Seeking opinions

[mbain]

I am interested in knowing if there is majority opinion, one way or the other, regarding the sound quality of mid nineties reference electronics compared to today’s reference electronics.  It would be nice if examples could be used to support your opinions.

 

mark

[gmgraves]

9 hours ago, mbain said:

I am interested in knowing if there is majority opinion, one way or the other, regarding the sound quality of mid nineties reference electronics compared to today’s reference electronics.  It would be nice if examples could be used to support your opinions.

 

mark

Well Mark, It depends. Some equipment hasn't changed much with regard to audio quality. High-end amplifiers from the mid 90's are pretty much the same with the same spread of characteristics. What has changed is that what was considered State-Of-The-Art performance then, at premium prices has migrated down to less costly equipment. Other things like DACs have taken quite a leap in performance over most of their 1990's counterparts. Again, what was considered S.O.T.A. then (with one or two exceptions) is now quite reasonable. Speakers are generally much better, but that's not say that their aren't speakers from that era that still can provide very satisfying  sound. Preamps are in the same class as amplifiers. An Audio Research SP10 or a Mark Levenson preamp from the mid nineties still can sound damn close to State-Of-The-Art. I have to say though that if said preamp uses operational amplifiers in the audio path, these have taken a quantum leap in terms of slew-rate, gain bandwidth, common-mode rejection and low noise performance since then. 

The main thing to keep in mind when buying used equipment which is pushing 30 years old, is that capacitors, especially those electrolytics found in power supplies for this equipment are nearing the end of their life. And if we are talking about a high-end amplifier like a Threshold, an Audio Research, or a Levinson, getting these replaced can be very expensive! As always, Caveat Emptor!