Yamaha or marantz


looking for a $4-500 universal(new or used). Anyone have opinions about the Yamaha 1500 or the Marantz 6400/6500? There seems to be plenty of opinions on the Pioneers, Denons, etc. but not much about these two. The owner of a good audio store told me he would take the 6500 over the Denon 2200.
papertrail
I've owned both Yamaha and Marantz receivers in the past and can say that for music Marantz does a much better job. In my opinion, Yamaha adds too many bells and whistles rather than focus on the sound quality.
You can get a denon at a hi-fi buys and bring it back if you don't like it. If the dealer is convinced it is better, he will offer the same. Do a shootout. The 2200 is pretty darn good at that price point but I cannot say that I have heard the marantz. The 2200 also offers an option of modifying.