Rotel, Luxman receivers and turners.

I've had a Luxman R-361, the successor to the R-117 receiver mentioned above and think it is great. In fact, if it 'gave up the ghost' I would have it repaired. Can't think of another receiver that uses a full MOSFET output stage like the last two renditions of Luxman. A really good sound from a receiver.

I have used a Luxman T14 FM tuner since the early 80's, and consider it superb. It is also beautiful.

Luxman was described as the Japanese McIntosh (back when McIntosh was the essence of High End audio).

I recently helped my sister-in-law with a similar decision. After looking around as you are doing now, I recommended she buy the Rotel RX-1050 and she's been very pleased. For a 2-channel receiver, I think it's hard to beat. If you haven't already found them, here are a couple of reviews that influenced my thinking as I was looking...

http://www.audioreview.com/Receivers/ROTEL/PRD_133656_1593crx.aspx
http://www.audiophilia.com/hardware/rotel.htm
.