Most Beautiful Receiver / Integrated - Ever was... ?

Yes, indeed. Except for the headphone amp, everything that comes out of Pass is gorgeous to look at.

The MBL C51 is super nice, so nice that the knob looks almost out of place.

Yeah, I wish Kyocera was still making gear.

Best,

E

I think current minimalist integrated amps are pretty sexy.

I love the look of the Pass Labs INT-250 and INT-60 integrateds:
https://www.passlabs.com/gallery/12#lg=1&slide=5
https://www.passlabs.com/gallery/12#lg=1&slide=3
https://www.passlabs.com/gallery/12#lg=1&slide=9

And the MBL integrated amps are flat out gorgeous:
http://www.mbl-northamerica.com/mbl-c51/
http://www.mbl-northamerica.com/n51-integrated-amplifier/

I owned a Yamaha CR620 receiver for 35 years, purchased circa 1977. It was a pretty nice receiver for modest $$. (It's still making music BTW.) Back in the 60s and 70s, what I truly I coveted was an upper end Marantz or Luxman receiver - much prettier and better sounding, but they were out of my reach. I do now finally have a Marantz integrated, the PM8004, and enjoy its clean, slightly retro look. The pic is shows a PM8005 in silver, which I think is sexier than the black:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxXctIk3zh4

My vote will have to go to the Technics SE-A5 and its later siblings the SE-A1000, SE-A5000 etc. This 35-year old design is just about as fresh today as it was when tit came out in the early 80’s.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48136705@N05/14254248282/in/photostream/

So much great looking audio gear and everyone has their favorite.  Since my first receiver was a HK 330C, I tend to really like that series like the 430 & 730 with the dual transformers.  The Yamahas were also beautiful receivers too.  Nothing against Pioneer, Sansui, Marantz, or Tandberg, etc they all look great!  If I had won the big PA lottery (like 550 million), I'd buy a bunch of gear and a building and make an audio equipment museum.  One room just for receivers.  

It's still my first love, my Yamaha CA-600

From the early 80's the Harmon Kardon stack. Featuring the spage age looking 775, "Ultra High Dynamic Range" mono blocks with the "I believe" first ever digital metering and shot beaded stainless finish. Even the tuner had a digital display that all ahh'd and ooh'd over. All components the exact same size. With the tiny "compared to ANY other" amp's back in the day. They were truly ahead of their time. Alas, I finally sold mine a few months ago.
     And maybe it's a stretch but I think the Onkyo M-508 Grand Integra with it's separate channel volume pots should qualify as an receiver/integrated amp. Sitting in the dark, listening.....and watching those gargantuan green ghost meters. Those were the day's that still are for me!

Marantz 4400 4 chanell receiver with it's scope. amazing to look at in the dark!!

Kyoccera, was pretty cool looking stuff at the time. If I am correct they were the first company to use mosfets and advertise them as tube-like.

I always cared more about sound than looks, and my systems tend to be ugly, bare tubes, rusty transformer covers and wires all over the place. But appearances are important, especially where user interfacing occurs or if there's a wife or girlfriend involved.

So I'll have to vote for the Marantz integrateds, like the 1030, or the Hong-Kong built Tandberg 3030 receiver, if you like lots of knobs and switches. I have one of these in my bedroom. These are much nicer than the more popular models with the blue lights.

However, if you're willing to expand the OP and include separates, nothing but nothing beats a Pye Mozart set.

http://umeya.bz/php/vintageaudio/pict.php?pic=manager/upfile/65_549444feeed1b2.jpg

@bobheinatz

Totally with you there. :)

I am giving up being fuzzy and mixing and matching for the sake of minimum cables/clutter and maximum system simplicity.

Hard to do with a mixed music/movie system, but I'm trying.

E

I had a Sherwood receiver back in the early 70's.  Nice walnut case and sounded really good.  Why didn't I just keep that simple system?

