Question Longevity of HiFi gear.

[podknocker]

CD transport parts are going to be very hard to find eventually, but as someone said on another thread, the 3D printing is going to allow many users to repair old devices very cheaply.

I get berated on here about my views on new CD players not sounding better than stuff from the 80s, but guess what, they don't!

 

[Gray]

...an Arcam that intermittently struggled not to re-eject the tray when loading

Almost certainly that same cog / pulley.

 

[matthewpianist]

CD transport parts are going to be very hard to find eventually, but as someone said on another thread, the 3D printing is going to allow many users to repair old devices very cheaply.

I get berated on here about my views on new CD players not sounding better than stuff from the 80s, but guess what, they don't!

I still maintain that the Rotel RCD-965BX is one of the best CD players of all. One of the best sounding separates systems I had was one of these with a Pioneer A400 and Dynaudio DM2/6s. That's the system I would probably put together again if I was buying separates, but I'm happy with where I am.

 

[Stuart83]

Probably the exact same as my Philips - and why there are so many replacements available.
(Ordered, delivered, fixed - all for under a fiver).
View attachment 5455

It does look identical, coincidentally my first cd player in 1997 was a Philips I liked it that much as a teen I literally wore it out, nothing failed mechanically but the sound went to a loud constant high pitched whine.
😁 I remember being devastated and getting a teak I didn't like with an annoying orange display

 

[Stuart83]

I still maintain that the Rotel RCD-965BX is one of the best CD players of all. One of the best sounding separates systems I had was one of these with a Pioneer A400 and Dynaudio DM2/6s. That's the system I would probably put together again if I was buying separates, but I'm happy with where I am.

I still run a pioneer a400 from time to time, I love the warm sound.
Just cleaned mine out and reattached the power led.
I have a acram sa30 in my main setup now and a Yamaha in the other room and have had a few others over thr years but always kept the a400.
As I'm other posts I can't say enough good about it, the selector knob is starting to wear and drift to one channel on the cd selection but I will be replacing that if it spreads to the other ports as it's remedied by just bypassing it and plugging the cd player in another line input.
It's true what what hifi said back in the day "it put a cat amongst the pigeons" and outclassed amps double it's price and more.

 

[Cricketbat70]

It does look identical, coincidentally my first cd player in 1997 was a Philips I liked it that much as a teen I literally wore it out, nothing failed mechanically but the sound went to a loud constant high pitched whine.
😁 I remember being devastated and getting a teak I didn't like with an annoying orange display

Annoying orange display🤔 sounds like the TEAC I bought in the early 90's from RS.

 

[Gray]

My Quad FM4 tuner is 40 years old next February.
Working well and fortunately not a throwaway item - in its life I've replaced the mains transformer, a logic IC, a couple of electrolytic capacitors and the backup battery....but I really wouldn't fancy my chances on much of the modern stuff.

 

[podknocker]

My Quad FM4 tuner is 40 years old next February.
Working well and fortunately not a throwaway item - in its life I've replaced the mains transformer, a logic IC, a couple of electrolytic capacitors and the backup battery....but I really wouldn't fancy my chances on much of the modern stuff.
View attachment 5462

View attachment 5463

That looks amazing for its age. Looks new really. I doubt you could get a decent FM tuner now.

 

[Gray]

That looks amazing for its age. Looks new really. I doubt you could get a decent FM tuner now.

£219 Feb 1984, Laskys, Southend.
(Bring back Laskys).

 

[podknocker]

WOW! I bought my Philips CD473 from there in 1988 and it cost £249

Edit: it was the only player I ever saw with transport locks, to protect it during transit. You don't see these now and I wonder if shipping and moving around does affect modern transports and that's why they fail so early. I don't think cartons and foam are enough these days, especially when you see how some delivery drivers handle their cargo.

 

[jjbomber]

Edit: it was the only player I ever saw with transport locks, to protect it during transit.

Naim use them.

 

[AJM1981]

It should last a lifetime without losing something soundwise.

The only thing I try to avoid in Hifi are products in which fluids and gels for cooling or other reasons are mentioned. I also try to avoid plastic casings that might get brittle over time.

 

[AJM1981]

£219 Feb 1984, Laskys, Southend.
(Bring back Laskys).
View attachment 5464

Decent stuff

Had its predecessor for a while.

 

[JDL]

My main set up is based around an AV receiver. Yamaha DSP-AX761 a 7.1 chanel receiver from 2008. I keep thinking of going back to just a stereo amp, I hardly watch anything in surround sound anymore. Rach says I'll regret it if I do go that route.
As for the Roksan. I only used it with the B&W vision DS2 so not the best speakers to partner with it but it sounded good and filled a decent size function room with sound.

