Did you ever use a JRC 515 rxer?
Chuck W3FJJ has either this one or a 525.
One post-Timonium party he had, I spent hours using it and it was a very nice receiver. That was the same fester that you and Dean-O the KNX did the Infamous Belly-Bump, do you remember ?
The NRD "felt" more like a gussied-up Kenwood R-1000 than a commercial rig. It was better sounding than it's main competitor at the time, the ICOM R-70, a model now seldom seen on the used market. I think its descendant, the R-71, sold better so more of them are kicking around.