I am planing to buy one of these on ebay and I would like your opinion on which is the best mainly for HT (70/30 in favour of HT). I do not have any HD, so no need for these connectors. Any ideas? Thanks
What's an Arcam 700? I'm an Arcam dealer and I've not heard of that model. The only current Arcam AV receiver is the AVR600, which is excellent.
If you don't need HD coverage, you can pick up Arcam AVR350s and AVR300s for peanuts. Fabulous machines, especially musically. I'd choose one of these over the Denon any day of the week. I have no experience of the Marantz though.
It is a pre-amp/processor that does all the switching, DSP functions, video and so on. This unit is intended to send signals to an extenal power amp and video developer, a flat screen or projector.
Aha! I'd completely forgotten about that product! Sorry about that. The AVP700 was a very good processor indeed. It's the same size as an integrated receiver but it doesn't have the power amps in it. The AVP700 was brought out with a matching 7-channel power amp which IIRC was called the P1000. The P1000 was the weak link. It used a new class G technology and although it was ok for surround sound, it was weak musically.
The AVP700 was effectively hamstrung by the 1000's performance. I'd done the comparison of AVP700/P1000 versus AVP700/P7 (Arcam's FMJ 7-channel power amp) and the difference was enormous and showed that, as processors go, the AVP700 was really very good indeed.
So, if you want a receiver (an integrated processor amplifier, usually with a tuner built in), the Arcam tip would be the AVR350 which will wipe the floor with a Denon AVR3806 and most things of that type. The 700 is a more expensive proposition since you then have to cable up between processor and power amp and that alone could cause a fair amount of outlay.