Your comparison between audio and automobiles is a fun one. Both are sophisticated manufactured devices. Be it mental or physical, both take you on journeys. Both can demand a pretty penny. And yeah, over-indulgence in either passion can lead to deafness.
We Can Make Classic Cars Outperform Today's "SuperCars": Why Not Vintage Audio?
If you spent $2M on a modern "Supercar", you’d arrive at the end of a quarter mile 2 football fields behind the quickest highly-modified "street legal" cars from the muscle car era. You could show up at an Autocross event in your late model "track ready" sports sedan, and be embarrassed by a lady pushing a 1986 Monte Carlo between the cones.
There’s a lot of resources and talent in the automotive aftermarket. Many of the brightest minds earned weekly paychecks in their "past lives" at major auto manufacturers. There are various disciplines involved including complete engine and drive train replacements, serious add-on/mods to existing components, bigger/better brakes, track-ready suspensions, etc. They can even slide a complete new high-performance rolling chassis underneath popular models.
So, why not vintage audio? Well, we do dip our toes into this a bit. There are popular speaker crossover replacements for the DYI crowd. But, these fall sonically short of their contemporary "high end" counterparts. The automotive equivalent of replacing a 2 BBL carb on a cast iron manifold with a 4 BBL carb on a cast iron manifold -- while keeping the original single exhaust system intact. We can do simple mods to improve the sonics -- like upgrading an original power cord that you wouldn’t want to use on a 2-splice toaster, much less a high-current amplifier. The really smart guys need to come to the rescue for true audiophile grade solutions.
Understandably there has to be a "high give a s--- factor" related to this. The speed parts industry is fueled by a wildly enthusiastic crowd while vintage audio owners are, like: "whatever". So, the chances of a superb $5k amp/preamp module that drops into a Marantz 1060 chassis and slays any modern gear near it’s price point may not be coming to a town near you anytime soon.
I think this can be incremental if we put our minds and wallets to it. You "car guys" know there are 3 basic types of collector cars. "Showroom stock" represents as close as possible the vehicle as it rolled off the assembly line. "Personalized" generally follows a stock appearance with performance and cosmetic improvements. Generally speaking, the car can be reverted to showroom stock at some point the future. All the original parts are carefully cataloged and placed in safe storage. "Modified" has the appearance of a race car, and performs like one. Often modifications to metal are performed, and in some cases there’s no going back. We can follow similar guidelines as well. We understand the motivation to keep things "stock". We can also understand the audiophiles that love their vintage gear would be open to the concept of a significantly better listening experience while maintaining a stock appearance and functionality. Chopping up an Auburn is a really bad idea. But, upgrading the input terminals on an integrated amplifier may be highly palatable for those cherished collectables.
I also get it that the ROI would be questionable. An amp that has a current market value of $2k with $5k worth of mods might still be worth $2k -- or less.
What say you?
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@edcyn You nailed it! And, yes, drag racing and competition car audio have not been kind to my ears. |
Just because an older method can outperform newer ones doesn't address other factors that might be at play. Sure, older models might smoke the newer, but at what cost? Ride quality, emissions, fuel consumption, etc.? Asking something created 50 years ago, though it might be 'superior' to current models in terms of, say, power output, doesn't address the other, and probably more subtle, improvements in newer equipment. B |
@gdnrbob I agree. When the "total package" is considered, there's little argument that well-designed late model cars are the winner. It depends on the objectives, I suppose. And when you narrow the scope you can focus time (and, money) or specific criteria. Like straight line acceleration. The quickest 0-60 vehicle in my garage just happens to be the quietest and most comfortable. (Rivian R1T) But, it's hard to beat the the top-down experience of a short wheel base convertible that likes to make "involuntary lane changes" and sounds like a pro-stocker when you get on the gas. (Sunbeam Tiger - 347, dual quads) Back to the point of this discusssion, the sonics of vintage gear can be improved by 60% while staying well within the parameters of "personalized". Thanks for the comments. |
- 96 posts total