How old is too old (for SS gear)?
I've personally not been too concerned about the age of used solid state amps and preamps, but recently a few pieces of gear I've purchased have either A) bit the dust or B) starting to make weird noises.
So now, I'm a bit gun-shy about buying used gear much older than a few years.
Do you have a certain age limit when considering the purchase of used gear?
Thanks.
Dear @teo_audio : Rigth you are and changing the old filter caps for new ones makes a true quality improvemnt in what we listen it. I just made the electrolytic screw type filter caps ( 70k uf each side. ) in the power supply of my ML very old ( 35+ ) 20.6 monoblocks and the improved quality level is something totally unexpected by me because I only made that change to stay " calm " because the amplifiers were working just fine. Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS, R. |
One aspect I didn't read in this thread is 15/20 year old "sound" / technology vs. new. Aside from the A, AB, D and other variations, is it worth spending $5K / $10K on a manufacturer refurbished 15/20 year old statement/hi end amp or are you better off spending that money on new or only 5 year old technology. If the old stuff is manufacturer refurbished, then it'll likely last another 10/20 years. Does anyone own an amp or other gear, 15/20 years old, that if thoroughly gone over could compete in today's new or slightly used market at the level it was at when bought new? |
@cdtd I think my Rowland model 8T (modded by Jeff) competes very well against most of the newer SS amps that i have AB'ed it against. The Rowland 8's were from the early to late 90's. ( a few in the 2000's). |
My 1975 ish Sansui is awesome. I have the paperwork from some work done about 10 years ago but it is not extensive. All big caps etc look original with no obvious signs of failure. Perfect channel match as far as my ear can tell. I debated but decided to leave it on 24/7 to keep from the current inrush of off and on from wearing it down. Maybe I’m right maybe not. |
