I am looking into getting a 22 year old Simaudio Moon I-5, the amp when it was new had a 10 year warranty which speaks of its reliability. The amp now is around 22 years old, how do those microprocessors stand against time vs regular pots and switches?
Better in terms of mechanical reliability.
But if they blow, good luck finding spares.
Philips used Toshiba processors here, 64 pin SMD IIRC, which is difficult to replace, fine pitch, square package.
YMMV...
But if they blow, good luck finding spares.
Philips used Toshiba processors here, 64 pin SMD IIRC, which is difficult to replace, fine pitch, square package.
YMMV...
Got Nuforce little pre HAP-100 . Microprocesor controlled volume SMD mounted IC . Pretty hopeless if the manufacturer drops the line like OPtoma did with NUforce brand . After 10 years they are way past the life expectancy according to customer service and OEM does not offer any parts nor service info. I don't think they employ a single person which worked in Nuforce branch which sold pretty pricey products.
Semiconductors in general don't cause problems with age. Exceedinrg "absolute maximum"
parameters cause far more problems than normal operation. Pots wear out and go noisy.
Electrolytic capacitors dry out and fail. Carbon resistors can change values and cause failures
of other parts. The main problem with processors is replacing them if they DO fail because of
advancements and no longer manufactured and may have no direct substitutes. If the processor
has firmware in it (OFTEN the case), replacing the IC without the program is worthless. EPROM
storage also has life expectancy issues with losing the data. It only takes one bit to potentially
ruin the program. I always questioned if an EPROM lost data, will erasing and reprogramming
be OK. Good luck
G²
parameters cause far more problems than normal operation. Pots wear out and go noisy.
Electrolytic capacitors dry out and fail. Carbon resistors can change values and cause failures
of other parts. The main problem with processors is replacing them if they DO fail because of
advancements and no longer manufactured and may have no direct substitutes. If the processor
has firmware in it (OFTEN the case), replacing the IC without the program is worthless. EPROM
storage also has life expectancy issues with losing the data. It only takes one bit to potentially
ruin the program. I always questioned if an EPROM lost data, will erasing and reprogramming
be OK. Good luck
G²
Normally it's charge leaking off a floating gate that makes an EPROM lose its contents, and even reprogramming without erasing should solve that, but how do you get the program?
There are some effects that make digital CMOS logic slow down with age, like hot carrier injection and negative-bias temperature instability, but I doubt that those are likely to become a problem as long as the logic is not used near its maximum speed at extreme temperatures.
Back in the '80s I had a broadcast TV VTR editor that had an EPROM 'forget'.
After that I would open new gear and if there was an EPROM I would read it
and save it as a file. I had files for Ampex, Sony, Rank Cintel, Tektronix 17xx
scopes and many others. Tek did NOT set the security bit in their 8051 processors
so I could repair scopes that had a processor failure. Some of the Rank files also
came in handy when there were problems.
G²
I do not understand why. Most relatively modern preamps would have a micro somewhere, at least for input selection, display and remote control. In the extremely rare case the micro indeed fails you are either at the mercy of the manufacturer or looking at an interesting diy project. Replacing the original micro with your own is not that hard and for a diyer is more of an opportunity than an obstacle.
As for reliabilty, my expectation is micros + relays to work better than pots after 20 years and the normal mode of failure to be oxidation/sulphidation of the relay contacts.
Dump all the microprocessor controlled audio gear. Even the rest.
Who will benifit?
The manufacturer.
You as a customer will get an aparatus, cheap initially but ready to trow away after a few years because of no spares and hence expensive.
Allright, I'm a dinosaur concerning "technology". But simplicity works for ages...
After doing repairs for allmost 60 years, 95% of "old" gear can be repaired.
95% of the newest gear ends up in the trash bin because of these obsolete chips of 3 years old.
I'm very happy to be a dinosaur.
Who will benifit?
The manufacturer.
You as a customer will get an aparatus, cheap initially but ready to trow away after a few years because of no spares and hence expensive.
Allright, I'm a dinosaur concerning "technology". But simplicity works for ages...
After doing repairs for allmost 60 years, 95% of "old" gear can be repaired.
95% of the newest gear ends up in the trash bin because of these obsolete chips of 3 years old.
I'm very happy to be a dinosaur.
I do not fear microprocessors for certain gears like my HT setup as these would eventually be changed, but I would like to be trouble free for my 2 channel system, pots and analog switches are readily available and I do not need to contact the manufacturer for replacement. My tube pre amp is DIY and does nto even have a selector, source selection is done via the DAC with multiple inputs. Highend companies like Simaudio would probably charge a small fortune if the amp would need servicing. I am just avoiding potential problems where it would be no longer be practical to have an amp repaired because a $2 chip with programming done by the manufacturer has failed.
That why Arduino exists. Allows average DIYer ability to program simple micros for projects like this. Look at Espresif ESP32 - for $11 gives WiFi and Bluetooth and you can make an app on your phone for remote control. A lot of core software had been developed for what you need by others. Just take existing code and modify. Look on GitHub etc. There is a learning curve for sure but it’s way better than starting from scratch.