Should I replace my 20-year-old Hovland Radia Amp?

I would like the idea of demoing an amp in my house except it would take weeks. When I got the Hovland Radia I compared it to my McCormack DNA-1 upgraded to what they called their gold level. It was like a new amp. The McCormack threw a lovely wall-to-wall wash of music. When I first compared it to the Hovland Radia, I liked the McCormack better. I went back and forth for many weeks until I heard the Hovland's ability to produce inner detail that the McCormack lacked. The McCormack did not have the depth of the Hovland, and who could expect it to? Even with the upgrade the McCormack cost 1/2 as much.

I don't think a dealer would loan me an amp for weeks. I could go into the dealer who sold me the SF Olympica Novas and ask to hear the speakera on one of his Macintoshes. The Macontosh sounded silky and sweet when I demoed the speakers, but an amp needs to be more than that. It needs to have good bass and musical attacks and a decent amount of slam. Plus a lot of inner detail. 

I wonder if somebody knows the best that could be gotten out of an amp 20 years ago versus what companies can get out of their amps now. For example, class D is new, but I have not heard a class D amp I like. They have whallop and can even be smooth, but they do not seem to have a lot of air. So, I guess I would be wondering if standard A/B amps have improved so much that I would surely be lacking something from a 20 year old model.

When I got the amp one channel went out after about six hours. I took it to a high-end audio technician. He charged me $800 dollars and said he'd replaced the bad parts. I hate to say that I know little about electronics. I really don't know the difference between a resistor and a capacitor. And I have no idea what he replaced. Perhaps he recapped the amp? It sounds very good to my ear. If he did recap it, would there be anything different in terms of electronics between a new Macintosh amp for example and the Hovland which apparently was made with the best parts available twenty years ago?

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses.

Devinplombier, my SF Olympica Nova V speakers have three 7" woofers. I would like a bit more power, but I would say the Hovland handles them pretty well. Hovland is not known for its bass--more for its liquid, magic mids and highs. But I wouldn't replace the amp simply for more power, although I would like something more in the 200 wpc into 8 ohms range. 

Lucky-dog777, thank you for your detailed response. I did a bit of research on Pass amps. The X250.8 sells for $10,500 and puts out puts out 250 wpc into 8 ohms. Is that what you were talking about or something more expensive? I don't think I'd go over $10k and even that would take some fancy dancing with my wife. 

Lucky_dog7777, thank you for all that information. My Hovland is a heavy amp and I need help from younger, stronger neighbors to put it on the bottom shelf of my audio racks. I have a terrible back getting worse by the minute. Another problem in testing amps. 

I called the guy who fixed this amp and asked him what he thought about me recapping it. He said don't fix it until it's broken. I think what I have taken out of this discussion is that I will keep my Hovland until it breaks or I can hear deterioration, and then I will look at Pass amps. I'm not going to have a huge budget. Maybe $10K, so hopefully a Pass amp in that price range will sound as good or better than my Hovland.

Thank you for your help.

dekay and glennewick, I enjoyed the post on Hovland and their practices in making amps and preamps. I think I might fall into the kooky audiophile category. My Sonus Faber speakers are tuned by ear, not by specs. Although Paul Bolin gave the Hovland Radia a fantastic review in Sterophile, John Atkins measurements were not nearly as good. 

I've been an audiophile for a long time and I've learned to trust my ears. When the Sonus Faber speakers were demoed they were compared to a similarly priced Vienna Acoustics speaker. I could hear that the Vienna Acoustics speaker was cleaner and probably would have measured better. But I fell in love with the Sonus Faber speakers. Audiophiles usually fall on one side of this argument or another. I go by how equipment sounds to me.

I think the Paul Bolin review, which I posted in part under my first post, is right on. Hovland made a fantastic amp. I've decided to keep it until I can hear a deterioration or until it breaks. Then I'll audition Pass amps.

Thank you for weighing in.

I was going to keep the Hovland Radia until it died or I could hear its sound being diminished by age. Then I found out that I could have Bob Hovland, the designer and manufacturer of the Hovland Radia, check it over and bring it up to spec. I couldn't pass up that chance, so its with its father for an overhaul.

I have a Linn LK 140 on loan. It's not terrible (except for the first few brittle hours), but I know why I love the Hovland. The Linn sounds as though the soundstage has been compressed. But in that compression everything else is compressed. Cymbals don't really decay. They more thud to a conclusion. Drums have a strong attack which I'm sure would please many listeners. "Great bass!" Except on the Hovland I heard the last vibrations which are missing with the Linn. It is as if the Linn is a rose bud and the Hovland Radia is a rose in its prime with all its glorious colors showing. 

I have the person who designed and tuned the amp evaluating it. The sparkling reviews I read of it when it was new described attributes I like. I'm thinking if Hovland works on it, the amp will only get better. At least, that's the bet I'm making. Hovland made all tube amps until the Radia which has all the good attributes of tubes while adding deeper bass and sharper attacks of solid state. I will let you know.

Bob Hovland the designer and builder of the Hovland Radia tested the amp to bring it up to specs. He said after twenty years everything was up to specs. Apparently he built the amp with high-grade industrial parts that don't wear out too easily. He set the biases and soldered a few wires that weren't tight. The amp is as good as new. It is an amazing sounding amp. That was confirmed when I borrowed a Linn LK 140 to use while the Radia was being tested. The Linn's soundstage shrunk as did the music and the air between instruments. The Hovland Radia is in a different league. My guess is it would be difficult to find its equal in its original price range of $10,000. I think it would hold its own with other very expensive stereo amps that are in the 100 + watt range.