----- GUIDE TO UPGRADING--The when, what, and how of replacing your components, by JULIAN D. HIRSCH (June 1974) -----
WITH a few exceptions, such as wines and antiques, both of which may improve or grow more valuable with time, obsolescence arising from normal wear and tear and/or from new technical developments is inevitable with all manufactured products; high-fidelity components are no exception to this rule. Of course, it is not always easy to decide when something should be replaced. The clearest sign of obsolescence is a major breakdown and the discovery that repair is either impossible or excessively expensive. Another indication is a deterioration in performance quality, which may take place so gradually that you are unaware that it is happening--unaware, that is, until you hear the fidelity delivered by an equivalent new unit and are thus brought face to face with reality.
Although it may be possible to restore the original performance of your deteriorated component, it is wise to consider the cost of such a restoration in relation to the price of new equipment. Depending on the specific product and its age, it may make better economic sense to scrap or trade in your old component for an improved modern unit. Offsetting this consideration are such factors as sentimental attachment and physical compatibility with existing furniture or a built-in installation.
Many audiophiles maintain an active interest in new developments and eventually become dissatisfied with their equipment even though it may still be perfectly serviceable. This urge to replace a functioning component can often be stimulated by some advance in audio technology, such as the transition from vacuum tubes to solid-state circuits not too many years ago, or the current advent of quadraphony. In such cases, of course, updating and up grading may or may not be synonymous. There are also, to be sure, those people who simply must own the very latest "state-of-the-art" model of every thing, whether it be hi-fi equipment, automobiles, or home appliances.
What I am addressing myself to here, however, is not these exceptional cases, but the most usual, the most straightforward upgrading situation: audio components that should be replaced either because they are worn out or because there are new units on the market that are markedly superior to them in their own price class. Since the criteria for replacing each type of hi-fi component are different, I will treat them individually. And it sometimes happens that replacing one part of a system reveals faults in other parts -a kind of chain reaction of obsolescence. Consider yourself warned! Record Players Like any other mechanism with moving parts, a manual turntable is subject to wear, and it therefore periodic, though infrequent, lubrication and cleaning. Barring the failure of a major element such as the motor, the only parts of a turntable likely to need replacement are the rubber idler (drive) wheel, motor mounts, or belt. Since these are inexpensive items, assuming that replacements continue to be available, there is no reason why a turntable should not be usable for a very long time.
However, even a perfectly functioning turntable may be a candidate for replacement. Turntables that pre -date stereo records (players that are, say, more than ten to fifteen years old) almost always have considerable vertical vibration, which did not come through as rumble on mono discs only be cause a mono phono cartridge doesn't respond to a vertical signal. In most cases, such a turntable, no matter what its original price or quality, is apt to be somewhat noisier than players of the stereo age - or even than a moderately priced record changer. Re placing your amplifier, cartridge, and/or speakers may therefore force you to get a new turntable as well, for any of these can reveal faults of your old one. Further, it is poor economy to skimp in this area, since a good turntable should last at least ten years (unless discs themselves become obsolete, which seems highly unlikely).
Tone arms (I'm referring to separate units) never "wear out," but they are frequently made obsolete nevertheless by technical advances in phono cartridges. Years ago, a good phono cartridge required a tracking force of several grams and had a correspondingly low stylus compliance. A massive tone arm was necessary to keep the arm/cartridge resonance below the audible frequency range. Some friction in the tone -arm bearings (and skating force).
could be tolerated, so long as its effect was swamped out by the high vertical tracking force used. In addition, since no one was concerned with the skating effect before stereo was developed, antiskating compensation was not a feature of early tonearms.
If a modern stereo phono cartridge is installed in a tone arm of 1960 vintage or older, its interaction with the arm mass is likely to produce a resonance at- an undesirably low frequency. This could give rise, in turn, to stability problems, such as groove jumping. And the arm's bearing friction and lack of anti -skating compensation could possibly prevent your operating the cartridge within the range of tracking forces for which it was designed. Pre-stereo arms will also require modification (including rewiring) before a stereo cartridge can be installed.
