Expensive Tube Amplifiers

@facten I guess you are right, but knowing the people who tend to be on this subforum, I am always interested in hearing their opinions on other aspects of audiophilia.

So Jim, as per usual, what is your question? And why are you so angry about prices on eBay? (Marantz model 2 for $11K is purely and only about collectors by the way. Vintage Marantz is worth big bucks in Asia.)

I totally disagree that vintage capacitors and resistors are superior to modern equivalents unless you want parts to act as tone controls. Modern parts of best quality are far superior for transparency and reliability. And don’t even think about vintage electrolytic caps. What vintage tube amps do have are often superb output transformers, worth scavenging for use in a modern device. I don’t think you can buy at any price a modern OPT that competes with those from a Marantz model 9.

Note:  A McIntosh MC275 sold for $444 in 1961.  $444 in 1961 is worth $4,810.88 today.  I believe a McIntosh MC275 VI retails for $7500 now.   So, if these numbers are right, which I am not sure, we are looking at 35% more today... 

Lewm,

I don't think vintage caps and resistors are superior to modern ones of the same values.  Many have a particular sound in a particular circuit that might be what the designer is going for, in which case, they are "better" for the circumstance.  I recently heard a modern tube amp that was modified by replacing a modern Mundorf coupling capacitor with a Hovland MusiCap of the same value.  The sound improved, at least to my preference and that of the amp's owner.  Another person might think differently.  But, in either case, there was clearly a different sound for the same value of capacitance and voltage rating. 

Audio Note, a very high end company that makes its own parts--transformers, inductors, resistors and capacitors--that they use in their gear and sell to others.  For some of their better equipment they utilize their own Niobium resistors which are quite expensive.  But, for their very top gear, they use a mystery resistor in key parts of the build--it is not something identified as their own build (it could be) so it is not clear who builds the part but it appears to be some kind of old school carbon composition resistor.  I don't think it is wrong to seek out some of these old parts for their particular sound, but, of course, it takes a lot of experience to know where to employ such parts. 

A local dealer in my area builds custom amps and has an Italian builder make their ultra-high end electronics.  For those builds in Italy, the local dealer finds the parts and sends them to the Italian builder who makes custom electronics specific to the customer's needs.  The local dealer shared with me an audio recording of that Italian builder explaining the choice of a particular paper in oil cap, with the specific choice of year of manufacture of the part being determined by the listening habits of the buyer of the amp--if the amp stays on for many hours at a time, the cap should be from one range of years of manufacture, if the amp stays on for shorter periods, another range of years should be selected.  It comes down to that kind of specialized knowledge for custom high end builds.    

I think the OP is a little misleading.  Yes, you can buy a vintage tube amp on eBay and restore it, IF you have the experience and knowledge to do so (plus a few hundred, maybe more, in spare cash lying around.)  You also have to know what you're buying, what kind of condition it might possibly be in, and the complexity of what the restoration might involve.  When the ad says, "It works!" that can indicate a wide range of condition issues.  Over on another forum, every week you see a thread that usually starts something like, "I bought this Fisher XXX on eBay but it hums and the output tubes are turning bright red.  How do I fix it?"  Those with experience do their best to walk the new owner through a diagnosis and possible fix, but it gets a little scary when the new owner says, "Which are the can caps?"

Another thing to consider is that the vast majority of classic vintage tube amps are limited to 35 watts per channel or less.  If you need power, you're much better off buying a Black Ice, Rogue or Prima Luna.