This site is new to me but I expect the negativity seen here is more of a exception not the norm.@tlwing55 This forum is really a high end audio forum. That's what you and @leemurray2007 are running into- a lot of the posters really are not getting why you're working with this stuff.
I've put together many budgets systems and enjoy seeing how good I can get them to sound. But I can tell you it can be challenging if you expect a budget system to image as well as a high end system, to have as much depth in the soundstage, and in particular trying to keep a budget system from being harsh and bright when you play the volume up. One common problem with budget phono sections is they can generate ticks and pops that sound for all the world as if they are on the surface of the LP!
You might find this site interesting:
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php
On it you will find people that are excited about what is loosely referred to in high end audio as 'mid fi'; and there is an extensive section regarding older audio mid fi gear in the solid state forum and also the tubes forum. I've been active on both. Of course they have a high end section too.
One thing to keep in mind, high end audio is never about price. Its about intention. So it does not matter who made it or what price it sold for. It matters a lot **why** the manufacturer was making it! Years ago Radio Shack famously bought out a high end speaker company called Linaeum to they could use the tweeter technology on two budget priced speakers that Radio Shack sold. Those speakers got some good reviews in the high end audio press. Not perfect, but established that even Radio Shack could do it if they wanted.
