I worked at a high end store in the Seattle area while a student at UW back in the early 1970s. We had an eclectic group of customers who had a variety of what were then considered to be among the best speakers that money could buy. Paragon, SR8, Klipshorn, Bozak Concert Grand, double KLH Nines, Quads, Altec Valencias, EV Patrician, McIntosh ML4C. After graduation we moved to San Diego where this continued with Maggie Timpani Ds, Fulton Js, Apogees, Infinity, etc. I listened carefully to all of these, learned that although they all sound different that after a couple of scotches or whatever they all sounded just fine. None of them are worth getting in an argument over. To each his own. With that said, of all of them, for me, the one I could not ever warm up to was the Paragon. By way of clarification, the one I bought was the Bozak Concert Grand. Again to each his own.
Top vintage receivers vs. modern high-end equipment
I am considering pairing an old amplification system to my JBL Paragon -- the idea of getting an all vintage system is very attractive to me. Among other things, I am looking into classics such as the Pioneer 1980 receiver or the Marantz 2600. Does anyone have direct experience in comparing this kind of equipment (very high-end but 40 years ago) to current high-end equipment, imagine an integrated Pass Lab amplifier? How do they stack up? Thank you.