The Allure of Vintage Audio Gear

I got into high end audio to the extent I could in the early 70’s as well. With the exception of a few tube amps (generally from the 60’s) which brought unusual warmth with some real lack of details and a very high noise floor, but a unique warm sound… that old gear was just not good sounding in comparison to the gear available today. I keep an old early seventies integrated amp that I bought in 1972 around to look at. But honestly, it’s only good to look at. 

If I collected anything to listen to it would be some really old tube gear.

I have rebuilt 1960s monobloc amplification with modern tubes. They sound excellent with fine detail, good bass and superb midband. 

@stereo5 : I have both the tall and the short Rectilinear III speakers in my collection. Along with a pair of the mini-III's. Excellent but now forgotten speakers. I believe Richard Shahinian designed the III's.

Vintage gear can provide an affordable platform for mods and updates that can give stellar performance for a fraction of the cost of comparable new gear. My system is largely modded vintage tube gear, but the remote on my DAC brings me into this century!

God forbid I should ever have a fire or a theft, because I’d be hard pressed to duplicate the sound I get with whatever an insurance company would offer in compensation.

Top quality vintage tube gear has a sweet, musical tone which newer stuff doesn’t quite deliver. But for unhindered bass slam in the lowest octaves, that’s best served by solid state.

My Marantz 7 preamp got the Pooge upgrades plus solid state power supply regulation. The sound sparkles. It is engaging and even seductive and it lost its slightly wooly sonic signature. My power amps are biamped; A Citation II with modern caps and Hexfreds in the power supply works above 400Hz and delivers the musical harmonics and the most fragile upper frequency details flawlessly. For the bass, a Carver 2.0 pro amp delivers effortless energy to a pair of custom speakers made from Boxer components formerly at the Hit Factory.

And for all these parts to sound their best, I use interconnects that don’t get in the way: Pure solid core silver unshielded Silver Solids.

https://silversolids.com/