Why buy older digital gear?

Prices have gone up, but the budget gear has narrowed the gap somewhat IMO. With that being said, a lot of people have the impression that new digital gear trounces old digital gear. Not in my experience. There's far more to digital gear than DAC chips. Power supplies and output stages are critical IMO. Just because a DAC has an ESS Sabre chip (or any other flavor of the month chip) doesn't make it a great DAC. Wallwart power supplies and op amps can't compete with beefy torriodal power supplies and discrete class A outputs. If the Musical Fidelity V-DAC and the Bryston BDA-1 had the exact same chip, do you honestly think they'd sound similar? No chance.

I sound like a broken record (or skipping iPod!), but my 16 year old Theta Cobalt 307 easily beat several current budget DACs in my system. Good power supplies and output stages aren't cheap and they don't get beat by the latest and greatest fad.

My CD player cost me $2000.00 some 20 years ago and still plays wonderful music. No malfunctions, ever (I hope I didn't just jinx myself). What would a new one of the same quality cost today, $4000.00? I read all the time how some of these new (expensive) units are always malfunctioning. I think I'll keep mine and maybe get a DAC for it (someday).

some older digital gear sounds better than anything made today, such as forsell components, the original zanden dac, some older wadia gear--the 2000 series, the cal aria, rhe cal tempest, etc. . obviously, ears and preference are the relevant variables regarding such an assertion .

It's interesting that you mention the CAL. I had a CAL Icon II from 1995-98 and I still remember how nice it sounded with my Apogee Stages. But now I'm attached to my EMM, which I think is pretty awesome.

Some of the old Cal stuff had tube output stages (I think the "alpha" dac, for example). Perhaps that is where the demand is?

My Cary 308T with tube output stage is "long in the tooth" now but has consistently trounced every player I've had in my home, sounding way more refined and musical.... until now...

I'm finding the Eastern Electric DAC - in tube mode - to be a match for the Cary 308T in terms of sheer beauty and musicality. (Even when it's fed Apple Lossless via Squeezebox Touch, presuming that the "wifi Gods" are shining on me :-)

Art