Originally Posted by Not'arf
Interesting Russ....
I might be starting to hatch similar plans myself crazy
Well, good luck with that. I also had that "brilliant" idea about a year ago, I sold my G68J and bought a slightly used Marantz 7702 with all those bells and whistles like HDMI, HD Formats etc.

This was THE WORST investment within last few years I made in this hobby. I literally couldn´t believe how bad the Marantz sound in compare to G68J. It sounded dull with bad macro dynamics, even if I listened to HD material via Wireworld HDMI it just sounded compressed and boring. It was the first time whne my wife noticed any difference and told me that "now it sounds like an old kitchen radio".

Thank God I sold it without any problems and any financial loss to some poor guy who probably due to lack of any comparison, loved it.

Very similar with the Emotiva UMC-1.
I bought an old 561 which literally moped the floor with 7702, than 568.s2 and now I have my old 861 which I adore smile

I give you guys some advice, before you decide to switch to Marantz/Denon (all the same stuff actually), and before you sell your Meridian, first give the Marantz a try it in your own system for a few days. You might be very disappointed. I very much doubt that the latest units with Atmos will sound better... let´s just hope so...

Anyway, for me it was a very eye opening experience..but of course YMMV.

HTPC, HD621, 861v6, Pathos Cinema X, Kinoton Cinema 200, JVC X7900