Quote:
Originally Posted by dbphd
I do worry a bit when I hear the clicking as the volume is adjusted that it might be a mechanism that wears out. I hope my concern is unjustified.
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With anything mechanical, there's certainly a chance for failure. I can say that we've never seen the motor or main assembly fail here, but the wipers that slide across the contacts, which are under pressure and self-cleaning from any oxidation or dirt that accumulates over time, can lose some pressure over the course of years. This almost always manifests itself into a slight popping sound whenever the volume is moved from one position to another, like you'd experience with other preamplifiers that had some DC offset, but they always sound fine when sitting at any one position; so it's only somewhat annoying when you moving the volume around a lot.
That said, we've been fixing them for years and can take care of any that wear out at Ayre. In my experience, the issue doesn't really manifest itself until the unit is around 7-10 years old, though many still haven't shown any issues that are 15-20 years old, so it's a bit of luck and a bit of how much it's used. Cost-wise, replacing the work parts depends on the unit, but our repairs are only priced to cover our costs. We want to make sure you can get back to listening without having to pay some ridiculous repair fee. So they're not invincible, but the benefit that the mechanical VGT control provides vs. the potential to wear out in a decade or more we feel is a worthy trade-off. Hope that helps.