Are extended warranty/service plans a good idea on home theatres?

IMO no, but everybody's different. In my experience if receivers are going to fail they will do it soon after you get them. Once they run a while with no problems they are usually ok and if they do fail after the manufacturers 2 year warranty runs out you usually can replace them with a used receiver of the same or equal model for about the same cost as the warranty would have cost and you don't have to fool with the repair facility which can be a pain and lengthy, or more often than not by that time some new technology has come out and you're ready for and upgrade anyway.


Speakers as long as you don't over drive them and they are getting a clean signal or aren't abused in some other way will be fine.

I'm sure you've heard this before, but I very rarely purchase extended warranties. A few instances when I did purchase them were when I bought my refurbished Dreamcast. The extended warranty was like $5 or $10. And the accidental replacement warranty for my laptop which covered the entire system (the screen included) in case an accident happens. I did end up using it because I spilled beer all over the keyboard.


They are almost pure profit for these stores, or they wouldn't be pushing it so hard. For most electronics, if it doesn't fail within the first year (which your limited warranty should cover), it's very rare for it to fail at all. After the first year, the stores know that the probability of failure is low enough that they know they'll make money by selling you the extended warranty.


The dollar looses its value due to inflation, and electronics get cheaper by the moment.


But with this said, if it gives you a peace of mind, then by all means, go for it.