Some of you hit the nail on the head -- 10 year old equipment has parts that are not of the resolution and finess of present day stuff. And, of course, there is the other problem of aging capacitors that have a life expectancy of 15 years (although many swear their 70's receivers are still kicking).
I'm sure the upgrades make the stuff sound pretty good; however, I think upgrades, esp. from altavista, are highly overpriced, and you lose most of your money when you sell. As opposed to buying something current, at a good price, you will probably lose very little when you sell.
There seems to be no agreement on reliability. Trejla & Ultrakaz say the preamps were the problem, Alruhl says he & his friend had no problems, but Justlisten had amps blowing right and left.
If, as Trejla believes, the amps are somewhat "dated" sounding, with some zing and electronic-sounding, I don't know if a stock unit is a good buy. I'm actually looking for a moderate size amp for a second system, and to use in my main system when I'm between amps, or maybe just to save on my Audio Research & Cary tube life.
I'm sure the upgrades make the stuff sound pretty good; however, I think upgrades, esp. from altavista, are highly overpriced, and you lose most of your money when you sell. As opposed to buying something current, at a good price, you will probably lose very little when you sell.
There seems to be no agreement on reliability. Trejla & Ultrakaz say the preamps were the problem, Alruhl says he & his friend had no problems, but Justlisten had amps blowing right and left.
If, as Trejla believes, the amps are somewhat "dated" sounding, with some zing and electronic-sounding, I don't know if a stock unit is a good buy. I'm actually looking for a moderate size amp for a second system, and to use in my main system when I'm between amps, or maybe just to save on my Audio Research & Cary tube life.