I can pickup the Marantz pm7005 for $750- which is $250 off. How does it compare with the Yamaha AS801? I like the loudness feature of the Yamaha. But some people swear by the Marantz SQ over the Yamaha. Has anyone compared the two- just in terms of SQ (as read the specs). My speakers are somewhat sensitive - so either will likely be sufficiently power them. Thanks!
Let's put it this way, people report on forums all the time that when they switch to integrated amps or add an external amp right away they hear things they did not hear before, including wider and deeper sound stage. Those are mostly due to expectation (therefore expected) bias and/or not level matching, not the exact same setup etc.. If you happen to be in that camp, go for it. If you are in the overly objective camp who put more faith in verifiable specs/bench test results, and the blind AB comparison protocols, then you may as well keep the RX-A770, that is at least as powerful as the PM7005 if not more, for two channel use.
For $750, you can scoop up a AVR-X3400H and save almost $200, or the SR6012 (basically same on the sonic side) for a little more if you prefer the brand name, style etc. Those AVRs are more powerful than the PM7005 and are more comparable to the A-S801 but come with many useful feature such as far superior bass management, REQ, streaming, and video capabilities that could prove useful. You do have to convince yourself that they are actually stereo receivers with redundant channels, if form follows function is important to you. If you can't do that, then you back to the R-N803 or A-S801, your original wise choices.