The message is therefore clear: very old tone arms should be relegated to your antique collection. On the other hand, an arm less than five to ten years old may be perfectly satisfactory, especially if you do not try to use one of the new super-compliant cartridges in it. If the arm permits the cartridge to track without groove jumping or the need for excessive stylus force, there is no reason why a not -too -ancient tonearm cannot be used with many current cartridges.
There is another consideration, one which applies to many recent tone arms as well as most older ones. In general, cartridges designed for playing CD -4 discrete four -channel records require a very low cable capacitance between the cartridge and the demodulator for proper operation. With a few exceptions, ordinary stereo tone arms have more capacitance in their internal wiring than is good for this application. Check with the manufacturer about the possibility of rewiring the arm if you are considering putting in CD-4.
Most of the preceding comments on separate turntables and tone arms apply as well to record changers and automatic or semi -automatic turn tables. But since the arm and turntable are inseparable in these units, if either part fails to pass muster, the entire player must go. The considerable mechanical complexity of an automatic record changer makes it more susceptible to wear and more in need of occasional readjustment, although different makes and models vary widely in their reliability.
Performance has kept pace with prices in this category of component, so that many of today's medium- and high-priced units are in many respects the equal of or superior to the best single -play or manual record players made six or seven years ago.
However, most record changers more than five or six years old should be evaluated carefully. If they seem to work properly, if they do not offend your ears with wow and rumble, if they can be used with a good stereo cartridge, by all means keep them.
However, when and if a major repair becomes necessary, it may then be time to consign a venerable record changer to the scrap heap and buy a new one. When you do, you will probably be amazed at the improvement in performance.
Phono Cartridges
The phono cartridge is one of the audio components that literally wears out in normal use. The wear is confined to its stylus assembly and usually to the tip of the diamond jewel, which develops "flats" after a period of use. It is difficult to specify stylus life with any assurance, since it depends on the tracking force, arm -bearing friction, anti -skating adjustment, and even the abrasiveness of the record -groove material.
Eventually, a worn stylus will make itself known by the increased noise and distortion in the reproduced sound. Unfortunately, however, your records will by that time have been severely damaged. The stylus timer built into some automatic turntables, and also available as an accessory item, won't tell you how much your stylus is worn, but it will serve as a reminder to have it checked. Many audio dealers have special microscopes that will reveal stylus wear in its early stages. An annual check-up is good insurance.
In rare instances, a cartridge can become defective without having been used at all. Coils or soldered connections in the cartridge body can corrode or open up, or the damping or suspension material in the stylus system can harden or change its elastic properties. This can produce mistracking symptoms (mostly harsh distortion) resembling those of a badly worn stylus.
Since most wear or other failure occurs in the (usually) replaceable stylus assembly, it would seem that the cartridge could be considered as a nearly everlasting component whose stylus could be replaced periodically like the refill cartridge of a ball-point pen. In fact, however, it is rarely advisable to replace a worn stylus in a cartridge that is more than four or five years old, for not only can a replacement stylus cost almost as much as a brand new cartridge, but there are many medium -price cartridges on the market today that can outperform the best of half a dozen years ago. Therefore, if your cartridge is a current model, or at most a couple of years old, and you damage the stylus, it may pay to buy a replacement. But if the cartridge is older than that, treat yourself to a new one and the audible benefits that will certainly result. (Incidentally, since so much of a cartridge's performance depends on the stylus -assembly characteristics, it is wise to buy only replacement styli that are clearly produced by the manufacturer of the cartridge.) Tape Decks Tape recorders, like turntables, are subject to mechanical wear. Being more complex, they have more possible trouble areas, but most mechanical difficulties can be remedied by replacement of a belt or rubber wheel, or by an adjustment. A tape recorder also has two, three, or more heads which are analogous to the phonograph stylus, for just as the stylus is worn by contact with the disc, tape heads are worn by contact with the moving tape. Also like the phono stylus, the life of a tape head is indeterminate, since it depends on such factors as tape speed, the abrasiveness of the tape coating, and the hard ness of the head material itself. Unlike the effect of a worn phono stylus on records, a worn tape head will not necessarily damage tape. But it will affect frequency response, especially at the higher frequencies. Since replacing heads can be very expensive, one should carefully review the overall condition of the recorder and compare its performance specifications with those of more recent models before commissioning such an overhaul.
