Do receivers really count as high end audio?
Certainly not less "high end" that an alleged high end amplifier in a non treated and uncontrolled room for me...
Acoustic trump any design of a singular piece of gear in S.Q. improvement /price tag RATIO...
High quality sound means more than just a high-end quality design of an amplifier .... No ?
They are not EQUAL expression and equal realities, save perhaps modulo acoustic methods...
To sound good something MUST be well embedded in his working dimensions: mechanical,electrical, and especially acoustical...
Then owning a very good receiver does not means a low sound quality "de facto"...
But a good receiver comparable to a good amplifier are not so much numerous indeed...
The very good Kenwood receiver i one times own was inferior to my Sansui amplifier on all counts...
But i never compared them in a well controlled environment for sure... It is my deduction...