Looking for processor recomendations

Hey, you could be right on that one. Go for it if those ever-changing video related specs are up-to-date enough for you (and you've given careful consideration to who you may be trying to sell it to down the line, given the manufacturer-forced upgraditis that shapes this part of the market: my Denon 2930ci wuz ~$1500... sold to me, barely used, in mint condition for $225 delivered. Kinda scary, really).

That is a great buy on the Cary 11a. I had it narrowed down to the Cary 11a or the Anthem D2. I think you will be happy with either one. Try the Cary before you buy if possible, it's supposed to be buggy. But at that price you may be able to live with it.

I secured a new Cary 11a one for 2k USD...silver faceplate to match my older cinema 7 amp. At this price, I can live with paying the extra 500 bucks over the feature laden Marantz. Also, found out from Cary that for 595, the software and hardware can be upgraded to support 3D and hdmi 1.4...which in this market will make it future proof for about 2 weeks...

Some posters have claimed the Cary upgrade has cured a few bugs as well. When I was doing my internet research before buying a month old 11a, I got the distinct impression that the sound quality of the Anthem D2 wasn't quite up to that of the 11a, and that I would need to step up to a Classe 800 at about $8K. The biggest complaint with the 11a was that the automated room correction S/W on the chip Cary uses isn't accurate, and indeed the Cary manual recommends using a tape measure and SPL meter.

db

Thanks for the response DB.

I also have the feeling that at the price point we got the units for, the sound is hard to beat. I don't think the Marantz is near it's equal, though I may be wrong.

I will only use it for 2 channel, home theatre and digital cable. No gaming. I think it should have enough capability for my needs.