Best stereo recievers of the 1970's?

Does anyone remember the Acoustics Research Receiver, a minimalist design that now seems philosophically ahead of its time?

How about the Heathkit AR-15? This was first available in the 1960s but sold into the 1970s. You could buy it as a kit or pay up to have it assembled.

Other receivers I used to covet were the McIntosh MAC 1700 and the MAC 1900, as well as the SAE R-9, one of a line that SAE rolled out in the mid-70s.

I actually owned Pioneer SX-650 (Paid $239) - amazing how things stick in your head. But I lusted after Marantz.....

Albert Porter sold me a wonderful sounding Yamaha receiver in 1977. It was a mid-line model and sounded wonderful. I cannot recall the exact model #. I wish I had kept it. He also sold my Mom a Yamaha receiver which was one step down in price...she still uses it to this day and it sounds wonderful. I'll check the model # and report back.

I remeber those days of shopping in stores on Long Island like, Stereo Exchange, Audio Exchange, Crazy Eddie, Sam Goody, Harvey, (the expensive stuff) on so many more. My evolution of receivers were: Technics, 45wpc. Onkyo with the servo tuner locked in lights, and my dream receiver, a Yamaha 1080.

sugarbrie mentioned the tuner section on those old onkyo receivers and i will second that. i have an onkyo tx-2500 circa 77/78 that locks in on stations with their servo-lock feature. beat some of the cheap dedicated tuners i have owned. oh, and the sound quality was excellent. this was a mid-line model with only 30 watts a channel, but boy can it pack a punch. better sound than a marantz 2235b i have.

regards,
Paul