Vintage amps vs current budget best buys?

[MrBrickFish]

Hi,

I have a Sonos system throughout the house which plays music stored as FLACs. For the bedroom system, I've been using "spare" old amps and speakers. The first amp was a Technics, cost me £20 from Richer in circa 1985 connected via analogue, the 2nd was a cheap AV amp, connected via fibre optic, which is huge and I never liked the sound. The speakers are some cheap Gale bookshelf ones from Richer. Most of the music I play is stuff like Bowie or U2 etc.

Suffice to say, I'm looking to improve the sound quality, and in the case of the AV amp reduce the size of thing... As a starting point I looked at the current "Best Buys" recommended by WHF e.g. Q Acoustics 2020i (£160) for speakers and Marantz PM6004 (£310) (or other 5* budget amps : Cambridge Audio Azur 340A SE (£180) or Rotel RA-04 (£250)).

But then I started wondering about 2nd hand "vintage" stuff, amps in particular since prices are good 2nd hand. I was wondering about how these current 5* amps stack up against things like the NAD 3120? I Have read a little online about vintage amps and Rotel were mentioned positively but I have no knowledge of model numbers etc etc. Equally, I'm not particularly sure about the different variants of the 3120?

I can afford to buy new, but if I can get a good sound for less, the money can be used elsewhere.

Thanks in advance

Cheers

Sean

 

[matthewpiano]

The older NADs are easily bettered by more recent designs. If you want to go used with a NAD look at the C320BEE or C325BEE. Even better than either of those, the current C326BEE is a fantastic amplifier.

The Marantz PM6004 is also a superb amp although there are one or two older models from this manufacturer worthy of consideration second hand. The PM66SE KI-Signature is well worth seeking out as are the PM6010KI Sig and the PM7001 (and variants). The other Marantz that is really quite special is the PM7200.

The Pioneer A400 is still well worth a punt though it needs very careful matching to avoid it sounding lean - you'll find yourself investing in some pretty serious sources and speakers to get the best out of it.

All of these new and used options will give you great performance for the money. Also well worth a look used are the higher end Sony ES amps, some of which were stunning. Of the new amps I personally feel the NAD and Marantz are the best, but the Yamaha A-S500 is capable in the right set-up. IMO the CA amps are starting to look over-priced against the competition - the 651A is, in sound quality, a PM6004/C326BEE competitor and quite a bit more expensive. The 350A is a good amp but some way behind the others.

 

[MrBrickFish]

Matthew, Thank you very much for your siwft reply... there is plenty there to keep me busy researching.

Cheers

Sean

 

[a91gti]

Looking at your budget I'd say you are better off looking around at second hand stuff.
There are some very nice bargains to be had in particular by looking at classified sections on "HiFi" forums.

 

[DIB]

Concur regarding the Marantz PM7001. If you see a good condition 2nd hand one it's well worth a punt. If you don't like it you will be able to move it on with minimum loss (if any) no problem.

Talking about older amps, this weekend on a whim and out of curiosity I bought myself a mid 80's Akai AM-A70 integrated amp.

In almost mint condition and bought for virtual pennies, it sounds blooming marvellous. Built like a tank, I think I'll keep it as back up should the need ever arise. One of these..

.

 

[MrBrickFish]

Dib & a91gti,

many thanks for your replies... even more to think about there.

Cheers

Sean

 

[hoopsontoast]

There is plenty of older stuff thats still very good, and likely to be better value over new amps unless you need new features like USB inputs etc.

I am a big fan of the older Sony ES stuff like the TA-F670ES and TA-F770ES which can be had for around £120 and £300 respectivley. Very good amps with plenty of power and inputs. They are from the early 90's so may need a clean up in the volume pots but apart from that they are pretty bomb-proof!

 

[shafesk]

Hey Mr.Brick,

I cannot comment on how old amps stack up but I have owned the camridge audio 340a for many joyful years. Its a very good amp for the money, not to mention that you can get it for peanuts at RS. Quite balanced and smooth. It lacks a little bass compared to some but its something that won't be an issue if you choose your speakers wisely. The build quality is brilliant, the remote is hefty enough to cause a lot of damage to any thief . I'd also suggest you look around for Marantz's budget offerings, they do great budget kit, notably the pm6003.

Good luck,

Shafin

 

[audioaddict]

Hi as someone previously said some of the sony es amps are awsome as well as some 80s sansuis but also try some of the technics pre power amps that were quite highly rated in the 90s they had awesome smooth power. I owned a few myself the best one i had was the se a 2000 which i bought off the bay for 400 quid which was a 120 watt monster with stupendous build and lush smooth yet powerful sound. I wish i still had it

 

[Anonymous]

I won't comment on whether new amps sound better than old but do be aware that although they are solid state, parts of an amp can age. In particular capacitors are particularly prone to leaking so just be aware that what your are buying my lose it's magic smoke or may have even lost it already.

Edit: actually I'll add my experience of old vs new: for ages I had an original Audiolab 8000A amp (fed by an Arcam CD82 and powering Dynaudio Audience 52s) which according to forum wisdom at the time should have sounded as good as anything new costing £500 (about the rrp of the Audiolab 10 years previous). I replaced it with a NAD C370 and that knocked the spots of the Audiolab, no queston. Whether that was by design or by ageing components I don't know but I'd take the NAD any day of the week.

 

[MrBrickFish]

Guys, further thanks for giving me even more food for thought.

The comment about capacitors is interesing, I recall problems with motherboards about 10 years ago... there were "Pirate fake" electrolytic capacitors in the market which were used by big MB makers such as Abit. The capacitors would leak electrolyte on to the MB. This caused two problems, firstly they stopped being very good capacitors and secondly the leaked electrolyte goop seemed to slowly eat through the tracks on the MB. The Abit motherboards where used in all manner of branded machines IBM etc.

It caused all sorts of problems.

Cheers

Sean