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Upgradeable hardware

sophie smith

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Greeting,

Was reading a thread here about the long-term reliability of many cheap and good performing Chinese products and it made me thinking...

Any other brands similar to Linn? I mean making great performing bullet-proof gear, lasting for ages, that can be upgraded to the latest technology even if 20+ years old. Modular design. Great build quality. Great engineering. Great support. I realize Linn is not anywhere close to Topping in pricing, but still..

I know Schiit has some ability to upgrade products, although not all can be done by the end-user. And their built quality may not be stellar, at least now. But the pricing is much lower than Linn. And they make gear in the US.

Any other companies you know that have similar design/business models as Linn? I am primarily interested in DACs, processors, streamers... where the technology changes quickly and 10 year old product may need an update/upgrade even if everything is working fine.

Thanks
 

amirm

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I don't think the modular designs really worked all that well. My DAC advertised modularity but no upgrade ever came.

Allowing for modularity can also reduce performance due to requirement for connectors, longer distances for signals, etc. And it can certainly cost more.

MSB at the high-end has a lot of modularity in their DACs. Cost of the product is super high though although if your reference is Linn, then they are not that much worse.
 

sergeauckland

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As much as I like the concept of upgradability, the reality has never matched the promise. Meridian, Quad, Arcam and others made more or less modular amplifiers with the idea that one bought what one needed, then could add later as requirements changed or upgrades were introduced. In reality, either additional modules never happened, or once the main product was discontinued after a few years, no spare modules were ever produced so could only be bought on the used market, and those were pretty rare.

I think that modularity is only of practical value as factory-fitted options, a bit like cars, where there are choices possible at time of manufacture, but very difficult to add afterwards. I doubt whether that model works on something of far less complexity and cost as HiFi.

S
 

bigx5murf

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My Anthem preamp had upgrades available at one point. Mainly to add HDMI inputs. It was pricey, had to be sent in, and they stopped offering the service after a year or so.
 

Theo

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Devialet advertised on software upgrades. Didn't they even offer an hardware upgrade (costly), provided you send it back to the manufacturer?
 

JJB70

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I think modularity is more a marketing gimmick, it sounds good and is appealing as a sort of insurance policy in case technology moves on or you need added functionality later but the reality is that as has been pointed out support for these modular designs has tended to be very limited (maybe because very few people ever buy modules after initial purchase). People may want a phono stage later, and maybe a separate phono module might make some sense but how long is a manufacturer going to offer such a module for limited sales given the replacement rate of amplifiers, and I can't see that it would make much sense for a manufacturer to lock themselves into a certain design architecture and operating parameters in order to maintain ongoing interoperability with modules. And with DACs, how quickly do they advance, really? Yes, new chips are released, DAC measurements improve (or in some cases don't) but in terms of audible performance DACs are a mature technology and you don't need to keep changing or upgrading them.
Modularised manufacturing methods have really eased manufacturing and reduced costs and time to make things, but that is a rather different use of modules than the concept of exchangeable cards etc in a hi-fi component.
 

junyu.zhang

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As with this product, 0.015% THD will become very unreliable
 

DuxServit

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Some FPGA-based systems can be “upgraded” (or “downgraded”) with different firmwares.
 

BillH

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NAD offers modular systems and upgrade modules. While this sounds great here's something to consider.
I bought the original T758 Home Theater receiver ~ 5 years ago MSRP $1000
I can now get upgrade modules
AM230 for Dolby Atmos and Dirac Live = $550
VM130 for 4K video and BluOS ready =$500
BluOs Kit for wifi streaming = $200
Total for upgrades = $1250

Brand new NAD T758 v3 with all these capabilities = $1300
This doesn't seem like a good value proposition unless I only want some subset of the upgrades.
I'd rather buy the new system and sell my old one on the used market.
 
OP
S

sophie smith

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Thanks for the replies. I guess you all made valid points. Over the years, I have been trying to get away from the habit of buying cheap and short lived goods in favor of higher quality and longer-lasting products, including electronics. Just wanted to see the other options available. As nice as Linn might be, it is way out of my budget.
Thanks again.
 

JJB70

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There is certainly a lot to be said for "buy once, buy right" and paying a bit more for durability and longevity. All my kitchen and utility white goods are Miele, I paid a lot but they're a genuine quality product (when I was at sea for example only Miele and Maytag washing machines lasted more than a few months before collapsing in a heap under the strain, and we don't seem to get Maytag in the UK). In the case of hi-fi, if I look at the various components, how much do they really move on in tech terms? Amplifiers and speakers from decades ago are still very good. CD players, in some ways they've gone backwards in quality terms. DACs, yes they move on, but if you want RBCD standard they've been audibly transparent since probably the early - mid 90's. Even if you like high-res you don't need to change a DAC very often. So if you do buy high quality (which in my opinion doesn't mean that expensive, the better gear from the major manufacturers is often far better engineered and built to higher standards than mega priced audiophile gear). I don't think you need to spend much above entry level for as good sound as you'll get with the exception of speakers (properly good speakers are not cheap, but my personal opinion is that the point of diminishing returns is somewhere around $1000 for passive models) but there is a pleasure in owning well engineered and nicely made gear. My own set up is early - mid 90's Sony ES, it still serves me well and cuts the mustard sonically, if anything I'm not sure I could get a similar build quality at any price if buying new.
 
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