Old SS amps

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. 

I want to put a word in for G.A.S. Ampzilla, Son of, and their successors. These were among the crop of Jim Bongiorno designs that broke the “SS sounds harsh” mold and preceded the Mark Levinson era of ridiculous overbuilding and price inflation attending the Gordon Gecko ethos. 

I have been using a Plinius SA 102 for the last 18 months (love it so much I bought a second unit for backup and bi-amping). The unit is a 2001 vintage. I bought it recapped. It's the most satisfying amplifier I have owned and has basically put an end to my amplifier search. This is coming from someone that has owned Gryphon, Pass Labs, First Watt, Musical Fidelity, and Parasound JC series.

The Plinius is definitely better than anything I have owned from Pass Labs and Parasound. I would put it on par with Gryphon Essence amp even though the sound signatures are different (Gryphon is cleaner and Plinius is sweeter). The Plinius has also been trouble free. I think going for older high end SS amps is a great way to get into high end amps without breaking the bank. My approach now is to go with a highly regarded neo vintage amp and use the savings to get the best sources you can afford.

The best sounding/performing SS power amp I have ever owned is a a Krell KSA-250 (released in 1989). Purchased used, in Singapore and shipped back home to Paris as "Luggage". In those days (2002) you could combine family luggage allowances. Got home plugged it in and my 3 teenage daughter all went, "Wow Dad, what have you done"! It was a tremendous improvement over everything else I had previously owned. Moved back to the USA in 2004 and had the amp shipped directly to Krell for a service (less than $1k from what I remember), a lot of capacitors were replaced. Used it for another 10 years, always sounded perfect to me. Then I sold it, biggest mistake in HiFi to date! For years I have thought about buying a used replacement.