i generally agree with @jsalerno277 above regarding as the sonic character of vintage vs. modern receivers, although "good sounding" is of course a subjective quality and many find the older stuff to be musically pleasing notwithstanding the higher level of resolution of modern gear. i also find the older stuff to synergize better with speakers of the same era. however, i do think the prices of vintage gear have gotten out of whack--even , even considering their aesthetic virtues there's no way i'd drop a grand on a mid-level 70's marantz or sansui.
Did the Old Receivers Sound Good?
Before the high end started, we had all these receivers and integrated amps from Pioneer, Kenwood, Sansui, Sherwood, etc., all with incredible specs. Then somehow we decided that specs didn't matter and we started moving to the more esoteric stuff from Ampzilla, Krell and whoever, but the specs were not as good. My question is - Did the old Japanese stuff with the great specs sound better? I don't remember. I'm asking because many seem to be moving back to the "specs are everything" mindset and I was thinking about all that old stuff with so many zeros to the right of the decimal point.