Jazz for aficionados

"electrolytic capacitors go downhill in such a way that you don’t realize it until the quality of audio is really bad."

Very true o10. But that condition applies to several parts of an audio system; vacuum tubes weaken as they age (and sometimes get noisy), styli (needles) wear and lose detail, speaker cone surrounds can disintegrate (particularly foam types), and electrolytic caps (in particular) and other electronic parts can drift out of their specified values. So does this mean we all need to buy new systems every 10 years or so? Absolutely not. But we must be aware of the limitations of each part in our audio systems. Even CD players can fail if the laser burns out.  But then it won't play so you know it's time to change. ;^)

In fact there are many older components which can still offer very good performance, and not just the expensive ones like McIntosh or Audio Research. But the owner must expect to perform, or have a tech perform, certain parts upgrades to renew performance. In some cases, like certain capacitors, resistors, or transistors, performance can be improved over what was available when the component was new 10, 20, 30 years ago.

It is no different than our cars, or other appliance. Some maintenance must be expected. The real question is are we better off having the older component restored, or recycling it and buying something new?

***** honest question:  what exactly are you trying to accomplish with a possible foray into audiophilia; or, at least, some new gear?  Functionality or sound concerns, or curiosity?  *****

Honest Answer:  Probably Curiosity.  Can all these 'audiophiles' be wrong??  I suspect they can be.  I just have the itch to get something new.  If the prices weren't so ridiculous,  I would have a long time ago.  Also, basic 2-channel amps without all the digital, wi-fi, streaming, video etc.... stuff, I will never use, are becoming harder to find.   

I was taught that Tubes  are high in distortion and start to degrade the moment you fire them up for the first time.  I know that LPs mean clicks and pops and are slowly destroyed the more you play them.  But these two things are what the high end goes ga-ga over.   Go Figure.

Another option I have is to use the HKs as pre-amps with some monster from Emotiva.  That might make the most sense.

Cheers

I'm beginning to wonder why I got into this conversation; we have a horse and buggy music lover who wants to stay that way, that's fine with me.

Tubes are why the music on the radio sounded so good before they ever heard of a transistor. As a matter of "fact", those very same tubes are much more expensive; they're called NEW OLD STOCK, and as soon as I have excess funds, I will purchase some of them.

Somehow I feel out of place, like someone wearing cleats on a basketball court.

BTW, LP's are heavenly, it's just that the equipment required to make them sound that way is heavenly expensive. My only gripe is that new people are not made aware of this "fact".

Get some new horse shoes while your at it.