Marantz vs. Arcam

I have a Marantz Cinema 60 and normally I use HT bypass on my preamp for music. I tried the Cinema 60 for the first time with music (2ch) the other day as a preamp (Mc462 as amp) with no room correction. It honestly seemed fine. I did feel like the soundstage was an hair less but not positive.the channel separation on my 60 is not as good as the AV10.  
 

If I walked out of the room and back in I am not sure I could pass a blind test. It has made me wonder if an AV10 could work as an all in one unit for me. I like to manage my subs and have been thinking about doing this differently lately.

so I think if you are not super pick an AVR could work. A few times I bought other brands instead of Marantz and always regretted it and went back to Marantz.

the “Marantz” sound is in the DAC filter. It starts rolling off at 12k and is down 0.5db at 15k and 2.5db at 20k. On the higher end models you can turn the filter off and choose “filter #2” which is totally flat.

Measurements of the AV10 here.

I too have been thinking about using powered surrounds and height speakers (708p all around with my 4367s as mains)…. Only money right lol. 
 

For what it is worth I have owned integra, onkyo, denon, Sony, and Marantz. below is are short comments on what I thought of them. I don’t remember the models but these are all mid/low priced models around $1000. 
 

Integra: worst sounding electronic I have ever heard. Thin and lacked dynamics. worked fine. Was easy enough to use. 
 

Denon: sounded fine in pure direct but with the processor on it was muted and dull… like throwing a heavy blanket over the speaker. 
 

Sony: sound was meh but fine I guess. Really hard to use and setup. I hated the interface and gave it away to my father in law. 
 

marantz: sounds pretty good for music. Kind of like mcintosh in a way. Not amazing at anything but solid with a full sound. not sure it would be good enough for the purist 2ch crowd but better than you might expect. By form somewhere you can return it if you are not sure. 
 

I can’t tell the difference between pure direct or with the many EQ engaged (I do not use the room correction). Both sound totally fine. For home theater it is really great. I use it to power my 4 rears (no my mains) and it can be played very loud (I mean loud) and never break up or sound harsh. Setup is super easy with simple and easier to use on screen display. it is probably the only brand I will buy for HT going forward. McIntosh HT processor board are made my Marantz. McIntosh then adds their own input and output stage. 
 

I hear anthem is just as good while maybe night quite as stable in its firmware.