Digital Death

by James Leahy

When it comes to Hi-Fi what certainly is a crime is seeling Hi-Fi loving folk get taken advantage of and/or disappointed in their purchases. "Digital Obsolescence' has claimed more victims that are destined for a one way ticket to the Parts N.L.A. graveyard than any other single factor. When parts go out of production for your expensive digital processor or laser mechanism for your $20K+ Transport tears have been shed many a time and this trend will continue as long as manufacturers fail to take sufficient responsibly and support their products.

While talking with my #1 Technician one time about an unrepairable disaster we were dealing with he was kind enough to share with me his personal thoughts and hypothesis on the subject. He is both a wiser and more technically gifted man than I and whom I have the upmost respect for. This man is an academic genius and I have found he has the rare ability to speak at length and in solid depth on any subject matter. He has taught me that being a Real Man is not about being tough and macho... It's about being straight-up and honest. To be able to stand-up and tell the truth in all situations is an amazingly tough gig that is why it is so rare today to find one who can.

The story goes a bit like this...if my memory serves me accurately.

When a digital product is designed by a boutique manufacturer the drafting lead time can be as long as 12 months; then you have at least another 6 months of tooling time in setting up production schedules and part suppliers. Then you might have another 6 months lost in bringing that product to market and other marketing issues. This 2 year plus time span takes it's toll in the real world repair life cycle of the product. The digital processors, motor drives, laser assemblies or I.C. that were probably quoted on and the product designed around when pen first went to paper 2 years ago no longer exist as a replacement part to be ordered by the time the product hits the showroom shelves and these parts are more and more commonly not even in production for the product manufacturer to purchase increased quantities for residual stock supplies of if they so wanted.

Ever wondered why there are sometimes so many different versions of High-End products...??? It is my belief, this happens not necessarily because the company is bringing to the market a technically better product although this may well be the case but more often than not it is because the original specification components that the base product was designed around all those years ago are N.L.A. from the O.E.M... So what do you do to stay in business, be able to provide continued product support and at the same time increase your profits...? Just bring out an updated generation of the same model... Easy!

This is the main reason why many companies bring out Mk.II and Mk.III versions of products and do not create an entirely new model. Because if they created a totally new model there would be significant doubling up of engineering associated expenses but with an updated version 90% or more of the original design can stay the same with the implantation of current parts that are in production and they can at the same time dissociate and relinquish any responsibility of previous generation models with ease and relative impunity.

Small High-End boutique Hi-Fi manufacturers mainly do not have the resources and production economies of scale to make their own laser mechanisms, micro-processors etc so they buy them from large multi national electronic superpowers such as Philips, Motorola, Pioneer, Marantz, Sony and the like. They typically buy enough parts in for their estimated production runs and factor in some extra materials for spares to cover a five year product lifespan. Yes, that's the industry stand, FIVE YEARS. You thought your investment would be protected and serviceable for your lifetime...?

The more a customer pays for a product the greater their perceived expectations are going to generally be that their purchase comes with a watertight factory back-up and support policy. The operative word here is 'perceived', customers and manufacturers do not always perceive the same thing.

Consumers might rightly expect lifetime support but in the real world I can tell you quite the opposite is often the case. I have to deal first hand with the anger and fallout of this economic reality every week from buyers of products that the manufacturer no longer supports.

It happens all to often in every industry just like software companies not offering free support for a legacy program when a newer version is released because it is not financially advantageous for them to do so.

It's all about the $$$

C.E.C.  TL-0   - US$17,500.00 in 1995'

Today; in my workshop in 2009' with a malfunctioning servo controller board and parts N.L.A. from C.E.C. Japan.

The owner of this transport is one unhappy puppy and that's putting it mildly.