There are a few brands out there that last a long time. I have a 26 year old NAD receiver that works flawlessly (in the bedroom system). I'm not sure the newer NAD stuff is of that quality, but the NAD of the 80's was top notch.
Lasting a long time isn't the issue. I didn't punt my 990 because it "didn't last". Time moves on and it came to a point where I needed HDMI support and wanted support for the latest codecs. If we were talking simple stereo audio, then I wouldn't have bothered and could have stuck with my old Dynaco pre-amp, but the 990 was my "home theater" solution. That space is a very quickly moving target.
So if you want to play in the "home theater" game, you really do need to keep abreast of the latest technologies. A hardware refresh every 7-8 years isn't going to cut it.
Best,