I had a 8801 then a 8802 and never liked my dac going through it even in pure direct. Always went dac direct to amp. I now have the av8805 and it is much better as a preamp. I can use it in pure direct and not miss much. Direct to amp still sounds better but the marantz is now good enough I usually dont.
Anybody else using AV880x as 2 channel preamp?
I am, and I’m happy. I had been using my Cambridge 851N as a digital preamp, streamer, and DAC for my Marantz SA8004. I wanted to add a tv to the mix, and found a Marantz AV8801 at a good price. I’m using it as a 2 channel preamp and it sounds (slightly) better than the Cambridge. Anybody else using a multi channel AV processor for two channel and liking it?