solid state power amps, golden oldies

Jaybo,

You left out nothing for me to add, so I have to say that I agree with your listing.

I want to add one thing in response to the original poster. Amplifiers older than about 15 years would probably need servicing and possibly the capacitors and some transitors may need replacing to really sound at their best. I am at times not sure why a perfectly good looking 15+ year amp does not sound just right but the thought comes to my mind that the capacitors may have dried out.

There are many who indulge in vintage equipment but at times are not aware of the fact that the less than satisfactory sound is not actually the fault of the amp but it is because of aging that it sounds the way it does.

I know a few audio buffs who say such and such amp got rave reviews in its day but when I heard it recently it sounded awful. That is because the do not consider the real issue with the equipment.

The period you mention would actually render the a power amps age between 16-26 years old, hence, I thought I should mention this.

Transistrs and IC chips can be an issue with some older gear.Do you homework before you purchase or you may be buying a boat-anchor.

A consideration on older amps might be speaker connections. They might have those old, "useless" spring clips that will not accept bananas or heavy speaker wires. You will also find many with 'captive' power cords, eliminating your choice of upgrade cords.

That said, there are many bargains to be had. Look at Harman/Kardon Citation series, Hafler, Carver, SAE, G.A.S. All were nice companies in their day.

I particularly love the older McIntosh gear for both sound and collector joy.

Nikko amps,
AudioResearch D100,
Nakamichi PA100...