I think that if you only listen to music, Rach could be mistaken. I believe that because a stereo amp has far less wiring and signal paths inside than a surround system, unless one can afford to spend an absolute fortune, a surround sound amplifier driving the numerous speakers it does will never be able to compete with a stereo set up.
Add to this the fact that the money that's spread around these numerous speakers, if concentrated into a pair of stereo speakers is again going to yield higher quality.
Nearly all music is recorded for stereo reproduction. If for example one were to spend say two thousand pounds on a stereo amplifier and a pair of stereo speakers, or spend two thousand pounds on a surround sound set up the surround set up simply has to have the quality spread thinner so to speak.
If music is what you're into and not movies, TV etc then stereo is surely the way to go.
Why not try finding a decent second hand pair of speakers to try with the Roksan and maybe a good quality secondhand CD player, if you have some CDs and see how the sound compares. You never know, Rach might find herself surprised.

 

[JDL]

Decent stuff

Had its predecessor for a while.

The Quad 67 CD player is still considered one of the finest sounding CD players ever made. They're sought after and still fetch quite a lot of money.

 

[Cricketbat70]

I think that if you only listen to music, Rach could be mistaken. I believe that because a stereo amp has far less wiring and signal paths inside than a surround system, unless one can afford to spend an absolute fortune, a surround sound amplifier driving the numerous speakers it does will never be able to compete with a stereo set up.
Add to this the fact that the money that's spread around these numerous speakers, if concentrated into a pair of stereo speakers is again going to yield higher quality.
Nearly all music is recorded for stereo reproduction. If for example one were to spend say two thousand pounds on a stereo amplifier and a pair of stereo speakers, or spend two thousand pounds on a surround sound set up the surround set up simply has to have the quality spread thinner so to speak.
If music is what you're into and not movies, TV etc then stereo is surely the way to go.
Why not try finding a decent second hand pair of speakers to try with the Roksan and maybe a good quality secondhand CD player, if you have some CDs and see how the sound compares. You never know, Rach might find herself surprised.

I'm going to be cruel now. I don't think she would notice a difference, she's been wearing hearing aids for 5 years, almost totally deaf in her left ear and her right ear about 50%.

 

[James105]

My Quad FM4 tuner is 40 years old next February.
Working well and fortunately not a throwaway item - in its life I've replaced the mains transformer, a logic IC, a couple of electrolytic capacitors and the backup battery....but I really wouldn't fancy my chances on much of the modern stuff.
View attachment 5462

View attachment 5463

Thats immaculate, I'm impressed. With an RS catalogue and a soldering iron you could properly keep that going forever, even bake replacement eproms if you knew whats on them.

 

[Friesiansam]

My CDT, is a LiteOn DVDRW drive from 2013. A better quality drive but, still cost less than £30!
The thing is, a PC optical drive, in order to do it's job properly, must read every single bit of data and, have effective error correction. It's not showing any sign of pushing up daisies any time soon.

My first reasonably good headphones were 1980's Beyerdynamic DT880 Studios, like the ones in the picture below. They lasted through 25 years of heavy use.

 

[podknocker]

My CDT, is a LiteOn DVDRW drive from 2013. A better quality drive but, still cost less than £30!
The thing is, a PC optical drive, in order to do it's job properly, must read every single bit of data and, have effective error correction. It's not showing any sign of pushing up daisies any time soon.

My first reasonably good headphones were 1980's Beyerdynamic DT880 Studios, like the ones in the picture below. They lasted through 25 years of heavy use.

I plug my 21 year old Sennheiser HD600 cans into my new £349 Lenovo PC's headphone jack an it sounds superb. You can get excellent sound from PC based components and it's a myth spending thousands on a CD player is necessary.

 

[Deleted member 201267]

I plug my 21 year old Sennheiser HD600 cans into my new £349 Lenovo PC's headphone jack an it sounds superb. You can get excellent sound from PC based components and it's a myth spending thousands on a CD player is necessary.

I often plug my laptop into the back of my Amp, play tracks off youtube that i have on CD and get a better sound than my CD player...and thats when using a jack to phono cable, 10m long, that cost about £2.

 

[Gray]

I often plug my laptop into the back of my Amp, play tracks off youtube that i have on CD and get a better sound than my CD player...and thats when using a jack to phono cable, 10m long, that cost about £2.

YouTube sound can be very acceptable.
(I quite often play the odd thing that I've recorded off there).

Just wondering about your CD player though - what it is and whether you've experimented with any external DAC.

