"There are plenty of vintage receivers from the heyday that would easily handle anything the modern speaker market has to offer."
Handle, yes. Bring out the best? Not likely, though some vintage receivers might do quite well with most any modern speaker.
Amplification has come a long way since the heyday of vintage receivers to enable the most out of many modern speakers.
Most receivers, and even many or most integrated, vintage or modern, do not have robust enough power supplies and current delivery capabilities to bring out the best in most (not all) modern speakers.
In general, they will work best with monitors or other designs that do not go much lower than 50-60 hz. Power and current delivery becomes a much more significant factor if attempting to deliver the lowest frequencies with speakers designed to be run of most SS amplification gear.
Handle, yes. Bring out the best? Not likely, though some vintage receivers might do quite well with most any modern speaker.
Amplification has come a long way since the heyday of vintage receivers to enable the most out of many modern speakers.
Most receivers, and even many or most integrated, vintage or modern, do not have robust enough power supplies and current delivery capabilities to bring out the best in most (not all) modern speakers.
In general, they will work best with monitors or other designs that do not go much lower than 50-60 hz. Power and current delivery becomes a much more significant factor if attempting to deliver the lowest frequencies with speakers designed to be run of most SS amplification gear.