I have a 13 year old Pioneer amplifier (part of a hifi, not seperate - model
no. DCZ94) and just recently the tape deck (which I never use) has started
making a high pitched noise now and again. This could be a good excuse for
me to upgrade to a new stereo amp (however I can just about live with this
noise...)

For many years the centrepiece of my system was a Pioneer amp with
every in/out socket imaginable. Very useful, almost saved me buying a
mixing board :-)

Only problem was those nasty spring-clip speaker terminals. When the
springs finally failed, I went inside to rig something better. Every
connection was wire-wrapped, and every one had gone brittle - touch it
and it disintegrated. Some sort of metal fatigue due to thermal
cycling perhaps?

I got some useful parts from it, but couldn't face remaking every
joint :-)