/advertising etc?