Marantz SR8002 as PRE & B&K REF 200.7

The B&K will be an improvement but to get the biggest change for the dollar it is important to know the sound of your speakers, room, and everything else.

This is best done by working with a dealer that will let you borrow the equipment of is very good at matching.

I don't know your speakers but if you are looking for a warmer, richer sound overall, the B&K won't help much. If you want clearer and more dynamic sound then it will.

Marantz(warmish) + B&K(neutralish) = sweet sound. I know with Klipsch speakers, Marantz/B&K combo mates very well.

Bill

Marantz is not warm unless you compare it to Yamaha. It is neutral. The B&K is slightly bright and grainy but not extreme. Rotel would be a little warmer and Parasound much warmer.

Everything is based on perspective. Klipsch are extremely bright and harsh so to Willand it does make Marantz seem warm.

Has anyone experienced the Aragon 2005 200W * 5 channel amp. It seems to have good reviews but is no longer in the market as Klipsch does not manufacture the original.

The Aragon is clean and punchy but has a metallic sheen over the treble. This is only a problem with bright speakers or speakers with metal dome tweeters.

It does sound better left on all the time.

Both Marantz and B&K have been described numerously as sounding warm to neutral. With Klipsch speakers, which can tend to be harsh or bright, both my B&K and Marantz really tame that brightness while maintaining plenty of punch and seperation.

Bill

I have a similar setup. I'm running the Marantz SR8002 as a processor and to drive my center and surround speakers. I use a B&K Reference 200.2 to run the front speakers. My speakers are Martin Logan Vista for the fronts, Motif for the center, the surrounds are Vignettes, and a Grotto sub. The Marantz does not run the 4 ohm Vista speakers well. The B&K amp sound is warm and has solid bass on the Vistas, and it can play the Vistas very loud. I wanted to improve my two channel music playback by adding the amp and the B&K achieved some big improvements. I don't know if you would get much benefit out of the multi-channel B&K to run home theater playback. The Marantz is actually really good at home theater.