I've got an old amplifier and I'm not sure whether to throw it out. I can still input signals from the TV and Blu Ray player, so I'm really wondering if a modern amplifier would do a significantly better job, beyond the convenience of having more relevant inputs.
Have amplifiers changed much in the last 20 years ?
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Soldato
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Soldato
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All of them using a standard analog stereo cable. Even 90s home cinema amps will still do Dolby Digital/DTS via the optical/coaxial output.
I'm using a 40 year old leak amp and a 30 year old luxman amp in my systems with DVD's and bluray. (the luxman forms the front speaker part of my surround system, using a marantz AV amp as the pre) Good old fashioned class A & AB technology hasn't really moved on at all. Component quality in mainstream stuff seems to have actually gotten worse as it seems you are lucky to get modern kit to outlast the warranty. (when i've got a 40 year old amp that hadn't even been opened in its life still working fine) Other topologies certainly have improved. (class D or T being prime examples)
Nothing will age too well though as some components have life spans. Electrolytic capacitors will normally need replacing after 15-20 years. After this sound quality will begin to degrade and the chances of failure increase.
Nothing will age too well though as some components have life spans. Electrolytic capacitors will normally need replacing after 15-20 years. After this sound quality will begin to degrade and the chances of failure increase.
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In general audio equipment hasn't changed in 50 years just got a tiny bit better and CDs pcs and sigital are here the rest... ... Is pretty much the same!
MOST modern budget amps sound worse than the like for like 10 years ago. They add features like hdmi etc but this doesnt do anything for the sound!
Take an old denon 3803 with blue ray via the 7.1 analogue out (on the sony s760) lossless audio like hdmi. Now to get anywhere near the sound quality of this amp (£900 in 2004) you would need to spend at least £800 now. A like for like would be the 3312 amp.
So in short no.
Take an old denon 3803 with blue ray via the 7.1 analogue out (on the sony s760) lossless audio like hdmi. Now to get anywhere near the sound quality of this amp (£900 in 2004) you would need to spend at least £800 now. A like for like would be the 3312 amp.
So in short no.
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Hmm. I can't imagine many of the old pre room correction home cinema amps coming close to modern ones, I don't think that's a very good comparison.
To be fair, I have a Sony str db940 and a denon 3803.
Both of.these.sound.better than.any of the lower end.onkyo receivers I have heard 309, 313 and the denon was much more immersive that the 515 and onkyo 609.
Sound is very subjective tho.
Both of.these.sound.better than.any of the lower end.onkyo receivers I have heard 309, 313 and the denon was much more immersive that the 515 and onkyo 609.
Sound is very subjective tho.
There is actually something to what Angel_Rex is saying.
Pound for pound modern AV amps are doing far more than their cousins from earlier generations. The result is that the budget get stretched thinner on quality stuff like power supplies, capacitors and circuit design to accommodate HDMI features, audio Audyssey processing, and video scaling, and networking, and AirPlay etc etc etc. When you also factor in the increasing use of switchmode power supplies and digital amps to save cost in lower-end models then you start to see that while modern amps are smarter they are built on weaker foundations. What they've given away in grunt can't be recouped through technology.
I take your point though about Room Correction. It's now possible for a complete novice to get a pretty reasonable result thanks to auto set-up features even when the speakers are in all the wrong places. Previously it took skill and knowledge to get the best from an older AV amp. To be fair though, all amps - new or old - do considerably better when the speaker positions and angles are set correctly from the start.
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