And is absolute hogwash!
I wouldn't mind paying the extra cost so much if the pre-pro's offer SOTA performance along the lines of the best 2ch preamps.
Not that I believe much of this is audible but hell we're paying for top shelf performance already
But that would mess up it's pre-planned obsolescence chart.
So tell me, since this is a science oriented site, which of the measurements in Amir's review do you believe you could hear in a bias controled DBT of this AVR against whatever 2ch gear your running playing back a very high quality 2ch source into your speakers? There is only one that I can think of that "might" be somewhat audible, the DAC filter choice that Marantz believes is sonically the best one. But if you don't like it, Denon offers much the same product with a more usual choice.
Then when you add in the fact that all AVP-R bring DRC to the table and most 2ch gear does not, the final sound when correctly done will stomp the 2ch rig in bass smoothness.
What I do know is a fact is that a quality multich system brings so much more to the table for not only movies but the whole world of multich music, to make the best 2ch rig sound stuck in 1955. There's no doubt here, if you don't believe me ask Floyd Toole, he has some respect in the field.
Sounds like your very easily pleased.
I guess you also spend a lot of time in McDonnalds, it's cheap to eat there too.
True, but they're also designed for,
People with very large Multich systems with lots of channels.
People who can afford to trade up/replace the rig on about the same schedule as the $3k receiver. This market is rapidly changing with a obsolescence factor of 3-7 years. They all talk about upgrade-ability but then
something always comes along. LOL
In the pre-covid days, I went to the theater for sci-fi and action movies, but only when they were on the IMAX screens otherwise I can do better at home. But in reality I only use my system for watching movies maybe 10% of the time. The rest is listening to music, much of it native 4, 5.1 or Atmos mixes, the rest upsampled with one codex or the other. Most anything is better than plain ole stereo.
MAJOR Cudos to ASR for being a partial factor in the design improvements of this market segment over the last few years. It's too easy for manufacturers to get lazy when no one is watching. The resurgence of objectivity in audio is having some good effects in the industry with more to come I hope. A market willing to spend more on good engineering rather than snake-oil could have some wonderful effects!