Vintage Receivers vs. Modern MidFi

Carter, I agree with Brian and would keep the FT-11. I do hear where you coming from -- I have always wanted a old reciever/system and have looked around the net. However, I go back to the purpose of the system and for me it's the music. I am currently using the NAD 317 which I feel is one of the best Integrateds on the market for the money ($600). I had the C340 which was great, but wanted more power. I like the NAD because of it's heritage and design philosophy. I have also owned a Mac Integrated ( 5200?), and it was decent but could not hold a candle to today's Integrateds IMHO. Good luck.

Hi Carter: A few of the older receivers that I remember sounding very good are the Marantz 2270 and the Luxman 1050. They are warm and smooth souding but do not have the detail of the modern couterparts, they do however sound very musical and are also very nice looking. Another option might be to go with a vintage tube reveiver like a Fisher 400C, you would have to research as Scott also made some good tube receivers. There is someone on the web that sells them (Fisher) reconditioned and with a warrenty within your price range. I do not know the sight offhand it is just something I ran accross while surfing. If you do vinyl in your system I would reccomend using an Advent 300 receiver (just the preamp and tuner section (the amplifier is just 15 watts per channel) and running a newer power amp of your choice from it. You could hide the power amp, and the Advent is very plain/modern but striking at the same time with a good tuner section and a killer preamp section. The advent/power amp combo should be well within your budget. I have used the Advent for vinyl with a pair of Dynaco Stereo 70's, Mac 30's, a Phase Linear 400, a Quad 306 and a Hafler 500 with excellent results. These amps are over your budget but are just to let you know that it works well with both tubes and solid state gear. Let us know what you get and how it sounds.

The best Receivers were the Japanese Receivers from the late 70s. They were built like Tanks. They used all metal parts. They will blow away the receivers today. The best receivers from the late 70s, were the The Pioneer SX 1980, SX1250 and SX1050. Kenwood, Kr 9600. Sansui made some amazing receivers. The G9000, 9090, 8080 Receivers. Sansui Also made great intergrated Amps and tuners back then. The AU 1100, AU 9900, AU 9500 intergrated Amps. TU 9900 Tuner. TU 7900 Tuners. Yamaha also made great Receivers back then. The Yamaha CR2020 and CR 1020 Receivers were great. You will see all these Receivers on Ebay. www.ebay.com Type in Yamaha Receiver and click enter. Type in Sansui Receiver and click Enter. etc

Hi: I have had a Pioneer SX 1250 which is in mint condition, for approx. three months. I have done comparisons with my Harman/Kardon AVR 80II ($1,699.00 MSRP in 1997) using Dynaudio speakers. To put it mildly, there is smply no comparison between the two, IMHO. The SX 1250 is far more musical and offers the slam that the HK can only dream of. Build quality of the SX is also excellent and find the styling to be quite appealing as do my friends. The downside of the equation is that these units are getting old and reliability may be an issue at times. However, I would not hesitate to spend the cash to have the unit properly serviced should the need ever rise. BTW, the inputs also work well with TV and VCR should you have an interest in a bit of HT.

All of the above are good input to the question. The Magnum Dynalab MD-208 is state-of-the-art for the receiver catagory. The Advent is interesting as are the Stasis series Nakamichi, the SR and TA series....If you're looking for vintage romance..then the old receivers..are cool. If you looking for the best sound, keep your Magnum tuner and get a great recent model intergrated from...Classe, Bryston, SimAudio, Audio Research, C-J, and the list goes on..