I think the op wants to have some fun with his set up. The Onkyo 8500 was mentioned above. I will second that. The onkyo tx4500 and tx8500 get little love, and are way under the radar. You should be able to get a nice example for around $500. No marantz or pioneer tax on good vintage sound. If you end up not liking it, simply resell it.
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.