Who to trust when buying vintage ss ?

Really need to know what speakers he’ll be driving to make any meaningful recommendations here, but I agree with the recommendation above that for not much more $ I’d avoid vintage and consider the Schiit Vidar or Aegir (sweet Class A) depending on his power needs.  Best of luck. 

I sold and old McIntosh C28 and MC2125 because every time I hooked it up I asked myself why I was listening to this gear with a lack of focus and clarity. I loved the tone, so that saved it for a few rotations.

When I do have that nostalgia, and I almost pulled the trigger here once, I look at my priorities and budget, and just think back the late 70's and early 80's instead. 

I would to pick up something old as a soldering project but then I'd need speakers I didn't want to test it on. lol

Not the best answer but it's free.

@ditusa 

"I would look at Schiit Audio:"

Good idea

@mahgister 

"Vintage myths of the past are not ALL trash , it is the opposite for some past products compared to the average costlier product on the market today...There is a reason why some products reach mythical status and we are then able to read tons of positive reviews about them today .."

True, but I think the naysayers here are simply pointing out that because of age, they may 1-need work and 2-parts may be an issue.

I may have missed in in the thread, but I don't people were saying old is bad quality because of when it was made.

@noromance 

"30watts of clean power versus 60 watts of grainy old components grinding away through old potentiometers and dusty caps. "

I agree, my monoblocks are pushing maybe 40 watts but I don't think my coworker will jump in with a class A clean power pusher. I was asking if the amps suggested were class A and therefore giving a constant push.