I am building a 2nd vintage"ish" system with these 2 amps in contention for power. They are both from the late 80's and from what I understand both dual mono @ 200wpc. With each of them approaching 30 years old, I'm sure some maintenance, current and preventative is in order. I bought them both used and dont know much about their histories. I will be taking one of them to a technician to have done whatever needs to be done to a 30 year old amp. There aren't any audible problems with either but I know that capacitors age etc. Since I am having work done, I am also wondering if there are any common suggestions for improving an amp like these and if the investment I would make in the modifications would be better spent on a modern amp. I am leaning toward the Pioneer simply because of its looks. I had wanted one of these since the late 80's and found one in nearly perfect cosmetic condition. I know that these two amps were probably competitors when they were new and were probably the top of the line for each of their respective companies. To me they sound pretty similar but I dont know what is going on inside either one that might affect this. So is there anything super-special about the HK that made it better than the Pioneer that would behoove me to choose it as top priority? My assumption is that they are of similar quality.
