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In Reply to: RE: Current prouction versus vintage posted by fredtr on July 20, 2016 at 12:23:46
There's good new and crap vintage. In the end it is all about taste.My thoughts of the day:
I like modern speakers. Modern drivers and especially the designs are just in another league
I like modern preamps for the simple fact that I can't stand fixing another vintage preamp. Preamps have a significant mechanical factor. Newer technology provides fewer moving parts and less useless interconnection problems. Vintage preamps tend to have a lot of extra "stuff" that in the end degrades the sound. However preamp designs are an art and should be a serious decision.
Vintage amps I like a lot. Muscle and smoothness that new gear just lost sight of. Very musical and strong sounding with no wishy washy bass. Also they tend to have a simpler design and higher quality discrete parts. Nothing like a restored Marantz 250!
However new amps are tight and very articulate. But they don't have the Magic vintage amps do have.
Edits: 07/20/16Follow Ups:
Thank-you airtime, what you wrote makes a lot of sense. But I am biased (nerd pun), through trial and error tend to listen to current preamp, vintage amp - all tube.
That is exactly what my tube setup is. I really feel if music is your end goal this is a very smart and wise way to go.System one A Conrad Johnson Classic 2SE preamp
VTA ST-70 kit remake of the old Dynaco ST-70System one B Sherwood S-5000 fully restored and upgraded by Mike Samra
I have a variety of other piece that I will occasionally roll in and out of the system to keep things interesting. but these two ARE my listening stereos.
Edits: 07/21/16
I would not be able to afford new amp and pre that can out perform my ARC SP8 and VT50.So I vote for vintage that has been serviced and updated as necessary.
bigshow
I think this where it diverges. SS vs tubes. A restored tube piece with carefully chosen modern parts really brings out the best in old designs. In fact that's all most modern tube gear is for the most part.
Solid state on the other hand, if you like that kind of thing, just keeps getting better. I'm not talking mass market, box store stuff. It's taken awhile but they have really started to figure it out. Frank Van Alstine at AVA stared on something quiet a few years back. The 400r Fetvalve I have is not far from the Citation II.
If you have the cash get something new. If you need to stretch a budget get something older that you can work on and maintain. I always took to heart a phrase that Frank at Angela Electronics used to have on his web site.
"just a way for you cheap bums to get some good sounds"
Edits: 07/20/16
Once Mike Samra restored it I DARE ya to find a better EL84 stereo
+1 and Amen brother. I would put mine up against any modern el84 amp.
Meat; It's the right thing to do. Romans 14:2
I would put that Sherwood up against just about any amp regardless of price or type. That little thing is amazing!!! Or I should say what Mike did to it made it all it could be.
...I agree that solid state keeps getting better and it's much more than parts you could put in vintage amps.
Part of it (as E-Stat mentioned) is stiffer power supplies but you also have better matched output devices (transistors, FETs) and a greater awareness of the need to eliminate odd order distortion (Curl) in newer designs.
If you read the Charles Hansen interview in last month's Stereophile, he describes his journey in improving his products and what he's found over the past 10 years.
You take a piece of vintage gear and have it professionally restored and you will have a piece of audio gear for life!!!!
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