Re-starting With Vintage System

PALewin -- Wed, 12/10/2008 - 19:46

For various reasons (children, job, etc.) I have only just started listening seriously again to the system I have been using casually for the last 20 years or so. My system looks a bit like an early-1980s time capsule (when it was bought new, and for a while used seriously): ARC SP-8/D90 preamp and amp, Linn Sondek tt w/ Fidelity Research 64fx arm, (new) Benz MC20E2L cartridge, Maggie IIA speakers, and whatever cabling and interconnects were of similar quality "back then." I must admit that the system still sounds quite musical to me, with some "blur" in the sound staging, which of course could trace to any link in the chain. The most obvious "improvements" would be either re-tubing and possibly upgrading (via better caps, etc.) the ARC equipment, or making basic upgrades to the Linn. On the other hand, as I said, it sounds pretty good right now as it is. So: would you wait until something starts to fail before making changes, jump in now, and if so, with which first steps? Thank for your thoughts.

Robert Harley -- Thu, 12/11/2008 - 10:10

First, welcome back into high-end audio. Here are my suggestions.

If you live near a good high-end dealer, take some of your familiar recordings to the showroom and listen to what a modern system has to offer. That experience should guide you in determining whether to start over or to invest in upgrading the system you have. Your current system appears to have been chosen quite carefully; all those components are superb.

If you keep your current system, I would have the preamplifer and power amplifier gone over by Audio Research. They can replace the tubes as well as certain capacitors, which degrade over time. If you prefer not to send them back to ARC, you can retube it yourself.

Next, I would either upgrade the Linn or get a new turntable. This is a crucial link in the chain, and today's turntables and tonearms are much improved over those of 25 years ago. Any Linn Sondek can be upgraded to the latest version, no matter its vintage.

I also recommend adding an AC power conditioner, as well as trying new cables and interconnects.

Your system could probably benefit greatly from disconnecting all the interconnects and speaker cables and cleaning the connections with Caig DeoxIT cleaner ($10). http://store.caig.com/

Finally, try some of the speaker-placement and set-up tips in "Robert Harley's System Set-Up Secrets." This is a free download available here: http://www.avguide.com/hifibooks