Has anyone truly compared Vintage vs. Modern?

Yes I have used a Marantz 2285. I had it for about a years while I fixed it up for my dad and gave it back to him. At the time I had a Peach tree Deco (one of their first models) and I ran a pair of B&W 703s with the Marantz 2285 to try it out. It was years ago so from memory….. the 2285 had better bass with more or a rich sound to it. I did not really notice much loss in detail. In a small room it was more than loud enough. But and a big but, on all old piece the volume pot/buttons were corroded and had little stuff like that needed fixed. 
 

for me unless you like the look or owned one in the past it would not be something I would go buy. As an estate sale purchase/garage sale find, yes 100% go for it.  

@glennewdick @viethluu I think the question is pretty clear.  I gave examples of exactly what I'd be comparing against on the old side. and my virtual system tells you I run a Luxman 509x today.  

I've owned vintage Luxman gear from the early 80's specifically the L560 the predecessor to the current class A models. and I would put that amp up against any current amps. and it had 50wpc pure class A not the 30wpc the current one has. 

I've restored 4 Sansui professional series amps, preamps and tuners all with surprisingly good results. the Sansui CA200 preamp was in my main system for a couple years while i looked for a preamp, had to spend big on a McIntosh C2700 tube preamp to supplant it. so yes, some vintage gear holds up quite well to modern stuff. just depends greatly on which vintage stuff you're talking about.

go ask a Altec, western electric speaker guy what they think. Or vintage Tannoy gold's many love them, maybe a Sansui Au111 integrated tube amp (that sell for over $5k now).  

I had the MARANTZ 2245 and JBL L100’s in my college dorm back in the Jurassic Era of this wacky hobby ( the ‘70’s). It was considered a top performer in ITS era (emphasis added).

In brief, even today’s modestly priced strata equipment will best it. The large myriad of today’s available options of a perceived “ top performer” will smoke it …. Not even close.

”Vintage” in audio just means “old“ , Ok ….that has some ad hoc nostalgia appeal to a select few cohort today. Fine …. Each to his own …. Carry on.
A good example of this type of pure nostalgia appeal would be with the 60’s classic car enthusiasts. A bit of fun with resurrected memories of a misspent youth, but never a contender for performance with a comparison to today’s buzzillion offerings.

@akg_ca

+1

I still have my Marantz 2040… which I occationally bring out… I have thought of having it reconditioned just for fun, it sounds terrible. But I know from following the progression of audio decade by decade that the progression goes only one way… better.

Now if you just loved the warm sound and glow of tubed sound of the fifties, most likely you will be incredibly disappointed to hear it again… unless your emotional connection overrides the reality of the sound.