Lifespan of a quality solid state amplifier?

Agree. To build powerful SS amp that would last for 40 years is challenge. Bryston deserves respect.

I've had a Marantz units (MA5) for close to forty years, which I use on a regular basis, never has need repair.

Any gear if used serves much longer that the one that used occasionally.

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You will get opinions from electrolytics last forever to they need to be replaced every 10 years. The truth is they do wear out but the the variables are too great to make an accurate prediction of when. The 10 year people may be overly cautious, the 40+ year people are ignoring the facts, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

"Any" gear last longer if used? It may last much longer if used occasionally, especially if it gets hot or has moving parts or has tubes.

Bif,

Electrolytics form a thin layer of oxide on the aluminum and this layer gets thinner the longer they sit around with no voltage. If they sit too long and this layer gets too thin they can breakdown and be destroyed if you suddenly apply full voltage. That is why it is recommended to bring the voltage up slowly with a variac if you are turning something on that has been sitting around for a long time. This is called reforming the cap.

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Too many variables,.... room size, listening level, speaker efficency, speaker efficency, etc. Bryston is at least 20 yrs. Otbers vary. Pass is very good, bullet proof in fact, but with all ss equipment, one transistor failure, replacement is not cheap, sometimes more than used price of the piece. A friend had the krell mda 300 fail...try 2800.00 on for size. That is why I go for tubes, tubes are cheap. Sometimes though, only ss can do the job. Pick your poison....jallen