What's the best receiver you ever heard?

Some of the best audio gear i've ever heard came from Sansui, one of my favorites from them is the AU-X1. The later "Decade" models are very interesting as well.
 
I've had the following

SX-1250 powerful musical but the best ? No

2325 powerful and mid bass silk/thump musical ,you bet and powerful the best? No

Kenwood 9600 awesome receiver . Died too soon however to give a real real review but for what speakers it was hooked up to at the time before death . Fantastic! The best? Maybe

Luxman R-117 and here is where I'll park my speakers . Musical,wide soundstage . Mid bass bottom bass slam live feel that will crack your backbone using speakers with slam . My opinion of course but if I had the kenwwod 9600 working and had to make a decision ? Honestly I would find room for both . Held at gunpoint? take the kenwood
 
For me, the McIntosh MAC 1700 or MAC 4100 are on my wish list. On Sansui, the 4000 and 5000 for me are their best (the former I own). I would put the Sony STR 6120 as their best ever, those models I rate as best sounding receivers ever.
 
Marantz 2325, decent power but no speed, good tuner. Too muddy and sluggish fro my taste even after restoration, the Marantz "warm" sound I suspect. Bass-heads and rockers seem to love these.
Pioneer SX-1250 great sounding, excellent bass and quick, excellent tuner and excellent power for 8ohm or 4ohm loads.
Marantz 2285, best sounding amp and pre of the three IMO, detailed, tight, nice accurate unit. Mediocre tuner however, and not enough power for all of my needs.
My Sansui 5000 was too noisy to consider (unrestored), Onkyo/Adcom/other Pioneer/Sherwood not really the same league. The 2325 I included regardless of my dislike for it simply because it's mentioned often, but I feel strongly that the house sound is a matter of preference.

Out of these would choose to keep the SX-1250. It is very close to if not as good a detailed amp/preamp compared to the 2285, but has a better tuner, and its higher power (and 4ohm tolerance) makes it so much more versatile for most any speaker and listening to most any source.

I do prefer separates personally, where my Japanese stuff can't compete, and none of the above have a 2nd phono in (nor cartridge matching) which would be a disadvantage if I spun lots of vinyl.
 
Marantz 2500 now that it's fully restored. Sweet, powerful and clean. Absolute pleasure to listen to.
Runner up
Sony STR 7055/45. Music is well rounded, full and laid back without being muddy. A very musical receiver. It's bested the Realistic 2100, Denon 3803, Yamaha rx-777.
 
KR-9600, however the only non-Kenwood I own is a Marantz 2215B The big Kenny has a slight power advantage.
 
My very first was a new Pioneer SX-1250. I had no complaints. Went to separates about 10 years later. Had some Kenwood receivers that were very good, still keeping 2 of those. Had a few Marantz receivers, same quality as Kenwood and Pioneer. I would say that there might not be a "best" receiver, because age will change the character of the older receivers, and they will need serviced to sound their best. And the speakers used will make a huge difference, the speakers will need to be matched up to the receiver.
 
I could be happy with nearly any of the receivers that I have at present.
I have the most money tied up in a Pioneer SX-950 (approaching $200), and the least invested ($0, a gift) in an Onkyo TX-3000. The character and quality of sound between them are comparable.
My Sansui 771 is the prettiest and plenty powerful.
The little Sherwood S7100-A sounds as good as anything else in the house at socially responsible volume levels.
My Pioneer SX-1000TW feels like it is build of billet, sounds great as well.

As receivers, the SX-1000TW, the Onkyo, Sherwood, and the 771 are set up and running because their tuners are all in good shape.
In my experience it is easier to find a receiver with a good-sounding amp than a good-sounding tuner.
 
So far my Nad 705 is the best I've heard followed closely by my Pioneer SX-737 which is pretty much on par with my Sherwood S-8910 followed by my Yamaha CR-620 and then CR-600, after that Technics SA-400. One thing I will say is that lower end vintage receivers aren't very detailed and very muffled sounding. Not to offend anyone.
 
As receivers, the SX-1000TW, the Onkyo, Sherwood, and the 771 are set up and running because their tuners are all in good shape.
In my experience it is easier to find a receiver with a good-sounding amp than a good-sounding tuner.

Ain't that the truth! I have three systems with flaky tuners.

1) Marantz 4270 - tuner drifts as unit warms up. This is after a rebuilt MPX board and an alignment.
2) Dynaco FM-5 - same as Marantz
3) Pilot 654 - just garbage reception. Has been worked on a few times. MPX works great but FM front end not so much

don't know why it's always the FM tuner... maybe because it's the most complex part of a system?
 
Yep. My 771 was a bit wonky, but was helped a lot by a recap/re-xistor that included the tuner boards.
Same story for the 950.
I have a Realistic STA-90 whose amp sounds as good as you could want, but its tuner is still whacked after a rebuild.
I see no signs of damage or repair, so I probably missed a bad diode or resistor on the tuner board somewhere.
It could also be one of the ICs.

As to Eastham's comment above about lower-end receivers, I do not know that such a generalization is valid.
I am not offended. My experiences simply differ.

I had a near-BOTL Realistic receiver, an STA-430, whose amplifier was a thing of beauty.
I gave the thing to the son of a friend, who has been running it for a year.
I asked the kid if he wanted an upgrade from his 10W/ch unit to a very nice Pioneer SX-636 (I have too much stuff).
He is not even interested.
I don't blame him.
It's that good.

Like the units above, the 430's tuner is not right.
But the kid just spins vinyl.
For that purpose it is excellent.
 
As to Eastham's comment above about lower-end receivers, I do not know that such a generalization is valid.
I am not offended. My experiences simply differ.

I'll admit, I was being a bit harsh with my genralizeation that all lower end receivers aren't very detailed.
 
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