Marantz AV8801 AV Processor

Brian Kahn has posted a review of the Marantz AV8801 AV processor ($3599) at HomeTheaterReview. His conclusions:

“Marantz’s new AV8801 evidences Marantz’s continued dedication to performance and does so without giving up on the features that users have come to expect in today’s competitive marketplace. The AV processor market is rapidly changing, with new models touting the latest iterations of surround codec capabilities being released all the time. The AV8801 has all of the newest surround sound codecs with up to 11.2 channels for loads of flexibility. Often, these features come at the expense of being able to provide music playback that strikes the balance of being musical and accurate or movie playback that is truly engaging, but that’s not so with the Marantz AV8801 - it delivers both performance and features. Kudos to Marantz to providing a real contender.”

You can read the full review here.