Time to upgrade AV Receiver

And yet the word organic never appears in my post, nor do I mention not wanting to achieve the sound I want, two misses, so go away non contributing little troll, there’s no place for you here.

So....you think all the other circuitry involved is somehow organic?

I laugh at guys that would rather be "pure" then have the sound they want.

I much prefer bypassing as much sound processing as possible using “direct” / “straight” modes tbh. I’ll turn the question around, if you’re buying high end gear why would you then put the signal through such artificial circuitry vs buying components that naturally give the sound profile you want allowing you to bypass it?

Gee...if only the sound could be adjusted to be less bright....

Marantz 13.2 says make offer

https://www.ebay.com/itm/325694885188?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338381866&toolid=10001&customid=928fbd00-0d05-11ee-be9b-313062313365

Marantz, 11.2, New (open box?) 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204366416152?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338381866&toolid=10001&customid=f9feb5c2-0d05-11ee-b14a-313062313365

Marantz, NEW, make offer

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204077883846?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338381866&toolid=10001&customid=30a6197a-0d07-11ee-8dec-333535616431

Sorry I used the wrong terminology, indeed I’m looking for an AV processor. I realised this when soix pointed me to a device that had built in amplifier but the website isn’t letting me edit the title of my original post.
 

After realizing this I did start looking at the Anthem AVR line (rather then MRX), so it seems my choice is between Anthem and Marantz. Anthem seems to be overall getting better reviews and I could always tailor the sound to my liking, but Marantz might be a better match for my particular setup and the old school in me likes the idea of listening to a system without any equalizer / tonal adjustments. I think both options will be a big step forward. I’m also not planning on any more upgrades for some time other than keeping upto date every several years with av processors and video standards.

The Marantz 7705 seems very good value for money?

Curious question.  If you already have a Monolith amplifier, why are you looking for an AV "receiver"?  A preamp/processor would be better.

The Marantz processors have some of the most natural sounds since they use discrete analog output stages, but they do have a slight roll-off in the high frequencies.  This could compensate for your harsh system sound.  The used Marantz AV770x series are in your price range.

+1 soix. i've owned both anthem and arcam, as well as numerous mass market avrs and anthem sounds the most hi-fi of the bunch (although tbh some of the current denon and yamaha stuff sounds pretty good to my ears)

Anthem all day.  You can tailor the sound to your liking BTW using their excellent ARC software.  I’d note both Anthem and Yamaha have excellent reliability records where Marantz and Arcam do not, so that may be a consideration as well.  Go with Anthem — you’ll be thrilled.

Thanks guys, I'm still keeping an open mind as Anthem would still be less bright vs the Yamaha I currently have from what I can read. What about Anthem vs Arcam? I'm mainly seeing thumbs up for Anthem in this regard?

I have the Anthem..  It isn’t bright, but agree that Marantz will probably fit your taste better

Marantz definitely has the least bright sound if that’s what you’re looking for IMHO.

Hi Soix, thanks for the advice. I see the Anthem products getting lots of glowing reviews, but which would you say has a less bright sound generally between Anthem and say Marantz or Arcam?

This Anthem MRX1120 is a big step up all around and is below your budget. It also includes their excellent ARC room correction software.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225534867809

Best of luck.