home theater processor suggestions?

Pioneer Elite has the reputation of being bright, but that may come from the power amps. Marantz typically is a more balanced sound. But again it depends on the pre-amp section of the Pioneer. You'll probably hear more of a difference with 2 channel music than with movies. I would use that as a comparison, even if you primarily use the system for movies. The room correction may also make a difference. Good luck.

Johnnyb53 - I use 2 Yamaha receivers as pre-amps. They are both noted for running hot as receivers, but as pre-amps, they run very cool. That begs the question as to how much influence the power amps and transformers have on the sound when using the pre-outs. I agree with you in principle, but I think it really depends on how the power sections work when using pre-outs. My guess is that the design of the pre-amp sections and the room correction will be more important than the power amps on the Pioneer. But, I am not sure you can really tell the effect of the power amps, unless the Pioneer outperforms the Marantz, which would be a real surprise.

Kennyt - can you give some more details? My limited experience (Yamaha) is that room correction is applied to the pre-outs. I believe that typically the pre-outs are just the signal that goes to the on-board amps.