Why does this circa '75 receiver sound so good?

So, today I returned the "high-end" integrated that a "high-end" dealer allowed me to demo. The old Kenwood was far superior in virtually every aspect. But, to touch on another aspect of the "high-end" business, the dealer basically accused me of listening to his merchandise and buying elsewhere--such as on the net. I have never took anything home from this guy before--and never will again. He failed to realize I value a seller-customer relationship above all else. I bought my Nautilus 805's brand new from another local dealer--paid top dollar plus sales tax--all for the sake of developing a good relationship with a local vendor. I could have easily saved over $400 online--that is how much I value the seller-customer relationship. Well, if the seller doesn't value that relationship, why should I? Too bad--as I have said before, I would gladly pay extra for this, but not when I am treated so poorly while he tripped over another customer with the means to buy anything in the store-literally. Guess I will stick with my receiver for a while and eventually buy my ARC gear online. Now, all I have to do is get the POTS cleaned on that receiver. Thanks for all the posts--maybe I will bid on that Sony receiver!!!

If there's one hard lesson I should have learned from my decades as an audiophile, it is this: if you find something you like, KEEP IT. Don't assume that you can improve on the Kenwood with an Adcom or whatever. Just keep the Kenwood for as long as you continue to feel it sounds good.

The other lesson from your experience: could it be, just possibly, that the high end is BS?

All of us who have tweaked out our systems with power conditioners and expensive cables and resonance control devices--what if you stripped your system back down to what it was. How much worse would it be? (I should shut up and try this experiment on myself.)

I own an Accuphase E-202 integrated amp that I lent an old roommate about fifteen years ago and am about to get back. That was a great component then and I suspect it'll be great now, though I'm going to send it to Accuphase's US service bureau for a checkup. I can't wait to hear it, though I really don't have a use for it at the moment.

I agree with Drubin...if you have a component you love, hold on to it!

Drubin; you and my wife, and I'd bet a few thousand other partners of the aurally-fixated out there, can all start a club! Of course you all KNOW it's gotta be BS if you can't hear it, and or, if you just don't care either way, that's for sure! Then again lotsa folks say that about a whole lotta' other things in life too ("There's MY WAY, and then there's the WRONG way!"). Ya' just gotta'hav'faith in what you love, or what's the use?! Gutsy post...I like that in a man! Let us know what happens when your system is all naked, with those skinny lamp cords connecting all the boxes, and those pathetic flacid power cords begging for some Viagra just to suck that juice outta' the wall! It may sound just as good, but you ain't gettin' any that way man! Get with the program dude! If you wanna' get you some, then you need one of them thick sidewinding cords with the Matrinco tips on the ends. A big thick one, like a Beluga, or an Anaconda, yeah, that's it, an Anaconda! You know, once you've had an Anaconda, you ain't even gonna' think about going back! You can go through the rest of your life just wondering what it all means...thinking, "...if only the music just sounded a little more lifelike, a little more Authentic to the musician's and recording engineer's REAL intentions, well then I'd REALLY be living!!!! That's it, just keep your limp, skinny cords and wonder, never knowing the TRUE answers that all of us already know! NOW WAIT A MINUTE!... Don't give up on us Drubin. Look, mortgage rates are at an all-time low...just take out a second mortgage on your home and buy yourself some six-figure-system bragging rights and post it all right here, then you'll really be living!!....Just watch the funny sock puppet while they take away all the money out of your bank account! And don't be asking no questions like those again, or we won't have you in our exclusive club!!!!

PS My dad still uses my 78' Pioneer SX650 in his studio. I think he's got it running a my old pair of AR speakers with some lamp-wire hookin' them all together. Sounds pretty darn good to him! Not bad to me either! I'll be keeping my thick, lady-fetchin' power cords though!

I had an Adcom 5400 amp (the little brother of the 5802) and a GFP 750, both modified by Stan Warren. They were pretty good, especially for the money. I paired them first with Martin Logan SL3's and then with Audio Physic Avant II speakers. The amp did not do well with the SL3's - too difficult a load. It did much better with the Avanti's. I moved to a tube amp (the Berning ZH270) which is substantially better (at 5x the price). If you decide on the Adcom amp, I would buy a used one and then have it modified - it will improve substantially. The GFP 750 is a very nice preamp, and a very good value, especially if you are able to get a used one. Still, for the pair, unmodified, you are probably looking at around $2k used (maybe less if you are patient). If you are going to stick with SS, I would look for a used good quality integrated amp. I have seen used Rowland Concentra's, for example sell in the mid to low $2k's, and the Music Fidelity integrated's are even less. My guess is that either of these would be at least the equal of the Adcom pre and superior to the Adcom amp.