There is no one right answer to this question, it depends on the amplifiers involved. I decided to go the route of the classic older used amp, and it works for me. I was able to buy an 18 year old $5500 100 wpc Class A solid state amp for only $1100, and it has served me well for the past two years. I have not heard any new amps under $2K that can compete. However, as with everything else in this hobby, YMMV.
Legendary used amp, or economical new one?
This past week a couple of my 30-yr-old vintage amps went awry. One, a VSP Labs TransMOS 150 developed a loud hum and got smokin' hot before I shut it off. The other, a Heathkit AA-1600, lost the left channel.
I may get them fixed, possibly to keep as backup or to sell, but I've come across yet another, a 100 wpc ultra-wide bandwidth Perreaux amp, also from the mid-'80s. The Perreaux has some features I've always been curious about in an amp but couldn't afford in a new one--distortion at .009%, bandwidth out to 3Mhz, and the accompanying rise time below 1 microsecond. I'd love to see how all that speed and resolution translates into sound quality, spatial cues, low level detail, and pinpoint timing--key elements in musically involving.
But I don't know how rugged Perreaux gear is, and maybe for the same money I should settle for a new Emotiva XPA 200 or a much less used Odyssey Khartago or Stratos.
Thoughts? Feelings? Opinions? Condemnations? :)
I may get them fixed, possibly to keep as backup or to sell, but I've come across yet another, a 100 wpc ultra-wide bandwidth Perreaux amp, also from the mid-'80s. The Perreaux has some features I've always been curious about in an amp but couldn't afford in a new one--distortion at .009%, bandwidth out to 3Mhz, and the accompanying rise time below 1 microsecond. I'd love to see how all that speed and resolution translates into sound quality, spatial cues, low level detail, and pinpoint timing--key elements in musically involving.
But I don't know how rugged Perreaux gear is, and maybe for the same money I should settle for a new Emotiva XPA 200 or a much less used Odyssey Khartago or Stratos.
Thoughts? Feelings? Opinions? Condemnations? :)