Longevity of amps / receivers

[Drum]

I am curious about the longevity of solid state gear and how it is affected. I have a 1980 Onkyo TX-3000 at work (and an NAD 7240PE from the late 80's). I bought the Onkyo new and the NAD is a recent purchase. The Onkyo is in the conference room (with Polk monitor 4's) and the NAD is in my office (with ADS L520's).

I generally come to work and turn the NAD on and leave it on all day - up to 16 hours. I do this 5-6 days a week. My question is - will this hurt the longevity of the unit? Do these units "wear out" from use or just from age? Or does some use actually help their longevity? I run the systems at a very low volume during the day, but I do turn them up in the evenings when there are no clients in the office. I have actually started just playing a clock radio during the day (just background music) to extend the life of my components. After all at 60 hours per week that is 3,000 hours per year. Seeing that many caps are rated at 10,000 hours or less that is only 3 years of use. Also does volume make any difference to longevity - assuming the amp is not straining.

What are peoples thoughts on this?

 

[gtv2000]

deleted

 

[ConradH]

Resistors drift, caps crap out, chassis ground connections oxidize and develop high resistance, pots get noisy, switches oxidize, bulbs burn out, tuners drift out of alignment, line cords get stiff and crack, transistor encapsulation and the dies themselves aren't perfect and can degrade over time, relay contacts develop pitting and resistance, lubricants everywhere dry out, dial cords get stiff and eventually break, and the list goes on!

I suppose one could draw graphs of the expected degradation over time of all those things for various conditions of use, but that doesn't sound like any fun at all. Even if you knew the MTBF, it doesn't say anything about your particular unit. Get stuff checked out every 10-20 years, sooner if it seems to be developing a problem, and don't worry about it. FWIW, I turn my stuff off when not using it, but have no qualms at all about having it on 16 hours a day.

 

[Drum]

Resistors drift, caps crap out, chassis ground connections oxidize and develop high resistance, pots get noisy, switches oxidize, bulbs burn out, tuners drift out of alignment, line cords get stiff and crack, transistor encapsulation and the dies themselves aren't perfect and can degrade over time, relay contacts develop pitting and resistance, lubricants everywhere dry out, dial cords get stiff and eventually break, and the list goes on!

I suppose one could draw graphs of the expected degradation over time of all those things for various conditions of use, but that doesn't sound like any fun at all. Even if you knew the MTBF, it doesn't say anything about your particular unit. Get stuff checked out every 10-20 years, sooner if it seems to be developing a problem, and don't worry about it. FWIW, I turn my stuff off when not using it, but have no qualms at all about having it on 16 hours a day.

Thanks - do the electronic components still go bad even if not used? I suppose leaking and oxidizing will happen regardless of use.

 

[ConradH]

Yes, parts go bad even if not used. Caps can degrade faster if not used than they otherwise might. Other things it doesn't make much difference. Heat increases the rate of most reactions, so if you can store your equipment in a cool place, it should do better. A dry nitrogen environment helps, but makes use a bit of a pain.

 

[savatage1973]

If your gear is in a climate controlled environment (which it sounds like it is), it should be good for ~30 years or so--depending on original build quality/components, but anything 20+ years old is a crapshoot depending on what is in there and how it was used/abused before you got it (if you didn't buy it new). As already mentioned, sometimes not using gear is harder on it than running it 16+ hrs a day--especially with mechanical devices like tape decks and TTs where the mechanisms just freeze up, but caps also like to be powered up to maintain their properties. YMMV

 

[sKiZo]

Main points already mostly covered, but just to regurgitate ...

- Daily use isn't really much of a problem, unless you're driving it hard.

- Proper storage shouldn't shorten life much. Exception would be electrolytics. Those prefer to be used.

- Cap and component ratings are more for the mfg's liability than anything else. Most will last well beyond what's listed with proper care and a decent environment.

- Silicon components and newer resistors are pretty much bulletproof as long as you don't have electrical issues. Older carbon resistors will drift, but most circuits have a pretty wide tolerance. Wouldn't lose any sleep over them. Exception there would be the older fusible resistors - those run hot and will turn to dust over time.

I'd add that decent gear you're fond of is worth some additional TLC. If you get bored, replace the bigger electrolytics in the power rail and supply, and give it a good cleaning.

 

[savatage1973]

Main points already mostly covered, but just to regurgitate ...

- Daily use isn't really much of a problem, unless you're driving it hard.

- Proper storage shouldn't shorten life much. Exception would be electrolytics. Those prefer to be used.

- Cap and component ratings are more for the mfg's liability than anything else. Most will last well beyond what's listed with proper care and a decent environment.

- Silicon components and newer resistors are pretty much bulletproof as long as you don't have electrical issues. Older carbon resistors will drift, but most circuits have a pretty wide tolerance. Wouldn't lose any sleep over them. Exception there would be the older fusible resistors - those run hot and will turn to dust over time.

I'd add that decent gear you're fond of is worth some additional TLC. If you get bored, replace the bigger electrolytics in the power rail and supply, and give it a good cleaning.

+1 to all of this