Deciding between Yamaha or Marantz


Hello everyone, I need to get a new Pre and trying to decide between the Marantz AV8801 or the Yamaha CX-A5000. The Marantz is about a $1k more, is it worth it? Speakers are SF Liutos, Mac MC205 for power, thanks in advance.
kalbi23
Hey guys, those that still care. I decided to go with the Yamaha. I've had the AV8801 for about 3 weeks to demo while the Yam was on order. When I first set the Yam up and listened, it blew my socks off. It reminded me of the first time I went into a hifi stereo and listened to a really nice two channel set up. The only measuring tool I used was my ears, which is all I needed.
Thanks for the report. The Marantz gets a lot of coverage here, but the Yamaha does not. Good to here your experience. Enjoy!
The roomcorrection from Yamaha is very easy in use. Audyssey has no room for errors. The system from yamaha is more forgiving. This year Yamaha was beside our room. They showed me a demo.