Pioneer. Hands down. Followed closely by Marantz. None were bad, but they all have their house sound and therefore all have their own adherents. But the integrity of the Marantz VR's and circuit boards (just one aspect) never seemed to hold up in terms of age compared to the classic Pioneers. It might mean that there are fewer mint surviving examples of the Marantz TOTL's surviving and therefore might be driving the prices up. But in my experience Pioneer carried the day. At that time, they were their own "shop" and not bought and sold over and over. (Yet...) ymmv....
Marantz vs. Pioneer Receivers
WOULD LIKE THE INPUT OF ANYONE WHO OWNS OR HAVE HAD REAL EXPERIENCE WITH VINTAGE MARANTZ AND PIONEER RECEIVERS, I.E. MARANTZ 2285 VS PIONEER SX-1050 OR MARANTZ 2325 VS PIONEER SX-1250/1980. ASIDE FROM THE POWER DIFFERENCES, WHICH OF THESE RECEIVERS IS THE MORE MUSICAL. THANKS TO ALL THAT RESPOND.