Tommyt, we think exactly alike. those are the same two receivers I narrowed it down to myself. IMHO, the Marantz edges out the Denon in music, while the Denon wins in HT. Of course alot depends on what your hooking it up to and with what your hooking it up with. Also, do you want 7.1 or 6.1? The Marantz is 6.1 while the Denon is 7.1. For me, I'm getting the Marantz to replace my Yamaha RX-V800, which is still a great receiver, but is only 5.1 and doesn't match the marantz or Denon musically.
