Do not underestimate vintage receivers!
Buy the right one, and it will kick butt on some way more expensive modern stuff...even highly regarded integrateds.
Ones to get were those made in the mid to late 70's, before mass marketing and general cheapening occurred. They sound amazing...even by today's standards.....are built like tanks, and offer a plethora of features.
Some names to look for are Sansui, Kenwood, Marantz and Yamaha Natural Sound.
Do not get anything after the 1970's.
For example......
I dug my old Sansui 771 out of storage and have it driving a pair of DeVore or Polk monitors in my bedroom system. Originally sold for about $500 new in 1975. Dirt cheap on E-bay....can be had for about 50 bucks! Incredible deal when you consider that a tuner (pulls and sounds great) and phono section are also included.
And the sound is what really shocked me. Sufficiently detailed, nice pacing, smooth, warm and fatigue-free...can listen for hours. Modern gear will have a hard time beating the sound for even 20x more. I actually prefer it to some of the recent and well-regarded integrateds I have owned. Shocking...I know. I have trouble accepting it myself, especially since I favor tubes, and we are talking about old solid state here.....which I thought would sound aggressive and forward, and basically unlistenable. But hearing is believing.
In my view, no need to spend more for that bedroom or office system, or any system where critical listening is not required.
So I second Wayner's opinion!