My Sansui 9090db gets more open jaw  looks than anything I've ever owned.  Its pretty no doubt.  
I always loved the look of the Pioneer SX 1150/1250 receivers.  Had both for a while.  The build quality was stellar!  
And yes... Marrantz 2270 is killer... But really weren't all the receivers from this period?  I can't really think of any that were bone ugly. 

N.

in newer gear:

Pathos Acoustics ... integrateds from the little Remix on up ...

Magnum Dynalab ... receivers and integrateds

marantz 4400 with it's scope.

I forgot about the Sansui G-9000 as well 

For me it’s the
McIntosh MA7000
pioneer sx-1080 SX-1980
marantz 2265 2285a
Sansui AU20000
Yamaha CR-1020
Kenwood Eleven III
Sanyo DCX3000K

I had a Carver MXR-130 for almost 30 years. 

https://picclick.com/Carver-Mxr-130-Receiver-352030067986.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ_r97REQ7o

@whitecap - Not sure I would call the SX1980 the most beautiful receiver ever, but it is certainly one of the most impressive looking receivers. From the time when "Nothing Exceeds like Excess". Would love to have one, but the price has gotten WAY out of hand.....

Got the JBLs stateside originally came home with Sansui speakers and now have Magico go figure. Its a great hobby however i still love live music  Just saw David Allen Coe last night he is still great at 78 yrs old.Be well brother Schubert.

They didn't sell them to us Infantrymen .

Sansui was way cool had one i got in Viet Nam with JBL 88s lets rock out dude!!!!!!

Best looking receiver?  Pioneer SX1980.  Hands down.  

On looks (build quality is also amazing, feature set is complete and sonic abilities are great) this unit does it me, and is my current integrated. I consider myself a lucky guy. Just beautiful, and symbolizes for me the meaning of "back to having fun with music and audio gear’’, with a retro twist. After 30+ years of boutique, one-knob amps, preamps and integrateds (most pretty high quality, ss and tubes), this integrated is part Wurlitzer jukebox and part Jaguar E-Type  rolled into one to get your heart racing. And the return of true quality tone controls is heaven-sent.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=yamaha+a+s-3000&client=safari&hl=fr-ca&prmd=ismvn&sou...:

I still listen to Classical music 5-6 hours a day 24/7/365 .

If  i'm sitting there listening to beauty I damn sure ain't going to be looking at ugly !

I lusted after Mac and many of the Samsun and Marantz stuff for years. But for real beauty, I had an Olsen tuner and an amp. This was all my parents would let me spend. They did have the thinnest wood cabinetry I have ever seen. Had to use them until I built a Dynaco SCA80Q at college, and then moved up. No money then but all the time, all the money now but no time.

This thread makes me realize what really tremendous equipment has been built over the years. How did we all decide which to use....a question probably at the heart of any audiophile disagreements, i.e. Why did you chose a component, and, be honest, how much did the look and not the sound influence your choice.

Erik I loved the rosewood encased TR2075 and TR2080,I owned a Yamaha CR1020 but I wanted a 2020 love that slide rule dial pointer.

In the early 70s I owned the Kenwood stack. Many a night were spent with friends gazing at the KC-6060's scope show with the Grateful Dead and Fever Tree. 
I found a set here:
http://davidguilbault.typepad.com/AudioKarmaPhotos/KS2.jpg 
but the photo doesn't do it justice. 
The brass was much more Marantz 22 series tone. I'd buy that tuner again!

I loved the looks and sound of the Tandberg 2080 receiver I owned for a long time, sold it to a musician who appreciated it's "warm" sound.

In 1979 my wife and I took a Scandanavian vacation, with a visit to the Tandberg factory.  Some of the nicest people you'd ever meet.

No way, I think the Densen Beat looks way cooler than the Primare, just my opinon. The Copland’s look pretty awesome too:

https://www.google.com/search?q=copland+integrated+amp&espv=2&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=...:

2channel8:

My mistake. I misread and got confused by the test reports calling the performance "closer to the Hypex UcD modules"

Interesting that Hi Fi News seems to be paying close attention to the performance of different digital amp modules. I should subscribe.

