[Closed] HiFi.? Would a current amp be better than one from the 90s?

Probably as the capacitors in the old amp will be degraded after more than 2 decades.

No idea but I love my PM66 KI Sig 🙂

First I’ve heard of amps degrading over time but appears to be accurate. That said the KI signature series was a definite high point in the history of affordable hifi and I’d guess would be better than similarly priced stuff from now. I have no evidence to back this up...

Would it not be obvious when you listened to it?

@simondbarnes

Thats my ideal amp. I lost out on eBastard last week by £5.

Buy one! I've got one, they are excellent.
Go particularly well with Tannoy speakers.

I haven't heard much under a grand that comes close, with the exception of some of the current, higher end Marantz stuff.

Pop round if you fancy a listen.

Got mine from Wilkinsons in Nelson. They fully serviced and recapped it before I bought it.

I had a 90's Pioneer a300x which broke. My buddy lent me his Roksan Kandy K2 which he was trying to sell. The Roksan was loads better, but they're not really in the same league. (I ended up buying the Roksan btw)

There are people out there fettling KI marantz amps. Still regarded highly, how much this is down to nostalgia though is hard to say. Which is fine by me I might add, hifi doesn't always have to be 100% purely about the sound.

I'd agree with the earlier comment about sounding good with Tannoy speakers. They are a great match.

I still use my old Cambridge Audio A5 amp with Marantz 6000ose cd & B&W 500 speakers, Qdeck & minidisc (lol) , still love it all.

Would it not be obvious when you listened to it?

Yep, whether it has degraded or not, whether it is still better sounding to YOU even if it has degraded is all that matters isn't it?

Hard to get to listen before you buy on Ebay.

Thanks for your input up to now though chaps.

Outside of Class-D and connectivity not much in amp tech has changed over the last 20yrs apart from designs.

The Ki Sig stuff was very good for the money. Not much risk to buy, try and sell if you don’t like. With a lot of the super expensive brands you are paying for premium casing and their inability to mass source / produce / distro at scale. None of this applied to Marantz in their glory days.

Electronics and component manufacture has come on leaps and bounds in 20 years. I'd be very surprised if a modern Hifi system wasn't better than a 20 year old one, even ignoring that electrolytics do dry out over time.

So, caps degrade?

My Cambridge Audio amps are 20 years old. They are all discrete components, so I could easily replace the caps with new ones. Would that help?

Second question - I have it connected to a smart plug so I can turn it on at the wall when I want by voice. Is this bad for it compared to using the buttons on the front? It's all pure analogue stuff.

Only the electrolytic cap's degrade. Metal, polymer, ceramic etc. Should last "forever."

Second question – I have it connected to a smart plug so I can turn it on at the wall when I want by voice. Is this bad for it compared to using the buttons on the front? It’s all pure analogue stuff.

You will probably find that your button on the front connects to a long plastic lever which just switches off the mains at the back before the transformer ie no different to the mains switch. All my old 90s Technics separates did this.

So, caps degrade?

They can, although some more than others. They powered up a 50 year old Apollo Flight Computer recently, using the original PSU and all the original caps which worked fine. Obviously they were quite decent ones at the time....

I recently fired up a 90s Cyrus amp and it very obviously sounded better than my modern Cambridge amp.

Obviously they were quite decent ones at the time….

and yet we’re likely produced by the lowest bidder for the program.

Depends on how you define ‘better’.

How it sounds to you will be subjective. No one can tell you what this will be like.

objectively, you can expect that the newer amp has a more efficient design. You can also expect that the newer amp will be generally more reliable.

I still miss the sound of my KEF 105.4 speakers powers by a technics SUV707 amp. But I think the sound from my monitor audio mr60 golds powered by a Yamaha RX-V381 is better. Though nowhere near as amazing as those speakers were when powered by some esoteric pre-amp, power-amp combo at the house of a friend.

🤷🏻‍♂️ If you have the cash give it a whirl. You can always sell what you don’t want and recoup something.

My Cyrus 2 sounds great , I did have to replace some capacitors though.

Probably as the capacitors in the old amp will be degraded after more than 2 decades.

Late 90s / early to mid 00s and you're in the height of Capacitor Plague territory. I'd be very wary of any electronics from that era.

So, caps degrade?

Electrolytic capacitors can die. I'm a member of a couple of retro computing FB groups, re-capping a newly acquired machine is considered good practice before powering them up for the first time in 30 years. If a cap goes bang it might not be healthy for something far more difficult to replace.

and yet we’re likely produced by the lowest bidder for the program.

For a real bit of electronics geekery....

http://www.righto.com/2019/08/reliable-after-50-years-apollo-guidance.html