Do solid state components wear out?

I have a Krell KST-100 Amp and KSL preamp with internal phono stage. I also have a Theta DS Pro Prime DA converter. The Krell amps date back to 1991 and the Theta to 1993. Do these components wear out? I have seen some comments to the effect that the capacitors in amps, especially, lose their qualities over time. I assume that DA conversion has improved over the years as well. That was a relatively new field back then!

 

Yes, stuff wears out, component values drift over time. Capacitors are probably the most prone to this (including actual failure), but there is no magic. Transistorts fail. Resistors fail. Transformers might fail given enough time. Actually, the most common failure, especially on newer stuff (Post RoHS) is probably solder joint failure.

 

Electronics do not wear out so much as the age. As noted above capacitors are one of the items prone to aging. Yes sometimes things fail outright also but I think your question is more about aging? Controls (volume, balance, tone, and other switches) get dirty and also may get worn. Their ability to modulate the signal might suffer. The component is a system and the entire system ages with use and over time. Funny thing about this is many people experience that cables, amps and other components sound better when "burned in". This in other words is the start of aging through use. And it continues for the life of the item. If you could get a new in the box Krell and compare the sound in your system to yours, you might well hear a difference. You might like the difference or not. With speakers owners may rebuild the crossovers with new capacitors only to find that the sound did not improve or return to how they remembered it when new. Often this relates to the fact that they now have a "new" crossover with a much aged speaker. My rule of thumb is that if it works, sounds good and brings me enjoyment when listening, I leave it alone. This does not stop me from scratching the HiFi itch to upgrade or improve the listening experience.

 

Solid state gear can last a fairly long time, certainly, longer than the life of tube gear before tubes need replacement. But, almost all gear that runs without solid state components can be fairly easily restored and kept in operating condition for MANY decades. This is less so the case with components with output transistors, and ICs. Often when these components go bad, replacement parts are very hard to find and the component becomes too costly to repair.

 

Yes, can last a long time. However, after 20 years or so the chance of a catastrophic failure happening... increases. By a fair amount.

 

Most of these items could be repaired if they failed, with the possible exception of the DAC. I do not think any custom made parts outside of maybe transformers where manufactured. The DA chip in the DAC is long out of production I assume. All the solid state components should be readily available, if they are in pairs such as transistors, they would need to be matched to keep the quality of the Krell. All the passive components should be easily replaceable as well, maybe not the same brands, but the same quality should be available. The volume knobs and selector switches as well could be replaced albeit maybe not the same as OEM.

 

I have some equipment that I have had "re-capped" and the improvement was substantial. Your Krell equipment from the early 90s is likely due for servicing. You can ask Krell about what service they offer for your components. Are you noticing some problems that make you think something is wrong?

While I have had real improvements with my equipment being serviced I don't mean to say that you automatically need to do it. In the case of my equipment there were obvious issues that were audible. That might not be the case with your Krell components.

Scott

 

Just the scratchy sounds from the pots and the fact that I can't turn the volume on the left channel all the way down. If the sound quality has deteriorated I don't know.

 

Sounds like just dirty pots. Clean em with Deoxit or something similar.

 

Craig makes several sprays like deoxit, some are for cleaning. Back when we had a Rat Shack on every side of town, we would buy the "color" tv cleaner, it was used for old rotary tv dials, and worked excellent on noisy pots.

 

Rat Shack tuner cleaner, made for the old TV rotary turret tuners was in fact one of the very few things in a Radio Shack worth having.

The new electronics cleaners are not as good as and are more destructive than the old standbys, because the good solvents-"good"meaning not tearing up carbon pots or gumming-were outlawed.

One possible exception are some of the avionics grade cleaners.

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...ns/AerosolCleaning/AerospaceAviationMilitary/

 

Much the same applies to humans.

 

We are kind of going off topic here. I am not considering replacing my old Krell components because I hear a slight crackle when (and only when) I turn the volume knob. The fact that I can't silence the left channel with the volume knob is a little more bothersome. I am more interested in whether or not my "reference" components may have lost their "mojo" over the years. If I could compare them to their new selves and hear the same sound I would know that they had not. But that is impossible. I suppose I'll just have to get a new, similar, amp in my listening room some day and see if the Krell stuff is still competitive.
Oh yeah, Deoxit fluids and F5 fader lube are great tools, I use them for regular maintenance.