Earlier threads always "warn" that vintage / older stuff are prone to breakage and are essentially fragile. Some are however so well made that they seem to carry on performing almost as if they will never give up. My volume knob / pot on my Yamaha C4 preamp became a bit noisy a few months ago. I also detected that the overall sound just seemed to go a bit flat and lacked sparkle. The one volume knob on the power amp also started playing up a bit leading to poor sound on on channel. Packed up the whole lot (C4 Preamp, M2 Power amp) and took it to the tech I work with for some attention. Still waiting for the goods to be returned.
This gave me a chance to use another amp in this system: I connected up a Marantz PM 7000 (95 w/chan) integrated with the NS 1000 speakers I use. I certainly miss the power of the M2 especially the lower end control and tunefulness. However the overall sound has much more top and mid range making things sound fresher (less dark). The detail is better on the Yamaha pre and power but the open but "lighter" more sparkly sound presented some questions to me: are the electronics in the Yamaha pre and power (now close to 27 yrs old) aging a bit and leading to dull sound? What goes in the amps and would "re-capping" and other replacements be needed? I have had this system for about 7 years now and have really enjoyed it as a main system.
I understand that the amplifiers have signatures and particular sound but its the overall sound I picked up as different: I was beginning to wonder if the speakers were on their way down. I suppose older amps need refurbishing here and there to get them back to spec - is this always possible or do they go like our bodies or motor cars do at a particular point / time?
This gave me a chance to use another amp in this system: I connected up a Marantz PM 7000 (95 w/chan) integrated with the NS 1000 speakers I use. I certainly miss the power of the M2 especially the lower end control and tunefulness. However the overall sound has much more top and mid range making things sound fresher (less dark). The detail is better on the Yamaha pre and power but the open but "lighter" more sparkly sound presented some questions to me: are the electronics in the Yamaha pre and power (now close to 27 yrs old) aging a bit and leading to dull sound? What goes in the amps and would "re-capping" and other replacements be needed? I have had this system for about 7 years now and have really enjoyed it as a main system.
I understand that the amplifiers have signatures and particular sound but its the overall sound I picked up as different: I was beginning to wonder if the speakers were on their way down. I suppose older amps need refurbishing here and there to get them back to spec - is this always possible or do they go like our bodies or motor cars do at a particular point / time?
