The Golden era of Japanese integrated amps, are we missing out?

uberwaltz - Several have told me that those speakers do amazing with cap upgrades. Even with relatively inexpensive caps like Mundorf MKP or Clarity CSA.

I think it's a very inflated story. I just recapped my ~35 years Heco speakers to a disappointingly minute difference. I mean, 9 out of 10 people will not notice the difference. Only a very very slight change in transparency and twitter level and I think the highs sound harsher now. 
The original caps were bypolar smooth type and I recapped with Jantzen Cross-caps (MKP).

I'm not saying it doesn't work, but the speakers need to be very revealing and the caps probably need to be of higher (more expensive) class. It's not night and day on old equipment.

Sansui AU-717 and TU-710 tuner used everyday day. Recently serviced and recapped. Sounds as good as my Marantz KI-PM Pearl integrated. 

I loved my Kenwood integrated amp. For 37 years it was my only amp. Beautiful natural, balanced sound. 

Put me in the "anti" camp.  I sold all the Japanese brands in their '60's heyday .... the US designed Haron-Kardon's beat them hands down.  The Audionics BP2 preamp and CC amplifier beat all of them hands down.  And these were in the same price range.  Not to mention the Eico kits, Healthkits, and Fisher and Scott kits of that same era.

The most expensive I evaluated in my home was the complete top end Luxman line .... preamp, power amp, tuner.  They were good, looked fabulously expensive (and were), and sounded somewhere between Marantz transistor gear and the Audio Research SP-6 and D70-90-115 line which cost no more.

I've heard lots of Japanese electronics which sound very good for the price.  But I've never heard any that sounded remotely close to the best.

I think the "golden era" would fall in the late 70's to early 80's.
I am running a Technics SU-8099 in my main system and it performs as I desire. Fantastic sound and enough controls for tailoring to different speakers and sources. It replaced my Sansui G9000DB in order to do a recap and electrical restoration. Also have a Pioneer A-27 that will stand up to anything new as far as sound quality and blows all of them away aesthetically.
What is a Sansui A-2100? A search turns up nothing.