Best sounding processor

That's correct about the 8802.  Maybe the 8805 is worth the extra scratch.  Accessories4less has them for $3500 (refurbished with a 3 year warranty).

@big_greg  I do you like the KI-Pearl SACD player, I've always wanted to take the plunge and now is looking like a good time but would need to put off my preamp venture I was going to try next.

I have had the 8805 in my system.  It has excellent bass and midbass fullness and strength.  Excellent midrange and impact.  The high frequencies are softened and rolled off somewhat.  I don't know that you would notice this unless you did a side-by-side comparison with an Anthem or Krell Foundation. 

The 880x has a main power supply that is twice as large as the 770x.  880x I think is a total of 40,000uf.  The 770x is 20,000uf.  Of course, the 880x has all the discrete analog output channels on individual boards (13 of them in the 8805).  I would think the sound between 770x and 880x would be similar.  The 880x would likely have stronger/fuller bass and midbass and an overall smoother sound.

I was very impressed with the 8805.  The high frequency difference only became apparent when I hooked my Krell S1200U back into the mix.

anyone try the NAD m17 v2si?  Seems to offer great functionality and good dac config.  Heard it awhile back and liked it.  Not sure how it compares to Marantz.

@big_greg  I do you like the KI-Pearl SACD player, I've always wanted to take the plunge and now is looking like a good time but would need to put off my preamp venture I was going to try next.

I don't want to derail the thread, but to answer your question, I'm very happy with it.  I heard that the price of the KI-Ruby SACD player dropped and was considering an upgrade to the Ruby.  I spent some time listening to the Pearl this weekend (I don't spin CDs very often) and was reminded how good it is and decided not to make a change.  If you have any other questions, feel free to send me a PM.