Which is better.

@ishkabibil - The emotiva looks like a good unit. For $600.00, it is a bit of a stretch budget wise, but that isnt a bad stretch. Like the old saying goes, if you have to ask, you cant afford it.

@clearthink - perhaps you should troll elsewhere. People here have a better appreciation for reasonable requests for comment/opinions. Yours are along the lines of someone who is just being a child and acting out.

@stereo5 -The unit display can be dimmed at the remote. There are 4 brightness settings accessible from the remote (although it is a reasonable nit to have the light intensity available from the front panel and not just the remote)

@big_greg - I ended up going with the Emotiva becuase the Marantz unit would take as long as 2-3 months to arrive from Japan (this covid crap has disrupted supply chains all around the world and has shipping stuck offshore in perhaps the worlds longest queue). I received mine on Friday and have enjoyed it greatly! The sound is amazing and has brought a nuance to many of my favorite pieces (Rippingtons - Black Diamond/Moon Lighting, Dave Grusin - Migration/CInemagic, Miles Davis Pieces of Spain/Bitches Brew, Holst - The Planets)
The dealer I purchased the Emotiva from gave me a price break of $50.00 USD. I was insistent on buying locally to help out local businesses that were being impacted by the regional shutdown of the West Coast. The owner showed me his appreciation and patience, of which I am grateful. BTW - if any one is in Portland, Home Video Library has a very good selection of Klipsch, Emotiva, Yamaha, Marantz components. Ok, shameless plug over.

The big thing I have noticed so far is a crispness of the percussive aspects of a recording. This also plays into picking up the subtle finger plucks on a guitar/harp as well as the draw of a bow across a cello/violin. Whereas with my (former) Carver unit, the plucks were present, but had a slightly muffled, almost dull quality to them. This is quite the opposite. Overall, I am very impressed with the 6 hrs I have spent with the unit.
P.S. - For those who think I am being overly critical of clearthink/millercarbon, I am 60+ years old. I deal with professional children on a daily basis at my job. I dont need to deal with them in here.

@stereo5 - crispness, imho, doesnt not mean bright. I simply noticed that there was a definite delineation among in the instruments.The light display I can sympathize with. I have seen that with some early units in Pioneer and Marantz in which the displays could burn your retinas out.