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Can a vintage piece over 40 years old be Highend

I have a passion for listening to modern sound reproduction both tube and SS with matching gear, but also sentmental vintage equipment. I have speakers that were considered very much Hi-Fi in there day and an old working amp to go with it which was also Hi-Fi can they be called High-End?? The yougest of these is about 42 years old the oldest 46. ( I am discounting altogether the pieces from the 70s which I own and listen to from time to time also)
mechans
reylon
47 posts
 
I have the following vintage equipment,which is definitely amongst the best sounding equipment:

Thorens TD-124/SME 3012 turntable
Fisher 400-CX-2 preamp
Leak TL12.1 amp
Fisher KM-60 tuner
used to have QUAD ESL57s.

There are people who prefer the sound of good vintage equipment over anything made today.
raytheprinter's avatar
raytheprinter
1,234 posts
 
If it sounds highend it is highend
sdcampbell
2,136 posts
 
Having owned Fisher gear of this vintage (and listened to Leak gear of the same era), my recollection is that it's pretty "colored" by today's more neutral standard for high-end gear. That does not mean it's not very pleasant -- just not terribly accurate. But the bottom line is: do you enjoy what you're hearing? If so, stay with what you already own. If you have not had the preamp/amp/tuner reconditioned by someone who's well qualified, it might be worth the money to have the key components upgraded. Over time, components such as capacitors, transformers, etc., decline in performance.
virgoprestige
3 posts
 
Raytheprinter's right, it's what it does, not what it cost or how old it is. After all would we still be using old gear, if it wasn't any good?
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