Does that mean you do not have an opinion on the specific question? Also, what would you consider the more important issues? 'Just to be clear, I'm not trying to be antagonistic. Please don't interpret my questions that way. I'm just trying to learn. Thanks.
Old SS amps
What are people's experiences with old SS amps. And I'm talking old like close to 20 years. I guess this can be called vintage(though to me it's yesterday.)
Either you bought it new and have had it that long or you bought it used.
Is buying it used a really bad idea even though it was owned by one person with no service issues? Like an old Pass.
I hear something about capacitators needing to be replaced. Should it be avoided like the plague? Am very interested in one but don't want to be stuck with a cat in a sack.
Thanks for any thoughts.
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Years ago my dad gave me his MC2125 and C28. I had them serviced and find them fun to listen to but lack the clarity of more modern amps. That said I’d rather listen to this pair over many sub $2500(I think equal value after you pull out the nostalgia value) pre/amps/integrateds, but not compared to many better amps I’ve had. There is something about this pairing that brings me back 30 years, whether tone or timing or whatever, so there is that piece of the puzzle that’s fun too. |
No worries, these are good questions. I don’t have a strong opinion as to whether an amp used daily for 30 years is more likely to need a recap than one that has sat unused for 20 years because caps will deteriorate in both cases, albeit for different reasons. Personally, I would pick the unused one if it hasn’t been plugged in / turned on yet. Bias drift is quite common and can raise internal components’ operating temperature to dangerous levels (dangerous for the amp that is) if left uncorrected, causing an amp to slowly cook itself to death in some cases. Cooked PCBs are not salvageable past a certain point of doneness, making the amp essentially unrepairable. Such total loss may be uncommon, but it is still best practice to check bias current and DC offset, and adjust them as needed, every couple of years. Driver and output transistor failure can have significant negative consequences. Same for power supply failure, depending on an amp’s topology. Granted, modern amps are equipped with protection circuits that are designed to save speakers from being destroyed by excessive DC offset. But early SS amps raw-dogged it; Phase Linear - known for building 300+ wpc amps in the early 1970s out of automotive electronic-ignition transistors, as well as for being the first known audio-related manifestation of Bob Carver - was affectionately nicknamed Flame Linear 🤣 Regular preventative maintenance is desirable with early SS amps.
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@devinplombier regular preventative maintenance is desirable even with more modern amplifiers as they age. My 33 year old Krell amp has more protection circuits than a lot of modern amps have, but that doesn't mean it can't still have a catastrophic failure. |
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