I listen to 2 channel music. In the late '70's I had a Pioneer SX 780 receiver and Bose 901's. A friend had 901's and a Mac 1700 receiver, a solid state/tube hybrid. Both receivers had the same power rating. He haltingly admitted my 780 sounded warmer, better. I'd still have it but it was lost to burglary. Years pass....Unhappy with newer offerings, after cycling through a string of speakers and power sources, I turned back the clock. I picked up AR 10pi's and drove them with an HK AV + 70 wpc in two channel. The result was... uninspired, dull sound, I can do better. Back to older Pioneer. I bought 2 Pioneer silver face integrated amps and I was happy with both. Recently, while surfing EBAY, I saw a Pioneer VSX D1S black face AV receiver. Black face is no silver face....But on a whim, I looked at the specs--130 wpc, 0.005 THD. In 1990 it sold for about $1,400. At the EBAY $100, why not? Although it is not one of the cherished silver faced amps, the D1S has become my 10pi driver. I can't imagine them sounding better. D1S's currently sell for peanuts on EBAY because its 5.1 electronics are considered obsolete and inferior to current AV receivers. And it is a dreaded black face model. But turn it into a two channel receiver, and it is an absolutely clear and smooth sounding behemoth. How good is it? My highest praise: as folks do with silver faced Pioneers, if it dies, I'll gladly pay to get it fixed.
