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matthewpiano

matthewpiano

Well-known member
Nov 23, 2007
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This is aimed at dim_span and Record Spot, and anyone else who regularly uses a vintage or fairly old amplifier.

What is it that you love about your old amplifier that you haven't been able to find with newer kit? Do you think manufacturers achieved something different in the 1970s sound-wise that is hard to find with modern amplifiers?
 
To be honest Matthew, it was price/cost ...I looked for something good which I could afford at the time with my limited budget ...

I only paid £275 for my amp and IMHO was a bargain compared to what I had auditioned up to £1000
 
... and did have the pleasure of loaning a Musical Fidelity A5 amp for half a day ... a bit more modern ... and am (trying) to save up for that as my next amp upgrade ...

was really impressed... and these can be bought for under £800

will still keep my old Pioneer as a 2nd system
 
Matthew, consider the Quad current dumpers. The design hasn't really changed since the first example in the late 70's, the Quad 405. Over time they've moved to a toridial transformer and uprated some of the components with the latest offerings, but otherwise it's the same design. A cheap way to get a good example is to buy an old amp and get it upgraded.

Where's the attraction? A proven design that works very well and hasn't needed to change much in 30-odd years. A product that can be repaired as opposed to modern equipment that needs new boards or complete replacement. A cheap alternative to the latest equipment. A product that's built considerably better than anything new at similar prices, or even much higher prices!

If you buy a Quad 405 from ebay for £100, have it upgraded by Netaudio for about £400, you have a power amp that belies it's price. New equipment doesn't make much sense when you can do this.
 
I forgot to add, there's something rather charming about using an amp that sounds superb and is older than me. I've had to apply some TLC but I feel like it's guardian rather than owner. New kit is tinfoil in comparison.

q405.jpg
 
I have a soft spot for old stereo receivers, think it's the glowing dials & meters. Sadly both my receivers (LEAK 3400 & ROTEL RX-802) get very little use due to RFI interference from the central heating & the PC.Also they are very big, the Rotel is 2' wide & the LEAK not far behind so accommodating is a problem & both have all din inputs (5-pin & 2-pin).Both sound great, the Rotel is very good but needs a service (a few crackly knobs/switches & the left channel cuts out now & again).Both look good too. The LEAK is quite understated and modern while the Rotel screams of the 70's - black, teak case & a bright green dial.The big bonus was that both were very cheap, I paid £35 for the LEAK which had been serviced by the previous owner & £30 for the Rotel which was top of the range for a short while - bargains in my book.
 
I've just replaced a £300 6 month old amp (marantz 6003) with a £250 32 year old amp (Yamaha CA 1000) so i've gone from one end of the spectrum to the other. I guess the downside in buying the old amp is that it is more likely to break down but the positives completely outweigh any negatives at the moment. I've now got an amp with a fantastic spec that has a much more dynamic sound and really drives my speakers. The brand new marantz combined with the 6003 cd player was very pleasant to listen to but could sound a little pedestrian at times.

I feel like i've made a significant upgrade without any real outlay as I could sell the Marantz tomorrow for the same price I paid for the Yamaha. I haven't heard any new amps in the £750 + bracket but I suspect I would have to spend that sort of money to improve on the old Yamaha.
 
I'm using a 15 year old Technics amp, as in my sig. I can turn the volume control round to 12 o'clock and beyond with the CD player and DAC switched on and ready to play and hear nothing from the speakers. I spent the weekend with a friend who has all Meridian kit with dedicated mains circuitry and special leads and all. When I knelt next to one of his beautiful new Sonus faber Liutos to choose a new CD I could hear hiss and LF hum with the volume on 70 (whatever that means). Why should I want to "improve" my system in that way? I read about how some of you guys and gals want to "lower the noise floor" and now I understand what you are talking about. Old is better in that way Matthew for sure
 
visionary:I'm using a 15 year old Technics amp, as in my sig. I can turn the volume control round to 12 o'clock and beyond with the CD player and DAC switched on and ready to play and hear nothing from the speakers. I spent the weekend with a friend who has all Meridian kit with dedicated mains circuitry and special leads and all. When I knelt next to one of his beautiful new Sonus faber Liutos to choose a new CD I could hear hiss and LF hum with the volume on 70 (whatever that means). Why should I want to "improve" my system in that way? I read about how some of you guys and gals want to "lower the noise floor" and now I understand what you are talking about. Old is better in that way Matthew for sure

I'd guess his system has something going on with it. None of my systems have ever done that at any price point or age unless I had wires touching or something.
 
Not sure if I qualify as my amps are only about 1 yr old but the design goes back to the 50's. Why did I buy them...they were something I lusted after in my youth, one of those 'when I can afford it I'm going to get one' objects of desire. Do I like them? The question should really be, do you have to ask.
 
suppose in a nutshell it all boils down to 'bang for buck'

I would rather own an old high spec amp than a brand new inferior amp for the same money

What was very good 20 years ago, is still good in today's standards when it comes to amps and speakers (in my opinion)

and as mentioned, only paid £275 for mine ... worked fine with no probs ... had spare cash, and paid £130 for a full service/recap/recalibrated etc ...

