I used to sell audio equipment in the stereo heyday of the mid-70's to early 80's. I found the upper end of Sansui receivers and the entire integrated amplifier range to be better sounding, more neutral and have greater detail than any of the other consumer brands that I sold. The G7000, G8000, G9000 and the holy grail G11000 (special order only) to be great sounding receivers with the best FM performance of any. My only complaint was the (to my eyes) garish "Tokyo by Night" styling and huge footprint. On the other hand, the AU 517, AU 717 (I bought one) and the hard to find AU 917 integrateds were very handsome (again to me) understated black boxes with amazing build quality and excellent sonics. I used my AU 717 to power JBL L-166's with great results.
The later Sansui receivers and integrateds such as the x500's and x700's still sounded good, but the internals were getting cheap. Same with the "Z" series that followed, but they looked better.
The one other brand of components to consider are the Technics separates from the era. These have been under the radar, but were well built, have understated styling and are neutral sounding. Look for models like the SE 9600 or SE 9060 preamp and SU 9070 or SU 9600 amps. I would still pair with a Sansui TU 517, TU 717 or TU 917 tuner.
The later Sansui receivers and integrateds such as the x500's and x700's still sounded good, but the internals were getting cheap. Same with the "Z" series that followed, but they looked better.
The one other brand of components to consider are the Technics separates from the era. These have been under the radar, but were well built, have understated styling and are neutral sounding. Look for models like the SE 9600 or SE 9060 preamp and SU 9070 or SU 9600 amps. I would still pair with a Sansui TU 517, TU 717 or TU 917 tuner.