There is no such thing as the PERFECT receiver. Even those "commercial" rigs with pricetags that make your eyes bleed will have something you may not love. Yup, the Drake units are, and have always been HOT. I've always liked the old boat anchor, hernia causing, Hammarlund rigs for rock solid stability and enjoyment as well. For a new receiver, the ICOM R-75 is, in my humble (or not) opinion, the best bang for the buck. Use the rest of your hard-earned sheckels to put together a top-flight antenna. There's an old adage, "You can't work em if you can't hear em." Put up the best set of ears that your budget and geography will permit and you get the most fun in the hobby. A crummy antenna and cable can make the big$ eye-bleeder sound like a 79 dollar blue-light special at K-Mart. A nice set of cans and a good external speaker can also add to the comfort factor and does not require a second mortgage. You can do the whole thing on $ 800 and be in the hobby for the long run. Of course, as Warren said, the more stuff that you can jam into the rice box always has trade-offs too. See comment one above. Find a a local ham shop (like HRO or similar) joint with a show room. Just go down there and play with the toys, ask questions, get some answers, and you may find what you like.
