[UFTE]

I am finally pulling the trigger on my HT upgrade and going to separates. I am going to order the MC8207 for 7 channel amplification, but a bit stuck on the processor to choose from.

In keeping with all MC, the MX122 would be the ideal choice for me vs the much more expensive MX160. From what I have read, the MX122 is for the most part a rebranded Marantz for the HT aspect, for which I am most interested. 2 channel listening I am not much into (I run all channels when listening to music via SACD's, streaming, Airplay, etc), and from what I understand this is what pushes the Mac past any Marantz model? This would be my most expensive option, but I would be "one and done" in all McIntosh!

My cost saving thoughts then kick in, deciding to skip over the MX122, and go to Marantz - i.e. the AV8805 or AV7705. I don't really see me ever going past 11 channels, so I could save further dropping down from the AV8805 to the AV7705. They both seem to then share the Audyssey calibration, along with the MX122. This then leaves both of the Marantz options the same with the exception of the 13 channels vs 11? I am also not interested in adding zones to other rooms, etc with this as far as that goes.

I hope to make this purchase last for at least the 8-9 years I have waited to upgrade my current Pioneer Elite processor, and now seems ideal with all the new releases lately for beyond 7 channel decoding. I appreciate any feedback to assist in my final decision for the processor upgrade!

-Ryan