Vintage Power Amp vs new age power amp


Hi. Anyone has any experience in vintage power amp performance over the new era entry power amp?

I am currently using a Emotiva XPA-3 rated at 200watts per channel. I will have a chance to get a vintage Marantz Model 300 DC vintage power amp. I wonder what difference in performance it will get over my Emotiva.

Anyone has experience with these 2 or maybe similar? The bad thing I know about Marantz is that there's no banana plug connection for speaker cables.. hehe
chaozhoi
From the engineering stand point the technology of new audio componets degrades in order to deliver higher profits.
The peak of audio engineering happened in mid-70's. The peak of vacume tube audio engineering in late 50's. Techically serviced vintage equipment isn't any worse than modern at all.
I wish you had stated that in reverse. Hence the advent of the vintage enthusiast. IMO, They are actually better.

07-16-12: Marakanetz
From the engineering stand point the technology of new audio componets degrades in order to deliver higher profits.

Really? Where do you come up with that?

Modern amps on average have wider bandwidth, faster rise times, higher current, higher damping factor, lower distortion, and audibly better signal-to-noise ratio. Do they achieve this with cheaper parts? No, they have better build quality with better transformers, glass epoxy printed circuit boards (instead of phenolic), better wiring, closer tolerance-matched components, and even better RCA jacks and speaker terminals.

Around 1972, the audio world gasped when Bob Carver offered the Phase Linear 400 at around $450. Adjusted for inflation, that bargain would be $2300 today. Do you really assert you can't get a better--and especially better built--amp for $2300 today? Or how about the excellent amps available today priced below that from Parasound, Adcom, Rotel, Emotiva, Cambridge Audio, Marantz, Odyssey Audio, Rogue Audio, PrimaLuna, and many others? If anything, larger production runs and automated processes make narrower profit margins viable via economy of scale.
Johnyb53,
Of course I can. It can be some old Mac for less than half of price to purchase and restore, Accuphase, Bryston or Classe of the same vintage...
I don't think that Rogue is any better built than above mentioned ever nowdays or past. I don't think that list of components you've listed have something to do with built quality compared to flagship vintage components. I serviced quite a few vintage components and they're much more techi friendly to the 'disposable' modern units. Sound and performance? Forget about speaker terminals or jacks they're all replacable. Bandwidth of clock radio can be specked out from 20hz...20khz or wider so what? Why many folks here say that recording quality was at the top in early to mid-70's? Figure that out cuz I did just by looking at circuit features, input, output stages, adjustments, measuring pins, mounting of elements, avoiding ICs, higher quality of electronic parts (why we all hunt for NOS transistors, tubes, caps?)
I can set up a vast amount of demo vintage rigs that would simply laugh at units you've listed with performance tube or solid-state I don't care.
Electronic parts (capacitors, resistors, printed circuit boards, etc.) are better as time moves on...there are new materials, or construction techniques, etc. that makes these black boxes perform better. Even though there is excellent older stuff, the excellent newer stuff is better.