Buy new integrated or vintage?

Smitty,

What sound are you looking for, fast, clean and airy, warm, sweet and dimensional, lots of Pace Rhythm and timing, etc?

This should be more important than new versus old.

One comment, I find many of the vintage Japanese amps from the seventies to be a little bright and glossy sounding, at least thirtyfive years hence.

Two suggestions for solid state amps used: the Naim Nait or Portal Panache. Both very good.

Thanks for your thoughts. I am a professional musician and owner of a small project studio. I have also worked in live sound reinforcement for years, so I am familar with accurate sound reproduction. The reason for my question was one more concerned with build quality. It seems good integrated amps from years passed had beefy power supplies, chassis and in my opinon, better esthetic (metal knobs switches etc). Now it could be I am a bit of a relic of a passed era but much that I have looked at (esoteric exotica excluded) in the Grand and under catagory looks like a step back. Is this the case and I should just get over it or am I missing something?
On the technical end, other than the power supply are there things to be concerned with when purchasing an older amp?

If you're looking for great build, longetivity, excellent customer support, and accurate sound, Bryston should be at the top of your list IMO. Owning a small project studio, you may have heard the name before, as they're a very popular studio and audiophile brand.

I own a B60, so I can tell you it's built like a tank. Solid metal chassis, tight knobs, etc. It's a true dual mono amp - it uses one power transformer for each channel, and on and on. And it sounds phenominal IMO. Very transparent and musical sounding.

The B60 integrated can be found within your budget. There's one currently listed for $725 - no connection to the seller.

Bryston has a 20 year transferrable warranty, and when that expires, they'll fix anything they've ever made for a great price.

The Naim Nait is also a great integrated amp. If it weren't for the B60, that's the amp I'd own.

Not sure what speakers you're driving nor how big the room is. The B60 is 60 watts, and the Nait is 50. From my experience with both, they can drive any realistic speaker to realistic volumes in normal sized rooms. My B60 can drive my Audio Physic Yara bookshelves louder than I can for them too withough straining. If you're looking to drive something like a Totem Mani-2 in a big room to rock concert levels, they're not going to get the job done.

I think I understand what you like: Old school build quality or "Beefiness" e.g., robust parts made of metal and chosen for their operational and structural integrity that easily exceeds any demands that will be placed upon them through normal and probably even excessive use. I'd be surprised if you could find that in a new component for under, or anywhere near, a grand nowadays.

One guy who shares your values is Andy from "Vintage Tube Services". He might be willing to advise you if you give him a call.

For my part, I wouldn't go too vintage unless I had a good tech who I trusted.

are you looking to power your studio or just looking for a replacement for the house? if for the house, seriously, i'd look to see if that Marantz i mentioned yesterday is still there, for a buck fifty, bro. and like someone else said, i am no relation to the seller...