How big is your room, and what type of speakers do you have? Room treatments?

If it is a good deal and you have the cash, why not play with it? This can be part of the fun in this hobby. You can resell it later. Better yet, will he let you borrow it for a few days?

Listen. Any 30 year-old solid state amp would probably need to be recapped and gone through to assure maximum performance. Does it have an FM section? That would be a plus. A phono? That, too would be worthwhile.

I use a classic Marantz 2226B silver face receiver that everything I have passes through. I benefit from the tone controls for poorly recorded material and the tinny TV audio signal. I use the phono section for records. I even have a 3.5 mm jack for iPhone audio that runs through the tape 1 input.

If I were you I would obtain an old receiver that has a good phono section, have it reworked and use it with your setup. Feel free to send me a personal message if you want to discuss this further.