I had a Luxman R-117 receiver for 15 years until it gave up the ghost. If you can find one for $250-300 used, including shipping, it would provide great FM reception for you ( T-117 tuner is a classic) and reasonable mid-fi amplifier performance, including phono. I think you might want to go for the top of the line in a Luxman receiver to maximize your chance to optimally drive your speakers. However, vintage equipment is not immortal, and the time you have left in a receiver won't be known when you buy. The tuner/preamp frontend output can be connected to a separate higher quality amplifier if your needs change, so you can still retain the excellent FM performance. When I experimented with different speakers the Luxman did not do a great job on ribbon tweeters, but very enjoyable on conventional speakers with cone or dome construction. I still have in storage an older Luxman receiver with analog tuner dial from the late 70's or early 80's whose model number I don't recall. It was still working as of four years ago, and its tuner was always impressive in performance, too. The physical appearance of Luxman analog tuner receivers was so appealing and for low cost used they can provide a lot of listening fun. If you think you can stand the unpredictable remaining life of an old receiver, I can unpack mine and check if it is in condition to be sold.
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I've had a Luxman R-361, the successor to the R-117 receiver mentioned above and think it is great. In fact, if it 'gave up the ghost' I would have it repaired. Can't think of another receiver that uses a full MOSFET output stage like the last two renditions of Luxman. A really good sound from a receiver. |
I recently helped my sister-in-law with a similar decision. After looking around as you are doing now, I recommended she buy the Rotel RX-1050 and she's been very pleased. For a 2-channel receiver, I think it's hard to beat. If you haven't already found them, here are a couple of reviews that influenced my thinking as I was looking... http://www.audioreview.com/Receivers/ROTEL/PRD_133656_1593crx.aspx http://www.audiophilia.com/hardware/rotel.htm . |