Yamaha, old stereo v. new AV

[dkvce]

I own an old Yamaha A-500 "Natural sound" integrated amp (from college days in the 80's). I recently went to purchase a new Yamaha RX-V550 at a dealer. He told me the old amp would demolish the new reciever for stereo sound becasue "they built them better in the old days". I would like the option of home theater but will play normal stereo most of the time in my 22 x 16' living room. The dealer says I'd need at least a Yamaha RX-V1400 to approach the sound quality from my old amp. Is he right about this or just trying to sell me equipment for twice the money?

[kexodusc]

I'd be very skeptical of his claims. I'm not terribly familiar with the specs of the A-500, but I've owned older Yamaha stereo receivers and integrateds that dated as far back as 1987 and they certainly weren't any better than any of the recent Marantz or Yamaha receivers I've owned. I wouldn't say they were any worse for stereo music, except for maybe a few features.
However, depending on the specs of your a-500, he could be right. I think the 550 is rated at 90 watts/channel in stereo mode...it shouldn't have a problem doing that. The pre-amp section might be the weak link though.
If you could post some specs about your old amp, we might be able to help you out a bit better.

[dkvce]

Thanks, I don't have detailed spec's but I do know the older Yamaha has 70 wpc into 8 ohms with .08 thd. I've always thougth it sounded great but it was pushing some pretty poor Cervin Vega 3 way speakers.

[topspeed]

Why don't you simply play them side by side and find out for yourself? Regardless of what he thinks or says, the only opinion that matters is yours. Have your dealer loan you both the 550 and 1400 and play them in your room. Go buy a SPL meter from Radio Shack to level match your comparo (you're going to need it anyway if you're progressing into multi-channel). If you can't hear the difference, obviously buy whichever is cheaper. "Better" is a relative term.

BTW, I tend to agree that older receivers are more to my liking than today's receiver's. Generally I prefer '70's vintage gear from Marantz as things started to get pretty cheap in the '80's. Your CV's are likely very efficient so you won't need a ton of power if you are planning on keeping them.

Hope this helps.