Keith, It really depends on what speaker you plan to use with an old receiver. Receivers from the late 70s were designed to be used with 8 ohm high efficiency speakers.
When used with the proper speaker there are a few good choices. One is the Pioneer SX-1010, 100 watts per channel and it works extremely well with the Pioneer speakers of the same vintage.
Sansui made some good Integrated amplfiers. The AU-717 and AU-719 with 85 and 90 watts per channel. These amplifiers used cutting edge components even by today's standards.
Marantz was owned by Sony and they have the warmer Sony sound.
Yamaha Natural Sound receivers were very good.
Care must be taken to achieve the best sound. Don't count on high quality modern cables. These amplifiers and speakers were voiced with inexpensive speaker wire and interconnects. Basic 16 gauge speaker wire and $5 interconnects will work just fine. The high quality wire we use on the new equipment sounds awful on these old systems.
Many of the old receivers have not been used for a long time and sound better after being played for a while. It's like they need to be broken in.
Polarity is also important, so be sure to have the power cord oriented properly. When the polarity is right the receiver will have a modern sound and when the polarity is wrong it will have an old sound, but it should be checked with a volt meter.
1979 was pretty much the end of the high quality Japanese receivers. The value of the Yen fell and instead of making quality receivers they started the bells and whistles era.
Just for fun I decided to set up a 1970s stereo system to see how good it could sound compared to todays equipment. I hooked up the Pioneer SX-1010 to a pair of Pioneer CS-99 speakers with a Pioneer PL-12 turntable. After the usual tweaking and adjusting the sound came around and it sounded very impressive. Everyone who heard this 1970s system agreed it was the equivelant of a modern system costing from $10,000 to $15,000.
When used with the proper speaker there are a few good choices. One is the Pioneer SX-1010, 100 watts per channel and it works extremely well with the Pioneer speakers of the same vintage.
Sansui made some good Integrated amplfiers. The AU-717 and AU-719 with 85 and 90 watts per channel. These amplifiers used cutting edge components even by today's standards.
Marantz was owned by Sony and they have the warmer Sony sound.
Yamaha Natural Sound receivers were very good.
Care must be taken to achieve the best sound. Don't count on high quality modern cables. These amplifiers and speakers were voiced with inexpensive speaker wire and interconnects. Basic 16 gauge speaker wire and $5 interconnects will work just fine. The high quality wire we use on the new equipment sounds awful on these old systems.
Many of the old receivers have not been used for a long time and sound better after being played for a while. It's like they need to be broken in.
Polarity is also important, so be sure to have the power cord oriented properly. When the polarity is right the receiver will have a modern sound and when the polarity is wrong it will have an old sound, but it should be checked with a volt meter.
1979 was pretty much the end of the high quality Japanese receivers. The value of the Yen fell and instead of making quality receivers they started the bells and whistles era.
Just for fun I decided to set up a 1970s stereo system to see how good it could sound compared to todays equipment. I hooked up the Pioneer SX-1010 to a pair of Pioneer CS-99 speakers with a Pioneer PL-12 turntable. After the usual tweaking and adjusting the sound came around and it sounded very impressive. Everyone who heard this 1970s system agreed it was the equivelant of a modern system costing from $10,000 to $15,000.