Frequently asked questions about vintage vs modern hi-fi equipment and why older gear is often more desirable, more reliable and sounds as good or better!
Generally no, unless you can have equipment inspected and you understand that PayPal offers no buyer protection on Gumtree. You need to be careful when buying anything like expensive equipment on Gumtree, a local classifieds selling platform here in Australia. Did you know sellers can circumvent the buyer protection that normally exists when you use PayPal? ‘Suso’ […]
Do you mean those ‘affordable’ modern phono preamplifiers that cost $1000 or more, contain about $50 worth of parts if you’re lucky and sound ordinary? Not a lot. You first need to understand that I’ve been spoiled by great phono preamps made when vinyl was at its peak. Much of the excellent equipment from that
Mike, what do you think of affordable, modern phono preamplifiers? Read More »
Great value for money, but nowhere near as good as many think based on newbie hype, and not well-suited to many modern tonearms. The Denon DL-103 MC cartridge is probably the best available for higher mass arms like my Fidelity Research FR-64S at the low $400 asking price. The DL-103 is one of my favourite
No, almost all rare transistor types on eBay are fakes. The TLDR is that some parts are no longer available and that’s a certainty. If unavailable parts suddenly appear on eBay or other places selling to the general public, often in mainland China, walk away, unless you like throwing money away. This point about retailers
Yes, transistors can be replaced in almost all cases, with excellent results with the correct replacements. Part of the art of repairing electronics involves using replacement/substitute parts and understanding how to select them when original parts are no longer available (NLA). This art is generally not well understood. Here is a perfect example: Substitution Transistors
Can transistors in my vintage amplifier be replaced? Read More »
There is some risk associated with buying anything, whether old or new. I would argue that it can be even riskier buying modern, firmware-driven, plastic, made-in-China equipment that will likely fail within 5 years and at that point be completely unrepairable. As long as you mitigate your risk, buying older hi-fi gear should not be
Many of the best cartridges ever made hail from the golden era of analog, so yes, the right carts are definitely worth chasing down. Types To recap, there are two main types of cartridges: moving magnet and moving coil. The best cartridges tend to be moving coil designs and these are usually more expensive and
