"How does a stock Marantz 8B fit in here?"
River251, I'm here for you. :-)
The 8b is good enough that I don't care about finding a better one. I originally bought it to complete my 10b/7c combo. Wasn't expecting much but got much more than I expected. It/they make beautiful music driving my Guarneri Homages.
Just make sure the 8b is in spec and paired with a compatable load.