Thoughts on old school versus new amps?

[john03]

The reason I ask this I had a older onkyo for years since the late 80s finally it went I bought a harman kardon hk 3490 the onkyo seemed to blow this new amp away even though the hk is 120 per channel where as the onkyo was 60 and to me the onkyo sounded better so I have looked into what some had said on here on another thread of mine and also went to a shop and listened to some new marantzs and even a new onkyo gotta say im not too impressed does not mean I cannot be impressed my friend has a carver 125 watt amp from the late 90s to me sounds better than the hk as well my cousin has a vintage pioneer that sounds great but its only 35 watts per channel any input could be helpful here and I have been looking at tube amps watts the difference in class a watts compared to others??????

[JohnMichael]

There are so many variables and ways components can interact with one another. I am not sure if you are talking about a receiver or an integrated amp. When you say amp and I do not know the model numbers of your equipment without looking it up I am not really sure what you have. I also do not know your sources and speakers. A receiver, integrated amp or preamp and power amp can react differently with different speakers.

I checked your profile and you have no equipment listed. The more information you provide the better answers we can give. Some speakers are hard to drive and some electronics do not have good power supplies to really drive a speaker. HK usually have good power supplies. Of course we also do not know how large a room you are trying to fill with sound and the efficiency of your speakers. Tell us more.

[john03]

got ya well I have right now polk monitor 50 series speakers which im not crazy about at all the hk is a integrated amp but so was my onkyo? I know these speakers suck but they sounded better when the onkyo was hooked up to them I have a pioneer pl 518 turn table I spin my wax with I bought a pair of psb t6 speakers but I didn't pick them up yet

[Feanor]

In fact other than the advent of class D, amplifier technology hasn't changed all that much in the last 50 years since class AB solid state became predominant. There have been some improvements in the quality of components, (i.e. notably capacitors and integrated circuits). These improvement have improved sound and made components more affordable; (not necessarily better & cheaper at the same time).

There have been sound difference in amps of every era, but in my strictly personal opinion the attraction for some the old amps -- and tube amps, old or new -- is the common preference for a warmer, somewhat "fatter" sound than is strictly accurate.

[john03]

well if you had to pick the Harman kardon hk3490 or a old carver tfm 25 which would you guys choose I hear the carvers have a somewhat tubey sound

[Mr Peabody]

I personally would rather have the HK. Carver is mostly unreliable. As JohnMichael mentioned there are a lot of variables. The HK may be in a lower price range compared to what the Onkyo was in it's day. There's no blanket statement which is better vintage versus current amps. This could be a different story if you are talking receiver, today's receivers are mostly for home theater and most do not emphasize stereo listening or have to cut corners some where to meet a price, with home theater they cram a lot into a receiver. There are a few stereo only receivers but they cost. You might try looking around for some used Adcom which are generally a good value used. Same with Parasound.

[john03]

I am looking on ebay for a used parasound classic

[blackraven]

Check out AudiogoN - The High-end Audio Community for used power amps. There are some good deals on Vincent, Cary, Arcam, Primare and Rotel amps under $1K right now. The Vincent monoblocks are a great deal. There is also a Belles Hot Rod 150A which is an excellent amp, better than a Parasound Classic.

[Mr Peabody]

How do you like that Adcom stuff?

You could try isolating the turntable more from the floor vibrations.

[john03]

How do you like that Adcom stuff?

You could try isolating the turntable more from the floor vibrations.

i did try that my speakers are too close i do know that to start