A pioneer SA-9800 retailed for over $800 in the early 1980's ... that was a lot of money in those days

Have recently seen a few Pioneer SA-9800 amps sell for over £600 on ebay ... If I had to replace my amp with a brand new one, I would have to pay substantialy much more to get much better

I feel the same way about speakers

and suppose one can liken it to cars .... I would rather own a good used Porche than a brand new Ford Fiesta for the same price
 
Hi Matthew,

For me, three things:

Expectations. When I buy I new Marantz amp with rave reviews for a couple of hundred euros, I expect it to be good. When I bought my 30+ years old Pioneer I expected a bit of fun, and it blew me away.

Sound. My PM4001 is very refined and smooth sounding, but the Pioneer is fast, punchy and revealing. It also has better separation and soundstaging.

Feeling. The idea that this beautiful looking machine is slightly older than I am. The knobs. The VU meters. It's just nicer in the same way old cars and motorcycles are nicer.

Oh and Dim_Span: sorry I nicked your idea for my pic. It just looks so good...
 
My Exposure kit is from 1983. It gives me the kind of sound that I had been searching for, namely superb detail reproduction but with a strong bass. The new amps that I had auditioned, which were all between £800-£1500, never quite pulled it off.

Also, I believe that the older amps (and hi-fi components, in general) were built to a far higher standard, than todays models. They were built to last. I know this is true of Exposure. Can anyone really see, say, a new generation Cyrus amp lasting 25+ years? I can't.

It's also a good feeling knowing that I paid just over £400 for an amp that would cost me around three grand, if I bought it today.
 
I,ve not got any experience with old amps, bought mine because i loved the sound of it and the volume and sheer scale it gives, also it,s just a block of alluminium that measures 10 inches x 9 inches x 3 inches with on on/off button on the fascia, very minimalist
 
I took some time before settling on an older amplifier - I'd gone round the houses and through a few more modern amps (Marantz, Audio Analogue) and a few older ones (Tehcnis SU-V6, NAD, Arcam) but although all had given me an indication of what else I could get, none of them offered anything more. It was more of a sideways move than a step up.

I checked out Sansui and its' history and was amazed by the write-ups; I hadn't the faintest idea they'd done such great stuff. Read around a bit more and finally picked up a the Au-717 I have now. It needs a little TLC but beyond that it's in fine condition.

I wanted something that sounded good to my ears; I gave up on the "hifi" element a while ago now as I wanted to listen to something that made my music sound good and which I enjoyed. I'm back there now, with a piece of classic gear I'd always wanted from an era I remembered well. To buy an equivalent amp right now (the build quality of 717 is a cut above from what I hear), I'd be spending way more than I did for it.

So it's two things for me; the means to make music sound good and owning something that evokes fond memories of my youth.
 
igglebert:I forgot to add, there's something rather charming about using an amp that sounds superb and is older than me. I've had to apply some TLC but I feel like it's guardian rather than owner. New kit is tinfoil in comparison.
q405.jpg


Thats a brilliant quote igglebert, made me smile for the day
emotion-2.gif
.
 
idc:
igglebert:I forgot to add, there's something rather charming about using an amp that sounds superb and is older than me. I've had to apply some TLC but I feel like it's guardian rather than owner. New kit is tinfoil in comparison.
q405.jpg


Thats a brilliant quote igglebert, made me smile for the day
emotion-2.gif
.

...with cheesy statements like that I don't deserve new kit...
 
I think folk say something similar about older McIntosh gear - you never really own it, you preserve it for future generations. Nice idea and worthwhile IMO; some of this stuff is too good to pass up on and it's important to preserve an engineering history as much as we can I think.
 
igglebert:idc:

igglebert:I forgot to add, there's something rather charming about using an amp that sounds superb and is older than me. I've had to apply some TLC but I feel like it's guardian rather than owner. New kit is tinfoil in comparison.
q405.jpg


Thats a brilliant quote igglebert, made me smile for the day
emotion-2.gif
.

...with cheesy statements like that I don't deserve new kit...

Right, heart out time........

Music should reach into your soul and audiophiles know the route to the soul is through their kit and making it sound as fabulous as you can. The kit then becomes part of that. 'I love my amp' and 'I love Scandinavian Prog Rock' are examples of comments that do not get ridiculed on this forum, as we know what we mean. My X-CANV8P amp was a present from Antony Michaelson owner of Musical Fidelity. It has provided me with thousands of hours of musical pleasure. I have a huge attachement to it. It will grow old with me. It gets into my soul.

So there!
 
jimdonnelly:dim_span:

The old Pioneer also looks good
emotion-1.gif


pic is too large to post here and I don't know how to resize

I agree, it does look good. It also looks a bit complicated 🙂

it's easy to use ... I keep everything set at neutral ... only use the on/off switch, volume control and sometimes the loudness function if I listen at low volume ....

apparently very good with a record deck/decks and is excellent with headphones
 
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