Yes, everything made by humans requires some form of periodic maintenance.

Nothing is exempt from this need, and the more complex a thing is, the greater the need becomes. Maintenance, such as cleaning, lubrication, adjustment, or parts replacement, is simply a routine element designed into things made by human hands. Complex equipment, containing hundreds of parts and often operating decades beyond its intended design life, has a greater need for periodic maintenance.

Design Life

Manufacturer-specified maintenance information is typically found in the service documentation for a piece of equipment. Here’s the problem with that, though: This maintenance is what was thought would be needed over the projected design life of the equipment. When this equipment was designed and built, nobody imagined that it would still be working, let alone cherished and sought after, 30, 40, or even 50 years later.

There’s often very little longer-term maintenance information accompanying consumer-level gear like this anyway, a reflection of the nature of the equipment and its predicted lifespan. The extended life much of this equipment enjoys is usually well beyond its intended design life, and the ongoing maintenance needs are simply not covered by service data.

A classic example is the bearings and gears found in cassette decks and turntables, which are designed to last the life of the equipment. These, in fact, usually need to be completely stripped, cleaned, lubricated and reassembled for that equipment to work properly again, typically after about 20 years. This is rarely, if ever, covered in service data.

Maintaining equipment requires expertise and an understanding of how equipment ages. Many service procedures and techniques have been developed out of necessity by Liquid Audio and others. I use service procedures, parts, lubricants, etc, that manufacturers didn’t disclose or that have become superseded. I’ve had to reverse-engineer and develop solutions, as required. Some of them are unique to Liquid Audio.

Degradation

Owners of hi-fi equipment are often unaware of maintenance requirements or that components degrade over time. Eventually, mechanical parts slow, actions become stiff or sporadic, and then seize or fail. Changing electronic components can eventually give up, with the release of the classic ‘magic smoke’, leaving hi-fi equipment no longer functional. *

These changes are usually gradual and occur over years or even decades, meaning that tracking and being aware of them is virtually impossible. That’s why, as with cars and motorcycles, we suggest periodic maintenance, which removes much of the guesswork. Turntables and cassette decks are generally the most maintenance-intensive, followed by amplifiers, CD players, tuners, preamps and then things without knobs, like DACs.

I’ve written more about how and why electronic equipment needs periodic maintenance here and here. Periodic maintenance reduces the likelihood and potential severity of equipment failure and dramatically improves its performance. Whatever you do, just have the work done by someone competent. Your equipment will eventually fail if you don’t maintain it.

* Magic smoke, once released, cannot be reinstalled and is not available for purchase; only new components containing their factory original magic smoke can be used in their place.