Good question! Eventually, everything breaks. For some models we've experienced nearly 100% failure in the first two years; others, we have not repaired in over 15 years. Over time, each model develops its own repair history, good or bad. Certain manufacturers consistently deliver premium products with a long and trouble free life, others take the short and cheap path. Every manufacturer has delivered a flawed model or two. A responsible manufacturer will take care of its customers. Below is a summary of our experience with various components used under normal home conditions.

Mechanical components need periodic repair. The figures given for electronics are the average age when a given model starts coming in for repair. Purely electronic units are rarely repaired a second time. We use these figures to guide our customers. If a unit comes in early we look for signs of abuse. If the unit comes in late in its life cycle we don't often recommend major repairs. There are a few classics worth repairing at any age.

Incidentally, the unit mentioned above with a nearly 100% failure rate was backed-up by the manufacturer. The customers, while somewhat disappointed, still love their unit and continue purchasing and recommending that manufacturer's products.

User cleaning two to three times a year, professional attention every 2-3 years.

User cleaning every 10-15 hours, Demagnetization every 50 hours. Professional service every 3-6 years.

No user maintenance. Professional service at about 5 years.

No user maintenance. This category is too new for us to have accumulated any significant data. At this point the risk of technical obsolescence is higher than the unit wearing out.

Never play your records with a damaged stylus.

Based on wear and the potential for damage to your records, we recommend stylus replacement after about 1000 playing hours. To be safe we recommend a visual inspection of the stylus at 800 hours. There is some variation by manufactuer, tracking force, anti-skate force, and stylus geometry. As the stylus wear progresses, distortion rises. Some customers request earlier replacement because of their sensitivity to the increased distortion.

Professional service requirement varies by manufacturer and model. We see clusters of service at 4-6 years and 8-10 years.

No user maintenance. Professional service at 5-7 years. Some early failures show signs of abuse.

No user maintenance. Professional service at 7 years. Some early failures show signs of abuse.

Insufficient data. Very few repairs.

Most speaker repair problems are caused by abuse. We experience more manufacturing quality control problems with speakers than other products. Most manufacturers have a bad batch from time to time.

The only trend we can spot is that virtually all loudspeakers manufactured in the 1970's with foam surround (the flexible outer edge of a speaker cone) are beginning to fail.

Tough question. There is no right answer. Find a professional you can trust and follow his or her advice. If the cost of repair is less than the cost of replacing the unit with a current unit of similar performance and the unit is not too old, then we recommend repair. We log all repairs on units we've sold and can give advice on a model by model basis.

In general the more expensive products have a better repair record and are worth repairing for a longer period of time. Some units, such as VCRs and cassette decks have some perishable parts and, whether cheap or expensive, need more frequent repair. Except for trivial problems, we are reluctant to repair inexpensive compact disc players older than 5 years, because the cost to repair is usually 70% or more of the cost of a new, better sounding, more durable unit.

Unfortunately, in response to the current economic climate, manufacturers are taking the purchase or repair decision out of your hands. With a few notable exceptions, manufacturers are taking a 5 year stand on maintaining repair parts. It's a very complex issue. A well meaning company could be consumed by an excessive, ever expanding parts inventory. While we dislike the idea of "disposable" products, sometimes it's the only solution. Fortunately, most of the parts used are "generic" and can be purchased on the open market. Specialized parts, such as microcomputers and cosmetic parts are model specific, not available from any "generic" source, and are therefore vulnerable to the "5-year rule".