Tape recorders, like other audio components, have undergone a steady improvement. From one year to the next, or even over a two to three year period, the differences are minor, but over a greater span of time they can become dramatic. To provide an extreme example, fifteen years ago it was axiomatic that a good recorder at 7 ips would have a frequency response no better than about 7,500 Hz.
To reach 15,000 Hz, it was necessary to use a ma chine with a 15-ips speed. As anyone who has been following our equipment reviews must know, a number of open -reel recorders today can exceed a 20,000 -Hz response even at 3 3/4 ips, and the 1 7/8-ips cassette machines are not far behind.
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If your ten -year -old reel-to-reel tape recorder originally cost $300, you can be sure that the same amount of money invested in one of today's cassette machines would result in altogether superior sound quality. If you are facing a repair or head -replacement bill of $50 to $100 for that old machine, it would therefore make sense to junk it. And if you have a library of open -reel tapes, comparably priced open -reel recorders can also offer better performance in all respects. Further, a new machine can even make your old tapes sound better than they did before, because of improved performance of the playback head.
Tuners If you are fortunate enough not to have any interference problems, and if you live in an area where fairly strong (but not too strong!) and free of multipath conditions, it is likely that almost any good tuner, regardless of its age, can satisfy your needs. On the other hand, there are some areas where FM receiving conditions are so bad that only the finest state-of-the-art tuners can be used. Most of us find ourselves somewhere between these two extremes.
There are undoubtedly many vacuum -tube tuners still in service. Their circuits usually have several tunable transformers whose alignment is critically important for correct tuning and low distortion.
Unfortunately, like pianos, such devices become detuned because of varying temperature and humidity and require realignment at least once a year.
Neglecting this regular maintenance procedure, as many people do, eventually results in a tuner that is difficult to tune accurately and sounds distorted much of the time. Also, the tubes themselves gradually weaken and in time require replacement; this generally means realignment as well.
In contrast, almost all FM tuners made in the last two or three years have permanently tuned ceramic i.f. filters and require no periodic realignment. Most of them will probably work as well ten years from now as they did the day they left the factory. Solid state circuits generate little heat, and warm-up drift is a thing of the past. If for no other reason than the elimination of periodic realignment, most vacuum -
tube tuners should probably be retired as soon as they go bad. (Owners of the classic Marantz 10B or REL tuners should not take umbrage at this suggestion, which is not directed at them.) If you are still using a mono FM tuner with a stereo multiplex adapter tacked on, it is about time to replace it with a new stereo model. The lower stereo distortion and improved channel separation of recent tuners represent a quantum jump in performance over the levels of ten years ago. The difference will probably be quite noticeable, which is of course one of the most valid reasons for a change.
Amplifiers
Judging from their performance specifications, modern amplifiers must be vastly superior to their predecessors. Well, they are-but in many cases the improvement, though measurable, is not audible.
An amplifier is less likely to become technologically obsolete than any other high-fidelity component.
This is because any reasonably good amplifier con tributes little or nothing to the ultimate sound quality. This statement will be disputed by some, but it is susceptible to proof if you care to make a very careful side -by -side A -B comparison between two amplifiers of similar power.
This does not mean that an amplifier need never be replaced. Vacuum -tube amplifiers are subject to continual tube deterioration, and replacement tubes are becoming increasingly expensive. In addition, the internally generated heat is eating away at the life of the capacitors, large and small, scattered throughout the chassis. It is therefore likely that the tube amplifiers still in service are performing well below their original specifications, since it is only natural to postpone replacement or repair until the issue is forced on one by the appearance of obvious distortion - or by a complete failure.
