Marantz has a better reputation for sound than Onkyo's Integra line, but it probably won't make much of a difference. Note that Denon and Marantz are built by the same company with similar standards and parts.
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I agree with Seth=L particularly when it comes to his take on NAD and what some A/V dealers motivations are for recommending a product. Personally, I refuse to stock anything but wire & remotes and keep strong ties to the reps in my area so that I can always recommend the right product for my client’s application and not feel forced to sell through inventory. Most people don’t mind waiting an extra day or two as long as they are getting the best product for their needs.
I must beg to differ on the Marantz and Denon sharing parts statement. Are they owned by the same company? Yes. D&M Holdings just recently bought Marantz. D&M also owns Boston Acoustics. Marantz has a completely different set of engineers designing their product than the Denon line and are not essentially the same thing with the same parts. While this may or may not stay the same into the future, D&M Holdings is decidedly treating the two companies as separate with Marantz typically commanding a higher price point (to an extent) if you were to match feature to feature particularly on the video processing end of things. If there is evidence of significant parts sharing, please provide a link as I would be extremely eager to learn about such happenings.
Durability wise, I would highly recommend the Marantz product, however I can understand your balk because of your past experience. If it’s any comfort, Marantz carries a three year warranty where as most receiver brands are going to give you two years.
