Heard/Saw the Marantz AV8003 processor today

[Mr Peabody]

I don't know, you got the Marantz about the same time. The MM8003 is a nice amp and the combo is hard to beat for the price.

[esmurrell]

I have had my AV8003 MM8003 combo for a couple of weeks now. It replaced an NAD S170i, S250 combo. From my perspective, the Marantz pair had large shoes to fill as I enjoyed the huge soundstage the NAD pair was able to generate. I can say with all honesty that the Marantz pair is up to the task. One of the biggest concerns I have with this processor is that it's the first I've had to read the manual before understanding how to properly operate it. Especially with the remote. In any event, I'm fully up to speed now and couldn't be more pleased. Most of my enjoyment is centered around music and I'm very happy. I listen to many SACD's and they sound glorious through this system. When doing a head to head comparison against the likes of the NAD pair, a Primare combo or the like you will find the audio portion is in the same ballpark but it will more than likely not be a no-brainer. I purchased the set because I wanted access to the HD audio decoding and also got a simplified cabling plan as an added bonus. I'm happy with the overall sound and watching HD movies is a real treat.

System:

AV8003 Pre-processor
MM8003 Multi-channel amp
DV9600 Universal player

Toshiba HD-A35 HDDVD (I know the format is dead but the player works great)
Motorola 2-tuner HD Cable receiver
Jamo speakers
Mitsubishi 55" TV (old style big screen)
RGPC 600 S - Power conditioner (Richard Gray)

Kimber PBJ interconnects