Old SS amps

People often have their amps recapped unnecessarily. Many amps can go 40+ years before a capacitor goes bad. 

More often, in class A and A/B amps, the bias drifts. 

Outside of Class D and THX AAA designs, amp technology really hasn’t improved much in the last 35 years. Buying a flagship amp that is 20 years old but in great condition is a good way to get top-shelf performance for reasonable money, even if you do have to spend $1K to have it refurbished. 

I don't have the high end stuff that's dominating this discussion, but I recently got my Denon PMA 547 up and running. I bought the amp new in 1987 and shelved it in the early 2000s for an Adcom set up since sold. Took the Denon in and basically just cleaned things up and  it works perfectly. Bench fee was $89.  And it sounds surprisingly clean and really rips. Also have a Yamaha CR 450 bought new in 1976 cleaned up, replaced a couple bulbs, and it also works nicely, though the right channel has just started cutting out. 

I have quite a few vintage or old amps that I use every day. In my living room system I have a Thredhold S200 class A amp running through an Audio Resesrch SP1 preamp into Wilson Watt/ Puppies.

    The Threshold I got was a one owner who had it serviced before I bought it, new caps,etc.. It works and sound very nice. I also have a Krell KSA 150 which I bought after it was serviced by the previous owner. It’s my main amp in my dedicated system and I will never part with it. 
  Some older gear is just as nice sounding as newer stuff, maybe not as low a noise floor and the cosmetics might not be up to snuff for the wife but I wholeheartedly believe you can get some excellent equipment at good prices that will last another 20 years.

   Then at that age they probably would be collector items and fetch a good price on the market. Don’t be afraid to take the plunge and buy vintage gear if it’s been properly maintained. I haven’t regretted one purchase yet and I have a ton of vintage gear.

Was listening to a couple of days ago with a friend's Dynaco ST-70 which he had it recapped a few years back. He claimed that he spent some $$ to put in premium parts. Well that really paid off. Driving some JBL speakers, they really sound great. but he claimed that before the re-cap, the music was really unlistenable. Those ST70 he got were from the 70's and was never recap till recently.

Tinned Compressed Air with a Straw Nozzle and Deoxit is a real friend when entering the inner sanctity of the Vintage Circuits, Panel Control Dials and connections scream their thank you when getting Deoxit Treated from the Devices innards. 

Many Many sing once more with a few minutes of this care being administered.