Vintage Receivers vs. Modern MidFi

Hi Carter: A few of the older receivers that I remember sounding very good are the Marantz 2270 and the Luxman 1050. They are warm and smooth souding but do not have the detail of the modern couterparts, they do however sound very musical and are also very nice looking. Another option might be to go with a vintage tube reveiver like a Fisher 400C, you would have to research as Scott also made some good tube receivers. There is someone on the web that sells them (Fisher) reconditioned and with a warrenty within your price range. I do not know the sight offhand it is just something I ran accross while surfing. If you do vinyl in your system I would reccomend using an Advent 300 receiver (just the preamp and tuner section (the amplifier is just 15 watts per channel) and running a newer power amp of your choice from it. You could hide the power amp, and the Advent is very plain/modern but striking at the same time with a good tuner section and a killer preamp section. The advent/power amp combo should be well within your budget. I have used the Advent for vinyl with a pair of Dynaco Stereo 70's, Mac 30's, a Phase Linear 400, a Quad 306 and a Hafler 500 with excellent results. These amps are over your budget but are just to let you know that it works well with both tubes and solid state gear. Let us know what you get and how it sounds.

Good point Joe_b. The last time I used the Advent in a system was in the mid 80's. I also did not use CD's as a source. When I jumped back into this hobby 3-4 months ago I pulled some old Quad solid state gear out of storage and thought I had it made. While properly stored for 15+ years it had developed an intermitent ffssssst sound at all volume levels. It sounded like some one was lighting one match after another across the room. I was told that the repair (rebuilding it with new parts) would cost more than I paid for the equipment. I traded the old gear (with full disclosure) for a painting and came out ahead, I think. I went with new gear for both reliability and sound, also to stay within my budget (repairs can be very costly). I purchased new Musical Fidelity X gear which with the right cable sounds a little like my old tube stuff, especialy in the midrange, but without the expense of maintenance. It is so odd looking that it will most likely become a classic in time. The integrated amp was only $500.00 (now discontinued but there is a new higher powered replacement) and I just located a pair of 50 watt monoblocks in Canada for around $800.00 shipped and taxed. The MF gear has a very distinctive sound Carter that is not for everyone, but if you are also looking for style, and are interested, you can view it at Audoadvisor.com. The new integrated is model X-A2 and is within your budget granted that you keep your current and highly praised tuner. Also, maybe start a thread on integrated amps for $600.00.