Hi @murrayh, …and @Neilb1906
Statement does have a long service interval compared to our older legacy equipment.
Olive style equipment was approx. 10 years, after a ‘recap’ it would sound as new. BB2k AKA triptych, black box classic etc is approx. 15 years.
New Classic and Statement will also be 15 years, could be 20 years in perfect conditions (mix of standby, cool running conditions, low humidity etc).
The service interval is not the useful life expected. Our service interval is to keep the equipment in peak listening performance. Over time the large power supply capacitors (circled in red below - inside of the NAP S1) lose performance storing less energy and ability to release energy fast. This has an effect on sound quality.
Other items such as signal switches and connectors can oxidise. The oxide layers can add non-linearity. For my own home system I pull out and plug back in connectors to ‘wipe’ the oxide layer. I do this every year or so. (speakers and source connectors)
Small signal capacitors used to connect internal stages can also degrade. We change these during a re-cap service. BB2K and older used mechanical volume controls (called potentiometers or variable resistors) these can wear. New classic and Statement use switched resistor network volume controls. We expect those to sound new for the life of the product.
All hi-fi (electronic) equipment has a service interval, some manufactures do not offer the re-cap service or such a comprehensive service.
Our Vereker showroom Statement system (pre-production) has not missed a beat in 9 years. I’ll have to compare it to a newer system in 5 years or so. Together with the service team R&D write a service plan and procedure.
Best
Steve