Vintage worth the time to explore?

@mulveling 

Yes, Grado headphones are either liked or disliked, I haven't found too many people in-between. Same with many speaker brands. I totally understand. Stax are great. Have never listened to ES, but will have to search them out.

@butche34 I doubt you’ll necessarily get significantly more warmth out of a vintage amp. Most amps just sound "neutral"-ish. Intentionally warm amps aren’t really thing. You want the amp to get out of the way. Reviewers compare and contrast different amps, so differences are exaggerated. You could add a tube pre-amp or play with EQ presets to add "warmth". I don’t have much experience with that.

I’m sort of an audio newbie as well. I dipped my toes with a overpriced poorly built buzzing tube amplifier, a dirt cheap 10W Tripath class D mini amp and a dirt cheap vintage Continental Edison PA 9109. They all sound pretty similar with my speakers (Closer Acoustics Ogy).

The Marantz PM6005 is simply great and not worth upgrading.

Re: vintage amps. They’re so affordable if you know where to look: thrift stores, local classfields, flea markets, garage sales etc... Be warned that the condition will be rather ’poor’: dusty circuit boards and you’ll have to replace a bunch of transistors. So contact a local hi-fi repair shop and they’ll definitely guide you in the right direction or fix your amp like new for $100 or less. Or you could buy an old refurbished amp from a pro for $200 with a 3 month warranty.

I bought a dusty Continental Edison PA9109 (20W AB amplifier) for 40€ from a local ad. It’s a pretty unremarkable amp on paper. The amp stopped working after 1 month. I went to a local Hi-Fi repair shop and got my unit refurbished for 84€. The shop owner told me that he replaced at least half of the transistors and he cleaned the inside really well. I would do it all over again. 124€ for an amp is a steal. If it stops working in a decade or two I’ll just get it fixed again.

Unfortunately, the internet hyped up the good overbuilt, over-performing models from Pioneer, Sansui, Harmon Kardon, B&O, Marantz, Luxman etc... So you’ll be stuck with run-of-the-mill brands like Kenwood, Technics etc... in the < $200 range. Or spend $600~$800 on the ’good’ stuff.

And I doubt that there will be a significant difference with your Marantz PM6005.

I've found there are some good deals on refurbished vintage receivers or integrateds as long as they re not the high power models. For me it was Harman Kardon HK430 and Yamaha CR-400 receivers...

Absolutely!! My Continental Edison PA 9109 only outputs 25W. So potential buyers are totally turned off and the prices dip. Prices double or triple when you hit 50W. 

My 25W amp is more than powerful enough to blow up my bookshelf speakers. And I get more bass compared to my 10W Tripath mini amp. 

Used gear less than 5 -8 years old is a great way to go for pre’s, amp, speakers Vintage gear is a whole different ballgame - vintage anything is a verb, not a noun. Lots of work involved. Better for folks with lots of experience owning & listening Have fun!