gcs118

If I go and spend upwards of $600-1000 on a sound system, is it gonna be useless in a few years? How long do the parts last? HU? Speakers? Amp? Subs? (How long do they last granted I don't blow them or break them )

pr5owner

should last you at least 5 years if you install it correctly, NEVER abuse it, and you maintain your battery and other things in the car to give it good power
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CB600F

Dave Cameron

I am a touch less optamistic about the life cycle of car audio- it is up against a tough enviorment-
Temperatures vary from 20 below to 140plus degrees (here anyway) Imagine the contract and expansion on every circut.
Motion occurs in every imaginable access, up, down, left, right, front, back. All while a laser bounces off a surface to read plus's or minus's.
Variences in power from 11 volts up to 14.5 volts. Hard on SMDs, ICs, and MOSFET devices.
Uncontrolled humidity and dryness. Death to a speaker spyders.
Dirt, dirt dirt. Did I mention dirt?
Check by comparision the way the military builds feild deployed electornic equipment. A basic handheld two way can cost a couple of grand, but it is enviorment proof, and will last at least 5 years.
Most manufacturer's warrentys on car audio reflect a statement about the time they expect the hardware to last before repair rates start to cut into margins. I.E. promise this amount of time becuase there is not signifigant failure rates until after this amout of time passes.
Pioneer gives a year, on Premier two years- ever wonder why? Thanks to the price difference they can afford to fix units that break into year two on Premier, otherwise it is the same level of components. Mcintosh will provide two years on amps- but at tthat price they can afford it!
No one gives an unlimited warrenty on the stuff, much less five years. I would agree that if you that good care, don't abuse it and have it installed properly, hardware should last past warrenty, but it is harsh place for audio. I generally consider myself to have done well to get three or four years out of speakers or amps, and good if I get three years from a CD headunit before skipping sets in.
Of course, I like to change the stuff out for something new also...

onehawaiian

5yrs? ha ha, i give ya 5 months b4 you want to start upgrading again. j/k... yeah, as long as you don't abuse your stuff, and you buy decent quality components, you should be fine for even longer than 5yrs.

but you'll change systems or individual components long b4 that. that's how car audio is, once that bug bites ya...