Used McIntosh MX135 or Marantz 8802

I had an MX135 and it was a good piece but doesn’t decode the current DTS and Dolby surround found on Blu-ray. also pretty sure it won’t share the codec with a smart Tv. It really depends  on what your needs are.
i will tell you the new MX122 uses the 8802 as its core processor.

I used MX-135 for a while in my second system (B&W804s).
It has an excellent preamp (with Phono) that could work with any amplifier for surround system or two channel. I was told by a dealer that it uses the same circuitry of Mcintosh c46. I switched to VIVA Linea, and in term of sound quality comparison, VIVA Linea was just 5-10% superior.
As for DTS decoding on blue-ray player, it depends, is it DTS-trueHD which is lossless (and much more expensive) or just DTS-HD as lossy compression. Mx-135 has DTS-ES which could work with most Blueray players.
It has also Dolby digital and Dolby Digital EX which could work fine with most of the blue ray players too.

After all, the built-in quality and choice of internal electronic components of Mcintosh (built in US) is far superior to MArantz product(built in China).
I thought to have sold my MX-135, but buyer pulled out of the deal without paying it. It is still packed in original double boxes.

BTW, better power cord on MX-135, could greatly enhance its capability. I am not saying to use insanely expensive power cords! 

cheers...

I would not say that McIntosh is better than the Marantz here in this scenario.  I think you would really have to listen to each device to get a sense of what it sounds like. I have had the Marantz AV8804 in my system and was extremely impressed with it (for what it was).  Internally, the Marantz has excellent power supply and overall design.  The major benefit from the Marantz is individual discrete analog output stages for each channel.  The Marantz has an excellent power supply for all analog circuits.  However, it still does use a switching power supply for digital circuits.  The Marantz is voiced on the warm side, and the sound is warm and full with good impact.  If you're looking for a high resolution processor, the Marantz may be a little too warm for you (the high frequencies are somewhat rolled off).

The McIntosh is half-empty inside the chassis (the Marantz chassis is stock full of boards and there is no empty room).  This means the McIntosh uses op amp type analog stages for everything.  You are also buying the expensive glass front panel and features.  The McIntosh might have a cleaner power supply because it uses several stages of heat-sinked regulators.  McIntosh may be higher resolution than Marantz, but I have not heard one directly.

@auxinput
I did not have a chance to look inside of Marantz AV8804, and I trust you on your experience.
Regarding individual discrete analog stages comment, it depends what sort of cap or resistance they are using to make it so affordable. In this case perhaps they are suing a lot of components! Precision on caps and electronic components are immensely important. A cheap capacitor (10 cents or less vs. $40 cap!) value on Farad could vary from 20% to 50% (vs. 2%-4% on good caps!) or more and are very vulnerable toward heat variation on circuit (which makes it less durable devices!). That affects a lot the overall sound and amplification. It is also true with resistances and transistors!

In this case perhaps they are using a lot of components on AV8804! and based on its retail price, I don't think they care too much about high precision caps and resistance and transistors! That affects directly precision on sound quality like resolution, frequency balance, etc...
Obviously, using discrete component in design, avoiding PCB board, leads to a better design and much more precision. But choice of high quality elements is very crucial.

It is also true Mcintosh uses op-amp ICs, I guess they are from Texas Instruments, which has a good reputation on built-in quality.

cheers...