Expensive Tube Amplifiers

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.

From my perspective, having run tubes since 1973, the biggest cost is the glass. I had a pair of Quad IIs restored--units from 1959 and 1961 and found a matched quad of GEC KT 66 NIB/NOS. Impossible to find these days. My Lamm ML2s were pricey new, I paid less than full freight back in the aughts, tube cost is a grand, add another grand for NIB/NOS Tele 12 ax7s. 

I like tubes. I still have my ARC Dual 75a which I bought new. It is not in service, but I’m sitting on a full complement of tubes I bought back in the day from ARC along with various parts-- like barrier strip terminals. I’ll restore it when I need to, last time it was gone over, fresh caps, etc. was circa 2003. 

These units can last a lifetime. Of course, you have to use them in the right application. These various tube amps are not suited for all applications. The Lamms drive Avantgarde Duos, an extremely efficient speaker. At 18 watts each, they are not an "all purpose" amp. But overpriced now? I have no idea, since I’m not shopping for new gear. That, in some ways is the point---you can enjoy these things with proper maintenance forever. The best glass is harder and harder to find, though. 

As always, Roger Modjeski’s mighty fine Music Reference amplifiers are completely ignored. Not by the likes of John DeVore, who has an RM-10 in his system. The RM-200 was Michael Fremers' "moderately-priced" tube amp for over a decade.

A couple more makers of (relatively) moderately-priced yet (very) high-performance tube amps are Mike Sanders of Quicksilver Audio and Tim deParavicini of EAR-Yoshino. Roger and Tim have unfortunately passed on, but their amps occasionally show up on the used market.