Hello!
Could not resist getting into this discussion. I was hired by MAC in 1968 to come and design tuners. MR77, MR78 and part of MR74 are mine. My current audio system is all MAC using all-tube circuitry. System finished in 1988, after I had left MAC in 1974 to do speakers.
(1) 2-box 8 tube preamp borrowing from Marantz 7 and MAC C22.
(2) 50WPC triode power amp with MAC output transformers
(3) Yes, a TUBE MR78!
(4) Usual turntable and CD player.
(5) Joseph Pearl loudspeakers
I do not judge audiophile hobby to deeply. Life is short and no time to indulge in uninformed opinions and trash talk. There is enough good stuff from others than MAC to satisfy any well-informed listener. Please check my article published in December 2021 issue of Audioxpress for more ideas regarding good sound.
My reference for sound are two seats for wife and myself at the Symphony. There is no argument for best sound, real live music, which cannot be duplicated by any audio system.