Deciding between Yamaha or Marantz

My apologies, I have 5.1 set up.

I thought in the beginning, I would do mostly movies, but I would say 80% music and 20% movies.

I use to have the AV7701, but whenever I had any type of component connected to it, there would be a hum/buzz coming from all 5 speakers. I tested the amp, Oppo, PS3, cable lines and TiVo. I've returned multiple AV7701s, I tried the Oppo as my pre, no noise, I tried a different pre and no noise. Just seems like the AV7701 isn't playing nice with my components.

Thanks for your suggestion, if I could find the AV8801 for $2300, I would get it.

Bo1972, thank you for response. I was thinking about the Onkyo as well, as it is in the same price range of the Yamaha. I will find a Onyko dealer and take a listen.

Hey guys, I am demoing the AV8801 right now. It does sound better than the AV7701 I had, but not at almost the double the price. I think it may be due to the fact the AV8801 is made in Japan and the AV7701 is made in China which effects the price. My dealer has ordered me the Yamaha, so I will make a decision soon on which to keep. I will not be using the pro set up, as I am not paying additonal for that set up. So my decision will solely be based on what it can do out the box.

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.

Unfortunately, I do not have a sub, so can't say.