 

[Edbostan]

Interesting discussion on another thread.
How long do you expect hifi equipment to last?
Whilst items like solid state amplifiers should do well and certain manufacturers offer a very long warranty on their kit, although these are limited to the likes of Mark Levinson etc., how about other items like C D players, speakers etc.
Will be interested to see your thoughts on how long you expect items to remain fully fun particularly those with some mechanical elements.
And by that I mean without having to do anything to it.

Do items wear out or does obsolescence shorten longevity of products? Electrical components can change value, lasers in CD players malfunction and the latest technology hastens legacy products. You buy your desired component hoping the enjoyment lasts past its warranty period. My original Cyrus One is testament to that.

 

[JDL]

I'm going to be cruel now. I don't think she would notice a difference, she's been wearing hearing aids for 5 years, almost totally deaf in her left ear and her right ear about 50%.

Ah, I see. Your not being cruel at all, just honest. I apologize for this inappropriate assessment of your listening needs as a couple. That's a shame for Rach, but I guess we all live with things the way they are.

 

[Deleted member 201267]

YouTube sound can be very acceptable.
(I quite often play the odd thing that I've recorded off there).

Just wondering about your CD player though - what it is and whether you've experimented with any external DAC.

Here is my Sony 930 CD player playing into the matching 930 Amp. Never bothered trying another DAC. I often play records off Bandcamp too and get great results !

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWOs_Yhpr3g

 

[JDL]

CD transport parts are going to be very hard to find eventually, but as someone said on another thread, the 3D printing is going to allow many users to repair old devices very cheaply.

I get berated on here about my views on new CD players not sounding better than stuff from the 80s, but guess what, they don't!

I use Meridian CD players from the early 90s. My first CD player was a Marantz CD 6000OSE KI, but I was never satisfied by its sound. I tried a Denon after that but again, I didn't like the sound and it was skipping although it was a cheap second hand purchase.
I then decided to find something better, so I did hours and hours of researching online. I saw a Quad 67 for sale and nearly bought it. These have an extremely good reputation and it's said that this CD player is still one of the best sounding CD players ever built. What put me off, was that they're criticised for being somewhat 'bass light'. Eventually, I decided on a Meridian 206. As with the Quad they have a good reputation and particularly with this model for producing an 'analogue' type sound, and rich bass. A few months later I bought a Meridian 508.20, again a CD player with an extremely good reputation, for being well made and having very good sound quality. I also got the micky taken out of me for not buying new, which is fine as I know it was all meant in good jest, (I think😂)
But here's the thing. Both Meridians were working perfectly, all day everyday even though 30+ years old. I sent one away to be rebuilt for peace of mind and it sounds even better, so I assume there had been some degradation of capacitors or something. The other one's going for the same treatment when the repair shop I use has a slot available. Incidentally it's a Meridian 206 and the guy who works on them is a Meridian specialist and said that although lasers aren't available for these models anymore, they very rarely if ever fail on this model.
The other thing is, I don't want my audio gear to come from the PRC. I don't expect anyone else to feel the way I do, however, when I bought some new B&W speakers, looked at the back and saw the words; "Made in China", my heart sank. I sold them partly because of that and because they were too small, which in my opinion compromises their sound. I tried some KEF LS50 Metas, again made in China and again too small, for me.
I sold both the 707s and the Metas and bought older B&Ws made in Worthing, England. To me that is the home of B&W, not China.
My current speakers are 1988 802 Matrix Series 2, all working parts in perfect condition and early 90s 805 Matrix again working perfectly. Both sets of speakers sound extremely good.
I've removed the Crossovers from the 802s and sent them away to be refurbished. They're going to use Mundorf and Jantzen capacitors, so I'm expecting an improvement in sound quality and peace of mind was part of my motivation for doing this. Additionally, all the grill cloths were knackered, so I've bought made in Britain, professional grade, acoustically transparent grill cloth for all three pieces of cloth, per speaker.
The steel frame type cloth mounts for the main speakers were badly bent and slightly deformed. Not surprising considering their age. The use of a vice and some thumb and finger strength from my bass playing conditioned hands, did the trick.
One of the plastic grill frames from the top Midrange housing has some pieces missing . Luckily I've found two circular discs from the ends of a speaker wire reel, which are made of nice thick strong plastic will be used for the repair. I'm going to cut these into the ring shaped pieces I need to do a fix.
My integrated amplifier is a Marantz less than a year old, made in Japan, which is fine by me since Japan is the home of Marantz.
Incidentally, I still have an ambition to get hold of a Quad 67 because I want to experience the legendary sound that these are said to have and with old CD players, I think it's a reasonable idea to have more than one.