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vintage amps

howdy, folks.
looking to upgrade my secondary system, and have been looking at vintage amps. this system is all vintage with PS Audio 4.5 PreAmp, McIntosh MC50 SS Monos, Rotel CDP 955AX, Magnum Dynalab FT101A Tuner and Tannoy Eyris 3 Speakers.

i have been thinking i'll upgrade the MC50s. something about them seems lacking. i have been trolling on A-gon regularly and there seem to be a goodly number of 80s amps on lately, from brands like Carver or Adcom. some of the Adcoms were made by, or in conjunction with Nelson Pass, and the Carvers seem to have had a good rep over the years.

i have also been watching Rotel and Bryston. bottom line is i've been leaning toward Solid State, and would love some input on any or all of these brands. i also welcome any other suggestions.

all of these amps have considerably more power than the mere 50 watts from the MC50s. any reason to think the Tannoys would be better served for more juice? or no?

as an aside, i lean toward the vintage gear for budgetary reasons and i feel that there is a lot out there to choose from, so why not?
tommycosmo
markus1299
252 posts
 
A while back I purchased a vintage Sansui G9000 integrated amp. I had it all recapped and the sound in my 2nd system is excellent. A little alarming because sound is close to my main system which is about 50K
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
Avoid 80s carver gear...poor reliability...
FWIW, in a second system I have a Carver M400t, which still works like new after 25+ years of light to moderate use. For a number of years during the 1980's I also had a C4000 and a TX11, which were completely reliable.

The M400t "cube" amplifier, whose design was intended to emulate the sound of a Mark Levinson ML2, is, despite its small size, fully as powerful as its 200W rating suggests. Its sound quality is certainly very competitive in its price class, at least with speakers that are easy to drive (I have no knowledge of how well it can handle difficult loads). I would not recommend its predecessor, though, the M400a, which is quite poor sonically.

Regards,
-- Al
sit
315 posts
 
I was not very happy with my Adcom equipment. I did not appreciate the sound and my amp was not dependable. Can't remember the model numbers. Amp was in the 80watt range.

I have been high on the 80s and 90s Yamaha gear. My MX 1000U / CX1000U pair perform wonderfully to my ears. Had the caps replaced w/ "new originals" a few years ago. For me these were a steal for the investment. I also use a CR1020 receiver which I bought new over 30 years ago. All continue working flawlessly.

I had owned the Sansui G9000 integrated and agree with Markus above.
unsound
7,314 posts
 
Some of these amps are approaching 30 years of age. Many, if not most amps this old might need new caps and a re bias. If the amp wasn't all that great in the first place, it might not be worth the expense. On the other hand, some of the older amps are classics that can still hang with the best of the newer offerings. In which case, despite maintenance requirements, they still might offer you a huge bargain. IMHO, if you're looking to go old, look at the best of the era, otherwise consider something younger. Though not "vintage", and I haven't actually heard a lot of them, some of the newer Class D amps appear to be very promising bargains. Good luck.
tommycosmo OP
17 posts
 
thanks everyone. no hurry on my part so i am not about to rush into something that won't be any better than the Mac50s...
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