Help with distortion

do you have the manuals for each model of player? They should state what the output level is for a standard signal. Which input are you using on the Marantz? Does the Sony have a headphone jack, and do those selections sound clean on headphones plugged into the player? The only other thing you can do is put some sort of pad or attenuator between the Sony and the Marantz if the input level is just excessive to overload the preamp. You could build one dirt cheap if you knew how to do any electronic construction, would consist of maybe between 4 and 6 resistors arranged correctly and correct values. Or easier yet, a dual potentiometer in a box that you could just use to set the level till the Samsung and Sony levels sound the same? That would work after you prove the problem is overload of the receiver.

If the above does not fix the problem, it sounds like a failure in the OpAmp null of the Sony. Here's the scenario: your Sony uses OpAmps for analog gain and these typically use +15V and -15V power supply voltages. When one of the regulators goes bad, one of the supplies no longer works properly and all bets are off as to what voltage is produced. This changes the null in the OpAmps and results in high distortion. Check by putting a voltmeter on the supplies. If they check fine, then put a voltmeter at the output stages of each of the OpAmps. If one stage does not measure zero volts, null is improper for that OpAmp (may be adjustable, Sony used this design for quite a while).

Thanks for the help. Bought the attenuators, problem solved.