Is it a good idea to pair a vintage amp with modern speaker ?

I currently have two system : the first one is in my main room in the house and it's the system I bought in 1996 : a nad 302 amp, a nad 5120 turntable, a kenwood KE 2060 equalizer and a pair of mission 752 speaker.

In my office, I have a second system : marantz pm 6004 amp, protect carbon turntable and dali sensor 1 speakers.

I have always wanted to buy a vintage looking system, you know something like seventies Hifi stereo that I was looking at in the stores in the seventies when I was a child...

I can buy a yamaha CR 6020 amp and a dual 1226 turntable in working condition.

Is it a good match ? Is it better to pair it with vintage speakers or is it not that important ?

Any thought is welcome, thanks

 

Sure, why not? Just depends on the particular pieces, right?

 

1959 amp with 2014 speakers:

 

1979 Pioneer receiver and Technics 1982 amp with modern Klipsch towers and sub here. Happy as a dog with 2 tails (read 2 amps ). To match the build and sound Q of that Yammie amp you'd need to shell out big bucks on a modern one. Go for it if it's in good shape.

 

Keep in mind that older electronics usually can benefit from a re-capping, even if they're still in "working" condition.

 

How can you tell ? My amps were recently serviced for minor issues and both techs said they'd be ripping me off if they told me they needed recapping. And I'd have gone that route if told so (I'm gullible)

 

Try it. It's the only way to know for sure. Obviously depends on the gear.

 

Just about any vintage SS amp from the early 70's is OK to pair with most modern speakers. Best to avoid overly bright speakers unless something that is very forward and dynamic (this is not necessarily a bad thing if you want to rock)!

See Waxfreak's comments!

 

Thank you for the answers. My concern was that I have always heard that a vintage seventies solid state amp is for the same price on the second hand market «better»than a new amp or was something else sonically speaking. I was asking myself if the same goes generally speaking for the speaker : in other words, are vintage speaker comparatively better than modern speaker if you invest the same price you are willing to pay for new speaker on the used market for a vintage one ?

 

Yes and no. There are both crappy modern and vintage speakers. Vintage can be gotten for much less money, depending what type of speaker you're looking for. With vintage you might have to deal with rotten suspensions or bad capacitors on the crossovers, all fixable issues.

With modern, you can go new (guarantees, the pleasure of wearing them yourself, etc) or used modern. A speaker with near no use can be purchased for way less than a new one, and new ones can be obtained at deep discount from Amazon, Best Buy, or suscribing to some brands online bulletins for real bargains on discountinued or promotional lines, warehouse clearing, etc . Ask our local expert @SandAndGlass on the subject.

I prefer new but that's just myself. I'm hard on them so I don't want to hate a PO if I blow one.

 

I am with Waxfreak, on the whole, unless you are really into the retro vintage thing, overall you are better off with modern speakers. Most are better, more refined engineering, better power handling, and have a more modern sound better suited to modern music.

Vintage receivers are generally OK. But when you get older stuff that requires major restorations, like TT's, tube amps and speakers. That's stuff for collectors and audio affectionado's. You want to play music, they want to play with music.

 

I think the SS amps from the 1980s are better than the 70s models plus they are 10 years younger. JBL UREI and SAE were high quality brands. There are other audiophile brands as well. What I found in my comparisons is that the 80s era SS amps have a much better tonal balance than 70s or even more recent SS. By that I mean they have a lower midrange emphasis and are not U shaped with deep bass, recessed midrange and highly detailed treble.

 

i think its a very good idea.
modern speakersveill be fine.
a lot depends on specifics.
most 70,s amplifiers were very powerful
Obviously some solid state amplifiers will not work into low impedances 0f some of todays speakets but most will,
i can personally recommend the Denon PMA 350 mk1. not others in the same range although this was sn 80,s model

 

My father loves his Sansui QR-4500 quad receiver / Bose 4.2 setup. As for mixing vintage amps and new speakers, I would just say to go with what sounds best to *you*, and never regret it.

 

Get a multimeter and the schematic for your amp or receiver and check the voltage test points, for example see what the B+ volyage is on a tube amp. If they're off you've got problems. My general rule of thumb is at 25 years replace them regardless because they're just itching to go bad. Better to be safe and save yourself from disaster. It's easy and not very expensive for most gear. Personally I haven't seen good electrolytics or amps or speaker crossovers that are in spec past the 30 year mark outside of my Cornwall's that were made in November of 85. They were babied by one owner their whole life and look and test new. Still gonna update them though.

 

Don't say that out loud in front of your A7s or they might eat you.

 

They might do just that. Because of the work that has been done on them, crossovers, 3-way, plus big sub, I don't think of the main pair as vintage. Kinda like Cornwall's with ALK crossovers and even Cornwall's in general.

When I think of vintage, dated and delicate somehow are terms that come to mind. In the cases of either of the above speakers, these terms don't seem to apply.

Neither speaker sounds dated, they sound modern in a natural and more relaxing way.

Neither are delicate and have to be babied. My guess is that our "vintage" (though I prefer the term "legacy"), will out last us by a generation or two. Maybe more!

 

I do have the schematics but no idea how to read a multi or check voltage. First tech said everythingwas OK. Second one (past year) said caps don't go bad enough till they swell. He diregarded my out-of-spec questions. Are there any audible clues to this ?

 

It's all about the Synergy. Time and age cannot change that.

Regards

 

Exactly how old are the caps in your receiver? I am assuming that they are original?

 

Original, 37 years.

 

for vintage amps, you can't go wrong with the mcintosh mc-2300 and its successors the mc-2500 and the mc-2600.

any of these 3 amps will drive just about any speaker, or perhaps any speaker! new or vintage...

McIntosh MC-2300 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia »

 

These are almost 40 yr old amp-s weighing >140 LBS ea. If you get a bad one repair costs figure to be astronomical. These cannot be shipped unless banded to a pallet. If the shipper can't do that, expect grief on receipt. Pray YMMV.

 

I use a 1976ish Luxman L-85v integrated amp to drive (A) KEF LS 50s plus a Polk sub, and (B) Music Hall Marimbas and an M&K sub. Everything sounds great. I've also used a Pioneer SX-850 of that same vintage and contemporary speakers with great results. That receiver currently resides in my bedroom hooked up to CSW Model Six speakers from circa 2000, sounds fabulous.