Old SS amps

@bdp24 that old BEL amplifier is an excellent amp.  It produces a slightly warm overall musical sound with pretty good details, high and low end extension.  We compared it to a few modern day amps and it was the winner for producing overall musical pleasure.  I think it has 2 or 4 larger PS capacitors.  It was a very simple design that worked so well.

For those of you who say run away, you need to rethink this.  PS capacitors like Nichicon SuperThrou's probably run around $50 each so replacing four of them is not expensive.  We have a bunch of different 15-20 year old amps in for repair now.  Most have simple issues and customers just want to upgrade the caps, etc.  Once upgraded, current models you may be familiar with usually cannot compete.

My old Lafayette KT-550 tube amp in stock form still kicks the crap out of many current models and sometimes pretty significantly!
Upgraded older Counterpoint amplifiers also kick butt once upgraded (full/complete upgrade/modifications almost complete rebuilds with point to pint wiring ($2k-$3K).

You won't find many if at all new amplifiers with point-to-point wiring!

So for a $3K investment you get a fantastic upgraded product that kicks butt!  Great parts, great sound.

Happy Listening.

My Classe Model Fifteen amp is over 30 years old and performs perfectly. Never had any problems. It shares duty with my Cary Audio Six Pac mono blocks which have also been maintenance free other than tube replacements. 

J.Chip

I’ve got a Sim W-5 was told not to turn it off with risk of voiding a 10 year warranty. Fired it up the other day, plays and images like a champ. Great with tuff to drive loads as it almost will play into a dead short. 

I have purchased quite a few 20+ year old amps over the years, mostly for secondary systems or short term replacements for my main system. 

I suggest being open to considering even some mainstream brands. I had good fortune with a Rotel 980 BX power amp from the mid 1980's. On the other hand the, Rotel preamp had noticeable IF distortion.

I also found a dirt cheap Kenwood "Rack Amp" from the late 1980's. It has well regarded Nichicon transistor pairs, Elna filter caps and a quality ALPs motorized volume control. The MM phon section is also quite listenable.

I’m using a 4 channel Harman Kardon Citation & a 3 channel Parasound HCA-2003 for music & HT. I’ve owned them over 25 years & they still sound great. I keep them ventilated & fans blowing on the heat sinks perhaps that has helped with the longevity of both amps. I don’t quite understand cap replacement’s how do you tell when they are bad when I’m still impressed & happy with my systems sound? I’m kind of the mindset that if it works don’t fix it.