I'll probably regret saying this, as it's tempting fate - but I have never had any Hi-Fi ever fail on me.



The only thing in that vein were a pair of £200 Ultimate Ears 'in-ear'
headphones, that were very little used and the cable packed up, with
wires breaking in the middle of the run. But not really Hi-Fi, so not counted and they were out of warranty.

I feel older stuff is far better built unless you are talking high end. I like your plan to go for vintage amp and passive speakers. They will probably sound better and still be going when we are all gone, plus the pride of ownership is higher IMO.

"Progress"..... People tend to buy on price and this is where its got us. Class D and SMPSU's are much cheaper to make when made in large quantities. They also save a vast amount in shipping weight. However, they are far less reliable than the traditional techniques and vastly more difficult to repair when they do go wrong. Hence usually when anything based on class D and SMPSU's goes faulty it's a case of take it to the nearest skip as, although it cost half the price of a traditional unit, it would cost 3 x as much to repair it! Beyond Economic Repair.

I often see cheap made in China kit about which, when I examine it, I find that if I was to copy it using good quality components from major trustworthy vendors, I could not buy the components for what the original unit sold for in the shops even after the manufacturer, distributor, retailer etc have all taken their cut! And that's just the components.... the casework etc is more.

If one looks at prices in an old "Hi-Fi Yearbook" from the early seventies and then convert them to modern prices then it's shocking to the modern mind how much everything cost.... even a basic 20WPC integrated amp could be £800 in today's money! No wonder it was well made and lasted for decades.... the "el cheapo" methods, parts etc hadn't been invented so everything had to be built properly.

Bit like what ive just been saying to John. CDP pretty much useless these days imho, now lossless file based systems are the rage [Dunno why but i know Files/streamer sounds miles better than my CD player].. What happens when the CDP fails soon down the line, The lazer goes they aint worth bothering repairing especially when they are inferior to File based SQ imho.. Files are safe bet, the Laptop packs up the next laptop will perform in the same way,Back the HDD up you got spare its a cheaper way to get back on track.

Saying all this to me its getting further & further away from the old way of what made this hobby enjoyable & exciting one of the many reasons i stay clear of relying on technology..

Quite likely... the point is it's been reliable for 35 years from purchase!
It would also be straightforward to repair

Id also like to point out that a vintage amp can be as "new" as 1997 today, so no need to go back 35 years. I've had a few amps from 60s and 70s without issue. Probably well over 100 from the 80s again without any significant failure.

Given the simplicity and ease of access for older kit, i would have far more faith in them:

A) to be less likely to fail
B) to be cheaper and easier to fix if something does give out.
C) to be likely to go on for decades once again after a service.

I remember digging into my parents' Dansette music system. What a shit circuit it had, with shoddy cheap components!

I'm with you, Andr'e. Far more faith in things from an era where build quality was generally light years ahead of today. I'm glad not everyone agrees because it keeps the prices affordable for those who do appreciate classics.

Ooh, I can sympathis. Had three issues with Nytech/Ion myself. They are also not that easy to fix when they go. Exposure has been very reliable for me, as has Naim, Nad, most Linn, Rega.

I realise some gear from yesteryear hasn't remained evergreen, but much of the stuff I see today is so flimsy I would just have no pride of ownership. Had a Sonneteer amp recently that was well put together though, so I take your point about generalisations