Shopping for an integrated, advice s'il vous plait.


Some time ago I decided to upgrade my stereo and spent virtually my entire budget on speakers (no regrets), tacking on a Harman HK3490 as an afterthought. Well, it recently bit the dust for no apparent reason. It was only $260 and gave me 5 years of almost daily service, so I'm not too mad. Unfortunately there's nothing comparable on the market at that price, adjusted for inflation. The closest thing I could find was the Yamaha A-S801, but it appears to have the same build quality as my previous receiver. I'm not sure I'm comfortable spending close to $1k on something with disposable quality, so I've been assessing my options within my budget ($1500 max). Looking for an analog integrated with quality components and construction that will last me at least 10 years. So far I've narrowed my options down to:

Yamaha a-s1000 (new)
or
Vintage i.e. Yamaha ca-2010, Sansui au-717, Pioneer sa-9500 ii etc. 

My only problem with vintage is that it seems to take many months of waiting before a deal comes up on the model you want. I see a fully recapped and restored au-717 recently went on eBay for less than $700. Probably not gonna find a deal like that in the next year, if ever. 

TL;DR Would like thy esteemed opinions to vet my purchase of a Yamaha a-s1000. 


unknoahble
There are so many options for modern integrated amplifiers in your price range, why would you want a 40 year old Mass produced Japanese receiver?
Look here on Audiogon - within your price range currently for sale:
  • Canary Audio 608
  • Wyerd 4 Sound STI-1000
  • Jolida Fusion 3502S
  • Creek destiny
  • Krell KAV400ix
  • Anthem 225
  • Arcam A39
"There are so many options for modern integrated amplifiers in your price range, why would you want a 40 year old Mass produced Japanese receiver?
Look here on Audiogon - within your price range currently for sale:
Canary Audio 608
Wyerd 4 Sound STI-1000
Jolida Fusion 3502S
Creek destiny
Krell KAV400ix
Anthem 225
Arcam A39"

Are you kidding?

@donjr - why would I be kidding?
Any of these integrated amps will sound far better than the Sansui (or similar), and will most likely be far more reliable.
I've heard the most highly regarded vintage receivers, including TOTL Marantz, Sansui, Yamaha, Sony, and others.
Some of them sound very nice, they do have a distinct 'color', which you may like, but none of them I would consider as high-end.
I even owned a much treasured Sony VFet TAN-8550 which sounded really nice, but I never even considered using it in my main system.

-> All in my humble opinion of course. <-


How about this Marantz PM-15SI for $895? No affiliation with the seller, it looks like a great deal on an amp that's probably better than the Yamaha you're considering.
 https://www.audiogon.com/listings/solid-state-marantz-pm-15s1-reference-series-stereo-interated-ampl...