Did the Old Receivers Sound Good?

Yes,

But it is not about specs,that's marketing one up-manship, keep in mind, the main brands made their reputations with receivers, then separates .... Of course old equipment needs to be checked/renewed by a pro, components drift out of original specs ...

You still have the split, TUBES or SS. And early Transistors vs later with better transformers ...

I have 2 Fisher 500C Tube Receivers,

 

One is at VAS getting it’s tuner aligned.

Main one, I loan to friends when their equip is in the shop. Everyone is surprised how good it sounds.

SS: I’ve got a Yamaha CR1040, two sets of speakers, shop and basement system, sounds darn good

 

Onkyo AVR, Current Sony AVR, they are nothing to sneeze at.

Many times we hear our better equipment thru the better speakers, thus

.......

The Japanese electronics from the late 60’s -early 70s was inferior

to today’s same value gear adjusted for inflation.

It has to be.

In 50 years some progress has been made right?

 

Now if you go back to the pre transistor tube days maybe 

someone could make an argument.

 

 

 

No, they don’t stand up to todays gear.

Ive recapped/rebuilt several Marantz units myself, and while they have a certain charm to their sound, they don’t stand up to critical scrutiny in listening tests. 
 

Was just comparing a Marantz 7T with a Cary SLP-30 (Both had full recaps done by me recently) And while the Marantz is an impressive performer, the Cary is a more refined unit. Granted, I’m comparing apples to oranges here, but the question was about modern/vintage. And by some standards, the Cary could even be considered vintage now.

Yes, yes they did sound great, and many still do.

Memory based on sounds is faulty. Unless you have one with a modern component to compare, it's not a fair fight.

Had a real nice marantz integrated bought new in the 70s, very nice well rounded sound as stated by some here, but nowhere the clarity of today's equipment.