AV Processor Conundrum

I have a marantz 7706 with a monoprice monolith 7ch x 200 amp -- and they sound great together -- No its not a McIntosh or Mark Levinson experience... and -  

I know monolith is not the usual name that comes up here among the flexers in AG that spend $200k on a 2ch system... but ...  

For what the system is -- it sounds much better than you would expect it to -- given that it isn't a high - end consideration. 

I have always been a fan of Marantz, but others are great too -- I have had anthem, nad, rotel etc... and they are all great --

I gave the monoprice monolith amps a good go - because I bought two of them - and i use one for outdoor and other in ceiling speakers - and I liked the amp so much I bought it to replace an amp I was using with my 7706.  Just a quick fact -- monolith amps are designed and produced by ATI. They are no slouch of a mfr.

Just my 2 cents.

Zagorski. I would stick with the 7706. The 8805 has more bells and whistles, and maybe some better parts, but I don't think you could tell the difference. I am a big believer in sticking with the same platform- it eliminates the learning curve. 

If you are a penny pincher, consider a used Marantz receiver and use the pre outs if you want to use an amp- that's how I run my rig. Marantz SR7012 and a Simaudio Titan 5 channel amp. I use the Marantz to run the Atmos speakers. It sounds great, and was hundreds cheaper than a processor. David

Grab the Cinema 70 at Accessories 4 Less for $800. That is my plan for my upgrade from a Marantz 7005.

Redwoodzz; I've owned a Marantz Slim Receiver. They are nice and compact. The model I had only had pre outs for FLFR and SW. These offer PreOut for all speakers and two subs. Nice.