A change to less -efficient speakers may call for an increase in amplifier power. Many acoustic -suspension speakers are capable of producing a pleasant, moderate level when driven by a 10- or 15 -watt amplifier, and some people never demand more from their systems. I recall that in 1954 I thought my original AR -1 speaker sounded fine when driven by a massive two -chassis Williamson mono power amplifier with all of 12 watts output! In those days, 30 watts was considered very "high power." Now, twenty years later, a 12 -watt amplifier is almost in the "mini -power" category, 30 watts is a low/ medium power, and people using hundreds of watts of amplifier capacity in home music systems are no longer viewed as eccentrics. Some of this trend toward increased power arises from the simple fact of its availability in high -power transistor amplifiers, coupled with the widespread popularity of compact, low -efficiency speakers. The fact re mains, however, that people are becoming more aware of the improved clarity and openness of sound resulting from greater amplifier "headroom." The momentary volume peaks get through un clipped. Even if your old 10 -watt amplifier has al ways been adequate for your homemade bass re flex system, it may be terribly underpowered for a modern bookshelf system.
Receivers
The preceding sections on tuners and amplifiers apply equally to receivers, which are combinations of these basic components. In addition, the earliest receivers, which used vacuum tubes, developed very high internal temperatures. All the problems of tube amplifiers and tuners were compounded in these units, whose internal parts were simply cooked to death. No doubt most of these receivers have already proved uneconomical to maintain and have been replaced. If you are still using one, at the first severe breakdown it would probably be wise to replace it with a modern solid-state receiver.
In the early days of component high fidelity, many purists looked askance at the integrated receiver as somehow being inferior to separate components. At one time, there were some valid reasons for this attitude, but many of today's receivers are better in every respect than the best separate components of former years, and can perform as well (except for their power rating) as all but a handful of today's separate units. Add to this the lower price, compactness, and convenience of the receiver, and it is easy to see why it is the most popular form of electronic high-fidelity component.
Barring snobbery or sheer nostalgia, I can see little reason for continuing to use some of the popular "separates" of former years. On the other hand, you may be fortunate enough to have an old system which has been carefully maintained and has not deteriorated significantly. It may even sound as good as a new $300 receiver. In that case, by all means continue to enjoy it! Loudspeakers Unless abused, loudspeakers are, in general, long-lived and free of deterioration. As with many other products, however, there are trends - perhaps more accurately described as fashions or fads--in loudspeaker design. At various times, the market has been dominated by bass -reflex systems, back loaded corner horns, front -loaded horns, bookshelf acoustic -suspension systems, and, most recently, omnidirectional systems. Each type has its advantages, disadvantages, and zealous adherents.
As a general rule, a speaker should be replaced only when you become dissatisfied with its performance. You may find that the speaker whose sound thrilled you in 1954 or 1964 has become irritating or actually unpleasant to listen to in 1974. It has not changed, but your taste and perceptions have. You may, for example, have been exposed to the sound of a modern music system, perhaps at the home of a friend, and become aware of the deficiencies of your own system. It is important to realize that, in a sense, the sound quality that you hear from a high fidelity system is always determined by its speakers. Speakers can't make poor electronic components sound better (except, perhaps, by masking defects), but they certainly can make good electronics sound bad.
When your dissatisfaction grows beyond a certain point, you are ripe for a new set of speakers, and your faithful bass reflex or whatever can be re tired to the attic. The actual selection of new speakers is outside the scope of this article, but let us assume that you have achieved that rather difficult goal. The new speakers may force you to review the status of your entire system. Perhaps they could benefit from more amplifier power. If your amplifier is showing signs of strain and senility, now is the time for replacement. And if you buy a new receiver, that will automatically take care of updating the tuner, which is all to the good. If not, take a hard listen to your present tuner; see if any of its characteristics are beginning to annoy you. Quite possibly a new receiver will meet all your system upgrading requirements.
Your new speakers may also be merciless in re producing the distortions of your phono cartridge and the rumble of your old record changer or turntable. The solution is obvious, though not necessarily inexpensive. What I am doing here is deliberately posing a "worst case" situation; it is rare that the upgrading of a single component will require replacement of all the others in a music system.
However, a major advantage of component high fidelity is that such improvements can be made piecemeal, as time, interest, and budget permit. And for you real old-timers, when you finally swallow hard and go whole-hog, replacing all your old equipment in one fell swoop, the magnitude of sound improvement that results may be so overwhelming that it will even make you forget the ache in your pocketbook!
Also see:
ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF NEGLECTED FRENCH MUSIC--There are still many gaping holes in the specialist's library, RICHARD FREED
TAPE HORIZONS Don't Just Dub