Amp not enough power

As power is increased (by increasing input signal) distortion increases. At some value of distortion the associated power is cited as the spec. A little difference in what you consider acceptable distortion can translate into different power, more or less.

Dude,

Be glad that thing still works! It's like almost 20 years old! I keep a standard rule to only trust electronics for ~10 years, your almost twice that! Be glad it still tolerates 4 Ohm loads at all and didn't fry the power supply in the bench test!

Great amp BTW, old Dan D'Agostino design. One of my first true high end amplifiers. Thing was built like a tank and my brother still has mine to this day and AFAIK it still works, but when it dies I wouldn't advocate repair unless it was very cheap......

thanks for your responses. I'm still trying to know if a simple repair will restore this amp. I know there are other Aragon vintage amp out there but does electronics degrade and changes the quality/sound of the amp?

Does electronics degrade and changes the quality/sound of the amp?

Yes. Capacitors tend to be the most common culprits, aside from tubes in tubed equipment. Electrolytic capacitors in the power supply circuits could affect power capability, as well as sound quality. Smaller capacitors elsewhere in the circuitry, especially if they are directly in the signal path, could affect sound quality.

However, if the only indication of a problem is the max power measurements you were provided with, I would not take any action until the tech answers the questions that I and Eldartford stated.

If you and the tech do conclude that the electrolytic capacitors are probably causing a reduction in power capability, and you decide to have them replaced, it would probably make sense to have as many other capacitors as practicable replaced at the same time.

More generally, concerning the ability of older equipment to work well, the following threads will make for interesting reading. The upshot is that the performance of older equipment is very hit or miss, with little predictability, but in the better cases older equipment can continue to work well for MUCH longer than might be expected.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?htech&1267845685

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ymisc&1274033569

Regards,
-- Al

Am I reading this right? You are within 5% of spec. If that is the case, what are you worried about?