Denon or Marantz? Home theater beginner.

to my ears, whatever differences exist between the japanese-branded mass market avrs aren't really cost-effective--all of $1000 or so msrp yamaha, denon, marantz, onkyo, sony etc. units do the same thing about as well--heck, marantz and denon are even owned by the same company. that said, i'd shop for price--you can get great deals on onkyo or marantz at accessories4less; amazon has some blowout prices on denon and yamaha. any of these would serve your purposes. any $$$ you save you can plow into better speakers--i really like paradigm studio series or def tech for movies, although you'll get numerous good recommendations.

for sound quality Cambridge Audio.... Pioneer elite for video upscaling
Dennis

I would go with the B& W speakers and for home theater recievers check out Onkyo and Denon for best value

Marantz and Denon are owned by the same Japanese company. The Marantz line is considered their higher end..... Best of my knowledge both are made in China......

I've had a couple Denon's and an Onkyo. I prefer the Onkyo. Ease of set up and very good features and sound. I have the 905. As mentioned the Def Techs are really good for HT.