yogiboy,
Good question!
I've had good experiences buying nearly top shelf items of that era paying between 1/10 and 1/4 of the MSRP (back then) and it's still recent enough not to need a complete overhaul.
For years I've used vintage components that I rehabbed myself but I'm looking to get more recent.
I'll be 60 next summer and getting into the home stretch till retirement so I'm trying to be frugal. I don't mind taking a risk on older components if I can get them at a good price because I've already done a good deal of electrical repair.
I definitely want components made either in US, Canada, or Japan. That leaves a lot of the newer items out.
However, I just checked and see Van Alstine is made in the US, so thanks for the tip.