Recommended cheaper vintage SS Integrated Amps?

JVC A-X1 Super A integrated amp from 1980. Can be found for around $150 or less! I have one! Excellent SQ!

I really love the Sony, Yamaha and Hitachi VFET amplifiers from the mid-70's to the mid-80's. So detailed and clear! These are NOT to be confused with MOSFET's. These amps and devices are very rare and the VFET parts are all but non-existent, should you need to repair one... From what you listed, my votes would be the Kenwood because it's recapped. If you plan to service it yourself or have a reputable service tech, Marantz 1060 (1st) 1070 (2nd). I had all but forgotten about the JVC A-X1, +1 jasonbourne. Very nice amp, but only 30 watts/channel. If that's enough, buy it, but make sure it's the correct voltage for your country.

The JVC-AX3 is it's bigger brother at 55 watts/channel. Denon's also come to mind.

A quick look at the "Vintage" section in the classifieds here on A'gon shows some nice stuff but nothing cheap (affordable). 

It's too bad ezekiel doesn't post his work anymore as he always had some great gear that he rebuild to very high standards. And, his prices (at the time)  were very reasonable for the amount of work he put into it.

Maybe a tour of some local hifi repair shops in you area might be of value.

All the best,
Nonoise

Late 70's my first "real" amp was a Sansui Integrated AU-717. Very good and should be available on the used market.

I own a KA-3500 and love it. Punches way above its 40 watts and has a wonderfully clean sound. It's often overlooked with people always going to Sansui or Marantz. I also have a Harman Kardon 330c receiver, and I think this is actually warmer than the Kenwood. Beautiful piece.

From the 70’s… more people had receivers than amps, At least among my peer group.
Nikko, Onkyo, Denon, Marantz, Pioneer (did they have the Quadraphonic system?)

I had that Kenwood as part of my first “serious” system. Nice amp!

   Sansui, JVC, Marantz, and some others are definite prospects. Like stated before, the integrity of components (caps/etc.) is a given. However, I would not purchase a vintage piece just based on the word that the previous owner had all components checked out and, if necessary, replaced. That can be a daunting task unless you personally know the seller.
   Many years ago I had a Pioneer receiver from the SX series which was a decent performer. While it was rated as a "receiver", given it's internal tuner, which was sub par at best, it still produced pretty good sound. All of the previously mentioned brands depended on the speakers they were mated with.
   One avenue you may investigate when it comes to vintage stuff.....Years ago Dynaco offer some products at very reasonable prices. Their equipment was offered as ready built or as kits for those with some degree of soldering skill and ability to read simple instructions. Some of those units sounded noticeably better than more expensive "name brand" products. Don't rule out Dynaco.
   Good luck in your search.
 
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I don’t normally post, but I can speak with experience on this topic, so I’ll jump in.  I’ve had a bunch of vintage pieces, and still have quite a few. Receivers are certainly more popular from that time frame. Based on your request and my use, I would recommend a Harmon Kardon 330c. Not a lot of power, but if your speakers are reasonably efficient, it should play nicely. I’ve compared this unit in stock condition, to quite a few higher powered units, and other brands, and it’s always been way better. Warm but clear, nice deep bass, and visually not as over the top as others from that time frame. They don’t fetch much money, as everyone is looking for Marantz, Pioneer, and Sansui. The 430 is reported to be even better, but I have no hands on experience with it. Good luck on your search. For what it’s worth, with the right speaker pairing and source, the 330c can be very satisfying. I have wondered more that once why I continue to spend more money on gear that doesn’t sound that much better. 

You didn't define the ceiling on "cheaper," but an alternative could be that you get an affordable, modern, neutral amplifier and a tube preamp within your budget.

Many great choices out there including Sansui as mentioned. 
I feel of all my SS restored vintage integrated amps (20 or so) the Kenwood 7100 is the peach without breaking the bank.

As long as a pre/pwr loop is not needed, it seems to make the best sounds with a variety of speakers and overall more reliable than the KA-8100 which suffer from noisy Filter switches (buttons).
The Marantz 1060 is also worth mentioning as its MM phono section is a very good, but overall it is a bit darker overall by comparison.

Not sure just how similar these are to the KA-3500 & 1070 although I suspect similar characteristics with the Kenwood being Direct Coupled & the Marantz capacitor coupled.

I second the sansui au717.  Very good piece.  Also,  look for Coda gear, well made and built to last.

Good luck, 
Jose

Sherwood made some really nice receivers, not sure if they manufactured integrateds. I had a S-8900 like this one.
No affiliation.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/333978516408?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&...

My first amp was the AU 717 Sansui also. Next was & still is a TFM 45 Carver.  It's rebuilt now & very tube like. 375 wpc.  Great amp.

