Electronic Components costing <$500 Are (most likely) Disposable

N

nicoff

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 3, 2014
Messages
2,259
Electronic Components costing &lt;$500 Are (most likely) Disposable

It seems to me that any electronic component costing $500 when new is likely to end in a trash bin if it breaks down.

Used electronic devices typically sell for 50% off their price when new. That means a new $500 device can be sold for $250 used. However if that device breaks down and is out of warranty, fixing it is likely to cost at least $250.

So why spend money to fix something that will never command a price above what it costs to fix? Not to mention that there is likely a newer device with better technology out there.
 
It's not just sub $500.00 products that aren't being repaired. Some of the big box store gear like TV's and HT receivers get replaced as opposed to repaired. It's cheaper for those types of stores and the manufactures to just replace under warranty. So more crap to land fill.
The big problem for the audio community is some of the very high priced boutique gear that is made by small companies. Streamers, DAC's and some Class D amps etc. What happens in a few years if something fails. Is the company still around, and if so is the product still supported? What cost?
I've run into this already a few times. A customer of mine bought a well known Class D amp used. It was three years old. When one channel failed, the only repair was to replace the amp module. The manufacturer wanted more for the amp board than the fellow paid for the amp used.
 
Electronic Components costing &lt;$500 Are (most likely) Disposable

Interesting observation about D amps. There is more of those in the market these days. And if they are difficult to repair which means high cost materials and labor, then a strong case can be made for owning non-D amps that can be more easily repaired for a lesser cost.
 
I look at modern SS amps--or any current elec devices for that matter--with PCBs densely populated with surface mount devices and me thinks good luck getting that serviced in 10 years nevermind 20. And im talking about the creme de la creme in audio brands. The analogy applies to luxury cars, no longer do MBZ, BMW, et al build heirlooms. just look at the failure rate of major components of these makes and the running cost become exorbitant (read: money pit). esp. when they hit 100k miles or 7+ years in age most become financially unviable to maintain after their 15 yr anniv.
 
Re: Electronic Components costing &lt;$500 Are (most likely) Disposable

nicoff said:
Interesting observation about digital amps.
Click to expand...
Nicoff,
Class D isn't "Digital". Its analog and after class A-C. :)

nicoff said:
There is more of those in the market these days. And if they are difficult to repair which means high cost materials and labor, then a strong case can be made for owning non-digital amps that can be more easily repaired for a lesser cost.
Click to expand...
The single example cited by Dan is a pathelogical ("High End") case. The vast majority of class D modules are made by large multinational semiconductor corporations (cars, mass market and some boutique home audio, pro audio, etc, etc) and/or smaller (but still larger than many hi end) companies like ICE, Hypex, Pascal, etc....and these are extremely reasonably priced and easily repaired.
It's the boutique fashion "designer" stuff that is highly unreliable and liable to end up in the bin, not the real engineered stuff. YMMV.

cheers,

AJ
 
Re: Electronic Components costing &lt;$500 Are (most likely) Disposable

It will probably cost a few hundred dollars for the labor side of the repair cost. Add in the part(s) cost and most likely it appears better to scrap it.
 
It also applies to higher end gear. My son bought a used pair of PSB Synchrony One speakers (They sold for $5K new) from one of my friends. The midrange was dead on one of the speakers, apparently my friend didn't know this. They are the previous generation speaker, the T3 is the latest so they are not that old. It turned out that the coil and a cap burned up in one of the crossovers. PSB does not carry and parts or drivers to fix them. Lucky, a speaker repair shop was able to fix it with similar value parts. PSB by the way, could not even give me the name of a repair shop and they do not have the schematics or part list of the speakers.
 
Mechnutt said:
It also applies to higher end gear. My son bought a used pair of PSB Synchrony One speakers (They sold for $5K new) from one of my friends. The midrange was dead on one of the speakers, apparently my friend didn't know this. They are the previous generation speaker, the T3 is the latest so they are not that old. It turned out that the coil and a cap burned up in one of the crossovers. PSB does not carry and parts or drivers to fix them. Lucky, a speaker repair shop was able to fix it with similar value parts. PSB by the way, could not even give me the name of a repair shop and they do not have the schematics or part list of the speakers.
Click to expand...

This tells me that PSB is not a company I would ever consider dealing with.
 
We now live in a Disposable World.

But I am having the same trouble with HE gear. I cannot get anyone to be able to fully repair my old Counterpoint Amp that was $4500 new.
 
Shadowfax said:
We now live in a Disposable World.

But I am having the same trouble with HE gear. I cannot get anyone to be able to fully repair my old Counterpoint Amp that was $4500 new.
Click to expand...

Wait, But isn’t that an amp from the 80’s from a company that closed many years ago?
I was referring to components that are merely a few years old and barely out of warranty.
 
Counterpoint used some output transistors that are quite obsolete. Unfortunately a lot of early gear is seeing that happen. I have however (depending on the model) been able to repair a few of Counterpoints amps using substitutes and a bit of circuit modification.
I'm seeing a lot of CD players that can't be repaired because of obsolescence now too.
And speaking of obsolescence, that's why a lot of newer gear is becoming difficult to repair. Larger companies are obsoleting their gear a lot quicker as new technologies arise, both in hardware and in software.

It's the boutique fashion "designer" stuff that is highly unreliable and liable to end up in the bin, not the real engineered stuff. YMMV.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily. Five year old ICE modules are not compatible with newer ones. Not to mention darn near impossible to get. Repairing them can be done, but is also very tough, especially if one of the IC's has failed. Unfortunately I've run into this kind of thing numerous times with large and small companies.
Some of the best companies keep sufficient stock as repair units though, so there is always hope.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top