Best stereo recievers of the 1970's?

I had the AR receiver for many years. (Acoustic Research).
Loved it. Great tuner.

I just picked up a Marantz 2325 with double the power of my 2270 mentioned earlier in this thread and it is amazing.
It holds the bass like nothing I have heard before in this vintage. Using it to drive Spendor S3/5 minimonitors and it makes them sound like full range floor standers.

My personal opinion, in order of preference:
1- Sansui - the 5000 series (A/X) is about the bext value (price/performance) as it gets, IMHO.
2- Luxman - some models are overall better performers than Sansui, but build and sound quality are les consistent. Still, a good Luxman receiver is a very good thing.
3- Marantz - 22xx and 23xx series receivers are built like tanks and pretty too.

I have not had much luck with Pioneer receivers. I bought an SX-838 new with hard-earned summer job money in 197?, and I had nothing but problems with it. Later purchases have confirmed that. I have never owned an SX-1250 though.

But to venture into never-never land, if I had a choice I would prefer a 60s era Sansui AU-70 or Marantz Model 18 tube receiver. Different animals altogether.

There was something magical about Sansui tuners, and since the tuner was part of the reciever; I would pick Sansui.