Is vintage audio equipment better?

Answer: When it comes to receivers and amplifiers, older can be better. That is the reason lots of people prefer tube amplifiers or vintage speakers. Though the old equipment might not reproduce the music as accurately as modern gear, the listener might prefer the sound from the vintage equipment.

Are Cyrus amplifiers good?

Once thoroughly warmed-up, the Cyrus Two puts in an astonishingly good performance for something made over 30 years ago. It sounds clean, crisp and immensely detailed. So detailed that the current £600 Award-winning amplifier, the Rega Brio, hardly manages to do any better when it comes to sheer resolution.

Is it worth it to buy vintage audio equipment?

This comes though with a hefty price tag usually. 60’s and 70’s vintage equipment was not cheap when it was new, and neither is good equipment today. Buying a quality modern piece of gear that is say five to ten years old can be a great idea since like cars modern audio does suffer rapid depreciation.

How do amplifier ratings differ between the 1980s and modern?

Amplifier ratings from the 1980s to modern took a deceiving turn. In the years of vintage audio, to rate your amplifier at a certain wattage there were several requirements. The amp needed to produce the power continuously and across a range of frequencies.

What’s happened to sound quality?

Technological advancement, ironically. Cnet’s Steve Guttenberg sheds light on this interesting development that over the years, actual sound quality became a secondary selling point since most people started buying their equipment either online or from big box retailers.

What was the sound like in the 1950s and 1960s?

Loudspeakers from the ‘50s and ‘60s ignored many of the laws of physics, but so what, as long as they were made with real walnut! Big speakers with 15” woofers rarely extended much below 50 or 60 Hz. The woofers used flimsy paper cones, stamped baskets, small-diameter voice coils, and inefficient “Alnico V” magnet structures.