Check out the Yamaha A-1000 (not DSP A-1000, that was a home theater receiver). It was their flagship integrated amp in the early eighties, and sounds excellent. It operates in pure class A up to 10wpc then slides into class A/B up to 120wpc into 8ohm thereafter. 4ohm stable.
It was available in black or silver, and can be had for a fairly reasonable price. I believe I paid around $200 for mine five or so years ago.

I really liked my Kenwood L-07 mono amps, but I'd hardly call them 'inexpensive' used. *G*

As noted, there's a lot of new older integrateds but I've frankly never owned one so can't comment....but the $ for admission ought to . *S*

I liked Marantz' older stuff, not so much the newer...

Recapping generally a good idea, but.....🤔....

@nonoise ..."...some local hi-fi repair shops...."

?!#@*&$

What town/city/county/state of being do you live within?

....loco hifried refried despair stomps, Yes....with 'part-swappers' that if confronted with 'real problems' claim beyond restoration....

....but May have something of interest which usually isn't....

(....nono must live in 'Big City'....J not live there....for good reasons...)

Probation restrictions? 
Too bad. Here's just a sample:
https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=vintage+stereo+equipment&find_loc=Los+Angeles%2C+CA

All the best,
Nonoise

I had a Sansui AU717 back in the day, great amp. If you want something "affordable", consider the lower models from the same line. An AU 317, 517 and etc. Unless you need the power, these sound great, too.

Not sure what defines "cheaper" these days but from what I see most vintage pieces worth their salt have steep price tags. As mentioned, many systems were based around receivers as well. The Marantz 22XX series are well respected and nice sounding (and looking). Luxman had some very nice integrateds, I owned an L-480 and really liked it though they are hard to find. As always with vintage, buyer beware. A lot of folks find grandpa's amp in the attic and automatically it becomes a vintage classic. Proceed with caution....

big fan of the pioneer sx 770 and onkyo tk 2500 mk2. that kenwood is good if it's anything like the 5700, but in my experience a recap job can sometimes affect that "mellow warmth" flavor, depending on what was used. if possible it would be good to test it out on whatever speakers you'll be using. just my .02, happy listening!

I still have my Sherwood S-7910 receiver, bought new. Still works great, 60 watts/channel.

greg,

Always check the weight, that gives you some clue about transformer size, etc.

I went the other way, I wanted an inexpensive 2 channel receiver with REMOTE VOLUME that can drive TWO PAIRS of speakers simultaneously. The remote requirement meant used but newer than vintage, and then a heck of a lot of surround sound units to avoid. And it needed Phono, many omit that.

Note: 2 zones is not the same as TWO MAIN PAIRS, my big fancy Onkyo AVR’s zone two is weird, I never succeeded with zone 2. Was awesome for 5.1, but eventually not enough HDMI inputs, and I’m giving it to my son for his 5.1 setup anyway.

I searched all over tarnation, finally picked this very inexpensive Insignia (Best Buy brand), eBay, made offer, seller accepted $85. total delivered.

https://www.insigniaproducts.com/pdp/NS-R2001/9693507

It has enough power for my 2 pairs of speakers, and real speaker connectors (not dinky spring loaded terminals), phono, and remote.

Also check the quality of the RCA jacks. My wonderful McIntosh mx110z and many from the Vintage era have jacks that corrode. I/You clean them, they start corroding again. I just had those replaced by gold plated rca jacks by Audio Classics.

It’s bigger than I wanted, but better for ventilation.

This is for music while working in the garage or shop. I imagine it will sound ’good enough’. If it sounds lousy, I’ll return it, and perk up my Fisher 500C, and use it with one of my Chase RLC-1 remote line controllers. User reviews are all over the place, from great to total crap
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Maybe for others not wanting true Vintage

this Marantz caught my eye, but in England

https://www.ebay.com/itm/234071550812

another Marantz, more than I will spend for the Garage, but tempting

https://www.ebay.com/itm/174804065340

this, for only one pair of speakers, has had a remote volume installed

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154491023243?hash=item23f861ef8b:g:4YEAAOSwakBgu~S2

Onkyo Integra if you can find one.

I would try to find a harman kardon, tandberg, or accuphase for a truly high end vintage sound from an integrated amp you will be surprised and impressed but you need to find the old original models which can be hard or a challenge to find but well worth the effort in the long run.

While not truly vintage and not an integrated but a receiver, I have a Harmon Kardon HK 3480. Am the original owner. The unit has no more than about 100 hours of use. Due to a "hand me down" from an uncle I have no further use for this one even those it makes pretty good sound. Would let it go for a VERY reasonable price.

I worked selling audio equipment retail from 75-77. The Kenwood KA-3500 & 5500 were very sweet sounding pieces. We carried all three brands, and the Kenwood integrated amps were a stand-out!

Accuphase, Luxman, Marantz, NAD would be good brands, and plenty of choices among their various models.

If you are looking for models from the 70's, early 80's, then YES I would investigate replacement of capacitors.  The chances of a 40yr old component operating as well as it did when new are very low, and declines each day.

The DK made in CHINA was a great amp tuf to find