[Ron Ramirez]

As for the rough life versus pampered life see how many SX-1950 receivers still remain compared to the ones that ended up on the curb for the trash man. I for one blew my share of output transistors in amps which is kinda of like throwing a rod in a small block at 6K rpm....

And, remembering the Sherwood S-8900 I owned as a young adult: I acquired it with bad electrolytics in the power supply. I replaced them, and then had a very nice receiver for several years until it began blowing fuses again. At that point I got rid of it, opting for one of the then-new Pioneers. By that time all of the receivers had gone to the all-black appearance with digital readouts. Needless to say, I don't have that Pioneer anymore. I don't even remember which model it was.

So, you could say that I acquired the Sherwood worn out, rebuilt it enough to make it go several more thousand miles, and then cut my losses when it blew up again.