Good to know. If you had a Yamaha AVR and were running it with your Monitor Audio Silver, then you pretty much know what a new Yamaha receiver will sound like. Another thing to think about -- if you are looking for dynamics, then the Marantz may not be for you. It has excellent fullness of sound, but the high frequencies are rolled off and may lack in visceral impact and dynamics, depending on your taste.
For current multi-channel amps, I actually think that an Outlaw 7700 for $2499 would be good. Another really good amp to look at is the Monoprice Monolith 5 channel for $1299. The Monoprice is likely your best bet "for the money". Now that I think about this, it would still be much better than any AV receiver you could buy. Then spend the remaining budget on a processor of your choice.
The Outlaw 976 for $929 would be an excellent processor for the money. I would actually recommend this over the cheaper Emotiva MC-700 processor. The 976 has linear power supply and much better analog stages. You can always get better processors, but cost goes up of course. Used Emotiva XMC-1 looks to go for about $1800 or so nowadays.
For current multi-channel amps, I actually think that an Outlaw 7700 for $2499 would be good. Another really good amp to look at is the Monoprice Monolith 5 channel for $1299. The Monoprice is likely your best bet "for the money". Now that I think about this, it would still be much better than any AV receiver you could buy. Then spend the remaining budget on a processor of your choice.
The Outlaw 976 for $929 would be an excellent processor for the money. I would actually recommend this over the cheaper Emotiva MC-700 processor. The 976 has linear power supply and much better analog stages. You can always get better processors, but cost goes up of course. Used Emotiva XMC-1 looks to go for about $1800 or so nowadays.