I need receiver advice. I was all set on purchasing the Yamaha 1400, then Marantz came out with the SR7400 model which is in the same price range. Overall features between the two are very similar, so I'm a little torn. The Yamaha has a few more inputs and outputs, but that won't make much of a difference for me since I have a typical DVD/Satellite/CD Player setup.
One of the features I liked about the Yamaha was having the powered zone 2 output seperate from the surround back channel (although I realize you can not output to both at the same time), so switching between 7.1 and 5.1 is simply a few buttons on the remote, whereas on the Marantz, there is only 1 set of binding posts, so you have to decide on one or the other when wiring your system.
As for Marantz, I really enjoyed the sound produced listening to music. (Which begs the question: Will the receiver be used more for HT or music? My Answer is unfortunately both!)
Lastly, I know a lot of people have have the 1400 paired with Axiom speakers, however there doesn't seem to be much discussion from Marantz owners. Is Marantz's more laid back sound (when compared with Yamaha) a good pairing with the Axioms (M60's for example)?
Dr.Dre
