I came across this thread....Classic is great if it's been well cared for. I have some Accuphase gear that I bought new and one preamp that I purchased here on gon. All of it has been gone through by my cracker jack tech and it sounds stunning. Look for Accuphase,Audio Research,and maybe McIntosh. The Mac might be a problem to recap though. Some gear has really gone up in price....so look for the sleepers. I would only do this if you have a tech that is good and uses quality parts....most balk and use crap parts as some think a capacitor is a capacitor....which is old school thinking.
used vs "Giant Killer"
I have been at this hobby for 3 years now and it seems like the respected old vets on this forum seem to choose to own used or even vintage gear of the "blue chip" brands. I being newer to this hobby seem to want to gravitate towards the newest and latest moderately priced made in China (or USA) "giant killer" gear. Is this a rookie mistake???