Hi there,
I own some 70's stuff as well a a Elite set..
I have the 5590/PL-570x/HPM-150 setup and the SA-9900/CT-F1000/TX-9800/PL-71/HPM-100 setup from the 70's, and a M-90/C-90/PD-91/DSS-9 setup from the eighties.
My conclusion is that all this stuff sounds very, very sweet. I prefer the elite set a bit more; the sound is a bit more detailed and sharp. It gives more contrast namely in the mid and high tones, but this also has to do alot with the speakers alone ofcourse.. I have to say that my 5590(black SX-1250) sound great on most decent to good speakers, I listened to it once connected to some electrostats in combination with some converted tube cd-player, and boy did she sounded great!!. The tuner section of this receiver is also very good, great signal pick up, and once revised very good soud as well..
You should consider the fact that most of the stuff from the 70's will need a good renovation before functioning up to spec again, or at least, this is my expierence. Most of the stuff will work fine also without doing this, but still there will be big difference in sound quality once the units, are cleaned, adjusted, and had (at least) some cap replacement.. The Elite sets I own is functioning great, I did had to replace some relais in the preamp, but this was not to much of a job... Ofcourse, here one can also consider a cap replacement, since it is already 20 years old, some caps might be dried out..
To conclude; eventually you won't go wrong with either, considering you will own some great pieces of audio either way.. It depends also on which looks you like more I think... I like both
...
Have fun with the search!!
Best regards,
Willem
