surround processor?

you might rethink that 100% grade, do some research on what he thinks of digital. Square that up, if you can….

Yeah. He’s a true analog guy. Nothing wrong with that. I like digital when I’m home from work or cleaning the house etc where I don't want to fuss with albums.....Digital can sound very good. But for true immersive music, I love vinyl better.

But the OP is talkin’ ’bout AV processors.

I have a 5.1 channel MC-12 I no longer use. I’ve been meaning to post and sell it. I loved it for surround sound, nothing close to it, very flexible, an amazing pre-amp for that use. Matches well with any high quality amp. 2-channel was good, but still no where near the quality of a dedicated 2-channel. Just depends on what’s most important to you.

Imho, 'surround' can work....but it has to be approached with the care that MC has towards 2chan....but, again, mho

2 speaker and home theater are entirely different. You listen differently. HT is a visual experience with potentially a great immersive sound. I don’t listen to my Marantz 11.2 system for the accuracy of the gun shot sound. I do listen to my 2 speaker pass labs system for the accuracy of the piano. HT subs should literally shake you. 2 speaker setups should have subs that extend and melt into the sounds of your front speakers. My surround sound speakers don’t begin to match the quality of my 2 speakers. And they don’t have to. Having a creepy sound behind you doesn’t have to come out of $20k speakers. I love both setups. But HT and 2 speaker are mostly different systems because we listen differently to each setup. To answer your question, I bought the Marantz many years ago because of the 13 channels and the auro 3D. It’s modestly priced and works well.