The times have savaged my system

A vintage Yamaha cr-420 receiver can be had for much less used I would think and has clean low distortion sound about as good as any I have heard on any comparable vintage piece.

The phono section is simply incredible on this unit!

It replaced a vintage Tandberg TR2080 that I sold for almost $500 a year or two back and is in the same league in regards to overall sound quality, though lower on watts.

It has very low distortion that makes it sound like a high end piece and would team nicely with a pair of vintage Klipsch Forte's as suggested, I would think.

I use one that I picked up for a scant $50 on Ebay. I cleaned it up thouroughly inside and out myself in a day so it looks like new.

I use it with absolutely no second thoughts in my second 2 channel A/V system driving a pair of Triangle Titus 202s with an older powered M&K sub.

The Marantz is good also but a different kind of sound and you will pay a bit of a premium for the name.

You could also try a single driver speaker like those offered by Fritz (www.fritzspeakers.com) here on Audiogon.

There's a Yamaha CR-1020 receiver on sale on A'Gon right now. I have owned one since 1979 and can tell you this is a terrific unit. It was built when Yamaha was at top of their game.

My first receiver was a Yamaha DSP-something(forgotten the model) and can attest to most comments here on the excellent sound quality. It can rival many integrateds costing twice its used price in terms of build and sound quality. If building a cheap system, the receiver is a real bargain and good value. I bought the Yamaha amp a decade ago for $600 brand new and sold it off for a song ($100) a few years later. You can probably pick one up around that price, or less.