I have been down this road myself. I really wanted an old vintage Sansui or Pioneer, i looked for a long time and never found one in my price range. I bought a Nakamichi TA-2A and man let me tell ya for the money they are tough to beat. They dont have the coolness factor of the good ole days pioneer or sansui's but awesome sound and value for the money. I ended up with a dynaco ST 70 and what you have been reading is true once you go to tubes its tough to go back to solid state. I had an MC 2105 and loved it as well.