PAM data transmission receivers accomplishing maximum likelihood sequence detection (MLSD) usually require a matched filter prefilter, a sampler at the symbol rate, and a Viterbi algorithm detector. When the channel is unknown or slowly changing, one must use an adaptive matched filter prefilter. We examine an alternative optimum receiver whose optimality is independent of the matched filter prefilter and which is applicable when the channel is effectively band-limited. The sampler in the proposed receiver operates at a rate faster than the data symbol rate, enabling one to replace the matched filter by a fixed low-pass filter and still ensure that the maximum likelihood detector is supplied with a set of sufficient statistics. It is shown that the matched filter is incorporated within a modified Viterbi detector without increasing the number of states in the algorithm, although the Viterbi detector must perform computations at approximately twice the usual rate. Simulations support the optimality of the new receiver and quantitatively indicate the degradation in performance experienced by some adaptive receivers previously proposed.