"Old school" Gear overrated???

Most of my nostalgia of old school comes from the fact that lots of equipment was made right here in the US and if you had a problem with it you took it to a brick and morter store and they sent it out to get fixed. Nowadays, if you blow a crappy Chinese made amp, you toss it in the trash and buy another. But on the other hand.. we had class a/b sub amps too.

Retoast, go get laid.

No, but seriously, lighten up a little. It's a given that not everything should be coveted simply because it's "old school" or even because it's "uber-rare". There were some really great pieces of gear and some really awful pieces of shit, always has been, always will be. Some guys are just trying to get a hold of what they couldn't afford back then or wanting to try it because they weren't alive yet, lol. Some just collect the old gear because they want to, don't even use it. Reminds them of their youth and happier times? I don't know.

Some of that gear does sound better than what can be had today and will stomp the shit out of a few others. It won't be very efficient in doing it but it's not always about efficiency or how much power you can squeeze out of it, sometimes it's just about how it sounds - and please, let's not go down the RC challenge path. Some will put up with low power limitations and relatively high amounts of THD simply to enjoy a certain signature or character that a particular amplifier has. I'm one of those people. I actually have an amplifier that allows me to remove the negative feedback loop from the output circuit, which raises the amount of even order harmonic distortion but man does it sound glorious. Reminds you that it's all about enjoying the music!

On the other hand, years of progress and innovation have given us new offerings that truly do embarrass "old school" gear and some people are not willing to acknowledge that fact. Maybe the build quality lacks the love and attention to detail that the older stuff clearly had but I'm not sure how much that matters in the long run. Economies and business practices aren't what they used to be when some of these companies were at their peak. Whatever. I've heard amplifiers that I once scoffed at either for the build quality or for the name, only to be completely impressed by the sound of it.

I'm of the opinion that no matter what generation the amplifier is, no matter what name is on it or what buildhouse it came from, as long as the circuit design is good (meaning it sounds great) and it's reliable, enjoy it! Enjoy the music! That's the point of it all anyway. If you really want to get up in arms about something, how about low resolution and high compression recordings? Now that's something worth getting irritated about. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

ciaonzo is right on the money. And if we are only talking amplifiers here, I'll add to what he said by noting that amplifier technology hasn't changed much in the past 10-20 years. Speaker and processor tech has made much larger leaps in performance/design in that time frame than amplifiers have.

I really can't tell a whole lot of difference in my sub's sound characteristics when I used my old USA-2000X then switched to my AP30001D, in fact the Audiopipe was better in some regard such as the subsonic filter, ability to run low impedance, better efficiency, better input/output terminals and protection circuit. However everyone will pick the 2000X over the Audiopipe if they have to pick one because it has heritage.

'Made in the USA" is overrated. As long as quality control is done it doesn't matter where something is made. The USA-2000X is made in the USA but no one are willing to do repairs on it, so what good is that?

The old school that is worth the money is normally over built under rated and very sq capable. OP I would guess your talking about the "new old school" which in fact I do not even consider old school myself. There are many jap amps in that list.

I think a lot has to do with their memories....such is with a lot of ole school collectors. Me, I am 34 and I have some ole school stuff I refuse to get rid of as it reminds me of my childhood and some new stuff, I will hold on to as one day it might be ole school.

Just how it is with most anything that is a collectable.

I think a lot has to do with their memories....such is with a lot of ole school collectors. Me, I am 34 and I have some ole school stuff I refuse to get rid of as it reminds me of my childhood and some new stuff, I will hold on to as one day it might be ole school.
Just how it is with most anything that is a collectable.

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agreed

please dont compare that ap3000 to good old school amps, total garbage dirty signal

primarily.. Idk, i was in a bad mood last night and things were rubbing me the wrong way. But yeah the new old school...I'm all for people keeping os gear around for memories ect, but its when they insist that the majority of os stuff is worth top dollar that p's me off.

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I can subscribe to that.

"150 watt" ZED Audio Crunch CR150 does over 300w @ 4ohm bridged with > .05% THD. (circa '92, USA built, CEA compliant)

"2,000 watt" MaxxSonics Crunch GPV2000.1 does 250w @ 4ohm with > .10% THD. (circa '09, overseas built, non-CEA compliant)

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I miss old crunch //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

Op is mad.

I miss old crunch //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

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