20 year old solid state technology.....

20yrs ago +18yrs - this is an old 2005 thread

My  Sansui alpha dated  back from 1987...

I tried to replace it with an universally acclaimed tube amplifier with a new technology  ...The return cost me 300 bucks in loss ...

I kept the headphone out from the Sansui for my top headphone  because there were no comparison for my headphone at all  ...

Vintage dont means outdated in all case and for all use ...

I think we get what we pay for. When I was shopping the Adcom, B&K, NAC, Carver, etc components of that era they all sounded pretty much the same, They all probably used similar topology and second from bottom parts. I brought home a Krell and it wasn't expectation bias that made the sibilance from my speakers vanish. 

Belles made good stuff so it holds up. 

I still fondly remember my old MC2100 amplifier, made in the 1970s. I had it restored by Terry DeWick before he retired, and I for damn sure should’ve kept it. Ugh! Kicking myself over that.

There’s been both good and bad sounding solid state gear, ever since it was introduced. There always will be. One problem with solid state is that good sounding audio-purpose transistors often go out OOP (aka "obsolete"). It’s a much worse problem than with tubes. With tubes it’s also harder to make something that sounds bad - you have to really mess up.

My mid nineties Krell KSA200s is fantastic to my ears. Smooth, dynamic and very powerful. Would love to hear it side by side with a new ss amp in the 10k range. Going on 30 years old but looks new inside. Not sure if there has been any service over the years. 
 

50 year old Sansui AU9500 has qualities with semi efficient speakers I feel is hard to match today.  Very bouncy sound. Really fun.