"Do you guys think it would alter the sound to replace the 3281D and 1302D Thermal Trak transistors with NJL3281DG (NPN) NJL1302DG (PNP) Thermal Trak transistors, and do you think the work to match the output devices would be difficult or highly involved?"
Matching devices properly is expensive and a pain. You have to buy a ton of them to get the matched sets you need. Jon Soderberg repairs old Threshold amps, he buys transistors in lots, then sorts them according to which matches which. If you do that you’ll end up with a very large number of devices that you’ll have no use for. Unless you are going to do a lot of amps, once you get a matched set, all the rest are pretty much useless to you. Someone who does it all the time will just keep putting together matched sets. The few oddballs left will be matched up when he buys another lot.
If you have no need to replace the output devices, leave them alone. I have been fortunate enough to have always found someone who matches them, so I don’t have to. They cost a lot more, but far less than it would cost to buy enough to get a matched set!
Matching devices properly is expensive and a pain. You have to buy a ton of them to get the matched sets you need. Jon Soderberg repairs old Threshold amps, he buys transistors in lots, then sorts them according to which matches which. If you do that you’ll end up with a very large number of devices that you’ll have no use for. Unless you are going to do a lot of amps, once you get a matched set, all the rest are pretty much useless to you. Someone who does it all the time will just keep putting together matched sets. The few oddballs left will be matched up when he buys another lot.
If you have no need to replace the output devices, leave them alone. I have been fortunate enough to have always found someone who matches them, so I don’t have to. They cost a lot more, but far less than it would cost to buy enough to get a matched set!