Question about older stuff

The answer is entirely subjective, based upon your own perception of what you yourself prefer.
Value-wise & considering your budget constraints, I believe that you might be better off with some older equipment, compared to the price you would have to pay today for equal or better performance. Ie: what you can buy new today for $400 price point probably won't be able to come close to the performance level of the same $ invested in some older gear that was previously priced at around $800 to $1200, even when factoring-in the advances in technology.
The considered opinions of many members here, in fact, place a higher value on the performance of selected pieces of older equipment vs. today's offerings.

I have a big ol honkin' Sansui G-7700 120W reciever that I use for ambient music in my business. That thing cost about $1000 new back in the 80's. I sat down one day and compared it to my Creek 4330 integrated (about $350 used here) and the Creek sound is much better, to say the least. The big Sansui would be great for loud rock, but much of other music's nuances are masked by an overly dark sound. There are certainly different sounds in older gear, so you might find a Marantz you love, but some of this newer solid state gear is really better than what I grew up on in the 70's, and it doesn't have to cost a fortune. Good luck, and be sure to look in the archives for advice by using buzz words like "budget" "beginner" "starter" etc.. Charlie

One problem with older equipment is that the electrolytic capacitors start to dry out and lose their capacitance. They are also likely to begin leaking current. I'm talking about stuff that is 20 plus years old. But if you are looking for a way to get in on the cheap, older stuff is definitely a good place to start.

In my opinion, there's much value to be had in certain, vintage equipment, provided the technology is mature. I've got Threshold S-series amps (around fifteen years old) and love them to death. However, when I upgraded my CD player last year, the improvement wasn't hard to detect. I started with a Yamaha CDX-910 (eleven years old) and went to a Micromega Stage 2 (five years old).

I agree...older stuff can sound better for the money, but like usual, there are exceptions. Old receivers are a good buy for a cheap 2nd system. I think preamps have improved over the years, but I say that based on my experience with an old Luxman C-1010...it's very smooth and fun to listen to, but not necessarily neautral or extremely transparent.

On the other hand, I was once in a used audio shop that was running an early 80s (late 70s) Pioneer preamp (huge, and probably their top at the time), with two Marantz THX monoblocks (the very small, long ones), and a pair of homemade monitors (Rogers copies). They played "Take Five", and it sounded great. Huge soundstage, and very transparent. I was surprised.