A local (authorized) store has the SR4300 at $399. I'd like any input from owners or anyone who has listened to one or evaluated one against the competition. Unfortunately, they didn't have one on display as the shipment just arrived and they expect to sell out quickly.
My other top contenders are the HK AVR320 and the Pioneer D811. My main requirements are to have full 6.1 channel compatibility and a full set of pre-in and pre-outs. Price is an object, and $400 really is the limit for purchase from a reputable vendor.
Feature-wise, any of these should be fine. Mostly I'd like to know of any annoying quirks the 4300 or others might have. Obvious missing things like a memory backup for surround and pre-sets or subwoofer pre-out level control, inadequate backward compatibility, noted reliability or customer service issues, etc.
Going for the Marantz is that the price is reasonable at a local dealer. There is a 3 year warranty and the US headquarters and service center are within 10 miles. It also has full DTS-ES, ProLogic2 and DD-EX compatibility, and 7 pre-ins and pre-outs. Of course, I assume the 6x80W amps anc circuitry are entry level audiophile quality and somewhat above that of mass market contenders like Pioneer, Panasonic, Sony, Kenwood etc....
Some things it appears to lack are multi-zone, A/B, 192k decoding, component video switching, front panel inputs and MP3 decoding. None of these appear to be an issue for me, as I probably wouldn't use any of them.
Thanks in advance for your comments!
My other top contenders are the HK AVR320 and the Pioneer D811. My main requirements are to have full 6.1 channel compatibility and a full set of pre-in and pre-outs. Price is an object, and $400 really is the limit for purchase from a reputable vendor.
Feature-wise, any of these should be fine. Mostly I'd like to know of any annoying quirks the 4300 or others might have. Obvious missing things like a memory backup for surround and pre-sets or subwoofer pre-out level control, inadequate backward compatibility, noted reliability or customer service issues, etc.
Going for the Marantz is that the price is reasonable at a local dealer. There is a 3 year warranty and the US headquarters and service center are within 10 miles. It also has full DTS-ES, ProLogic2 and DD-EX compatibility, and 7 pre-ins and pre-outs. Of course, I assume the 6x80W amps anc circuitry are entry level audiophile quality and somewhat above that of mass market contenders like Pioneer, Panasonic, Sony, Kenwood etc....
Some things it appears to lack are multi-zone, A/B, 192k decoding, component video switching, front panel inputs and MP3 decoding. None of these appear to be an issue for me, as I probably wouldn't use any of them.
Thanks in advance for your comments!