Best,

E

Eric and other interested parties, I don’t think it really uses Hypex modules. If I understand Primare uses (or claims to use) proprietary UFPD modules that the reviewer feels sound more similar to Hypex than ICE.

They have now developed an UFPD 2 and will release an I35.
https://www.whathifi.com/news/primare-launches-i15-i35-amps-and-cd35-player
RE: the turntable thread, I thought you were an Oracle owner?

Thanks for that link 2Channel!

Interesting it uses Hypex modules. :)

Best,

E

Hi 2Channel8,

I will leave that to a turntable person, which I am not. :) I don't think you have to be well known to start a fun thread, just do it in the spirit of engaging rather than criticizing and I think you'll succeed.

Find a key aspect about them you love like say, 1980's turntables, or P-mounted or something and others will join in.

Good luck!

E

We/you should start one of these for turntables. I would; but I am not well known and get very few replies to threads I start.

Eric, RE: the Primare, I think this review says it best and relates it to some peers. I picked it over the Belles Aria, though it was almost a tie, and a Creek Classic 5350SE.

http://www.primare.net/assets/_managed/products/files/I32HiFiNews611UK.pdf

George,

WHICH Tandberg series though, there were 3 that I know of. The svelte black and chrome line is what I fell in love with.

Best,

E

To me there was never a question about beauty,it has to go to the Tandberg receivers with the green dialed Yamaha receivers second

Hands down B&O Beomaster 8000.

Didn't realize this thread also included integrated amps, just thought it was about most beautiful receivers.

So how bout that old Ensemble B50 tiger?https://www.google.com/search?q=ensemble+b50+tiger&espv=2&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ...:

or this one:
https://www.google.com/search?q=densen+beat+100&espv=2&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&am...:

Hello all,
    What an enjoyable thread! I bought a restored Sansui 9090 and a pair of Wharfdale Dentons for our new bar that we installed in our cafe/restaurant last year. The sound is great, especially for a commercial environment, but it's a great conversation piece too. So many guys (just an observation, women rarely comment on it) wax poetic about their fabled systems of old. Being the advocate that I am, I'm always seeking to spread the enjoyment of our hobby to others.
    I had no complaints about the punchy sound of my Calyx Audio integrated, but when an Acuphase E-470 came up for sale here I had to have it. Beautiful design, perfect in construction, sublime sound.
~Oran,
 KD8ZGS

That Sansui 9090DB is beautiful. The Japanese receivers of that era had such elegant design.

Milty1966, thanks for your comment, with which I agree (although the distinction between a contraction and a portmanteau can sometimes be a bit blurry). And in fact I was thinking about that very question when I submitted my post, but I chose to use the term contraction because it is more widely recognizable.

I'll mention also that one reason I made that comment was to emphasize that the name is spelled differently than the word "spartan," which was the spelling that had been used in some of the other posts. 

Best regards,
-- Al

almarg,

The proper term to describe Sparton = Sparks Withington is not contraction but portmanteau, the most recognizable of which is the term spork, for spoon/fork. Sorry. Can’t help myself.

I personally love the Sansui 9090DB, to me it just looks perfect and seems to everything just right. 
The fit and finish is first rate..timeless. 

I of course also love the Pioneer SX1250.

 As for integrated, the McIntosh MA6100 is just about perfect.

N. 

McIntosh MA230

I admire the minimalistic look of NAIM, especially the Supernait integrated amp looks great and sounds amazing:

https://www.google.de/amp/s/andreweverard.com/2013/08/21/naim-supernait-2-proving-that-less-is-more/...

My dad had a Mac 1900 in the early 70's hooked up to Klipsch Cornwalls. Man that system could rock. Probably what got me interested in audio ha ha

McIntosh MAC4100

My first stereo was a new AR receiver and a pair  of 4a's? I thought the receiver was quite elegant at the time and $425 in 1969

I do like the way Primare and other modern systems look.

Any idea how they sound?