Longevity of ownership

My Ariston RD11S turntable I bought new in 1977 from my local HiFi store for $380. Since it was sold without arm I bought from the same store a used SME arm for $150. I still have the Ariston in use, now with a Grace 707 arm and Denon 103 cartridge.

My Oldest owned items, used for nearly a decade within the current audio system, go back to the 1950s as a produced item.

Wind the clock forward; other items used for nearly a decade within the current audio system are from an 80s production.

There are commission-built items produced in the 90's and early 00s that are the backbone of the current system.

There are commission-built items that are older than a decade and younger than a decade used within the current system. 

There are currently commission-built items as newly produced and completed builds, and commission builds ongoing and soon to be completed.

I bought my Basis 2500 turntable w/ Vector 4 arm in 2002. Replaced belt once & got a new cartridge a couple years ago. Still sounds great & rivals my very good digital sources. 

Audio Items that rely on. Mechanics, are made known through numerous reports that can be seen, are able to be classed as very high quality in their function. Add to certain models modern replacement parts and reports can be found that are offering a good appraisal.

As for electronics there are endless reports to be found about how attractive  the end sound is that is produced. There are are also tweaks and mod's for certain models/designs that are reported on as being substantial as an improvement.

We make our own choices on the devices selected to be used in a assembly of an audio system. 

For me, end sound evaluation is usually where the decisions are made to make changes to the assembly of an audio  system. 

I have just sold my Michell GyroDec (1992) and an Audiolab 8000ppa phono stage (1996) to a friend. My Tag Mclaren T20 tuner is from 2000 and my SME V tonearm was bought in 2010. The latter two items are still in use in my current system. All have worked faultlessly - bullet-proof engineering !!