Vintage Power Amp vs new age power amp

I wish you had stated that in reverse. Hence the advent of the vintage enthusiast. IMO, They are actually better.

I would definitely consider hi end vintage over entry level current. Buconero 117 made a very important point. Not only that, but who does the rebuild is paramount to how this thing is going to end up. I'm a vintage fan and have several rebuilt amps, some of which came back with serious issues. Fortunately I have the know-how and was able to correct the problems. However, my knowledge is limited. On the other hand, since learning my lesson, I have a G.A.S. 500 Ampzilla rebuilt by Mike Bettinger of Gas Audio I would put up against anything on the planet. This thing is virtually brand new. Even the transformer is re-wound. But it cost $2250.00. I also have an Acoustat TNT 200 currently being rebuilt by non other than Roy Esposito who was part of the engineering team that designed it. This exercise is costing me about $1600.00. However, this will be state of the art. So you can end up with something which will go toe to toe with current state of the art sound at a much more reasonable outlay but more than a lot of current entry level amps.

I'm not a tube guy, but I happen to have an old Dynakit ST-70 in need of tubes but otherwise in great shape. I have a brand new R. Waters designed driver board and bias module I think I'll finally get around to installing. I ran across an interesting article on the net entitled "Hot-Rodding the Eico ST-70". This guy found a way to double the output without changing the transformers and without increasing distortion. This technique apparently applies to all tube amps. You've piqued my curiosity.