Good deal Bambam841,
Looks like you are getting really good advice here, and that is wonderful. But please go listen to the equipment you want to buy and hear for yourself what really sounds the best to you. It is your hard earned/saved cash you are spending and it is you that has to be happy with buy. And you will likely be listening to it for a LONG time, hopefully. And with pleasure.
And please report back to us how it sounds, how it is working for you.
It is especially fun to me when we have someone like you with a great attitude on this forum. You speak well and make everyone want to help you all we can.
You are always welcome, happy hunting/listening and God Bless,
Wayne

Bambam841,

I don't have too much time to respond but the Marantz 7010 is likely enough for 90 to 95 % of people and I'm sure you will be happy with this AVR as the foundation of your system. If you feel the need more, you can always add amps later to beef up your system. Too often, people get wrapped up in the wattage. It's more about quality than quantity with efficient speakers like GET. Purchase with confidence and know that you're system will sound fantastic!

Cheers,

T Cobe

@T Cobe, thanks for chiming back in. There happened to be a best buy Magnolia tech at the place of my employer earlier today. I asked him about the 7010. His reply " I have that model in my home" I asked him his impression of it. He replied " the 6010 and 7010 models are known by Marantz, consumers, including his unit to get overly Hot. He went on to advise me to wait a couple months for them to release an update to fix the issue and then buy a 7010. I stated my severe lack of knowledge in the area electronics, but my thought process would lead me to believe that an overheating issue would require a physical component or more to be repaired, extracted, or added? I thought updates were only for software issues? Maybe this issue being brought to light here on the GE forums helps somebody else before buying one. Anybody with overheating issue that own one of those two Marantz models? Also if I can't wait to buy one after I get my Christmas bonus can an exterior fan help enough to protect the unit?

Forgot to add, other than the one issue he LOVES IT..

bambam841 wrote: @T Cobe, thanks for chiming back in. There happened to be a best buy Magnolia tech at the place of my employer earlier today. I asked him about the 7010. His reply " I have that model in my home" I asked him his impression of it. He replied " the 6010 and 7010 models are known by Marantz, consumers, including his unit to get overly Hot. He went on to advise me to wait a couple months for them to release an update to fix the issue and then buy a 7010. I stated my severe lack of knowledge in the area electronics, but my thought process would lead me to believe that an overheating issue would require a physical component or more to be repaired, extracted, or added? I thought updates were only for software issues? Maybe this issue being brought to light here on the GE forums helps somebody else before buying one. Anybody with overheating issue that own one of those two Marantz models? Also if I can't wait to buy one after I get my Christmas bonus can an exterior fan help enough to protect the unit?

My 7010 runs warm, I wouldn't say hot. It has adequate ventilation. I'm still trying to understand what the new "Eco" mode is all about. I've read (not on any Marantz lit) that the amp is supposed to perform as a class A/B amp when "Eco" mode is set to off (which is where I leave it, and I would expect that mode to run warmer), and more like a class D amp when "Eco" mode is on (there is also a "Auto" mode, and I don't know what that does). Marantz should offer some more advice on what all those modes mean. I really wasn't needing or expecting any "fixes". My 7010 is doing just fine. I'd just like some more info on exactly what this new "Eco" mode is doing.

Rick

Just for the heck of it, I switched to "Eco on" about an hour ago. If anything, the unit got HOTTER. Maybe there's a problem with the controls when Eco is on??

I'm going to leave my unit in Eco off, pending some answers from Marantz. As a registered owner, I just asked them for an explanation of what the Eco mode is doing in ON, Off and AUTO.

I'll advise on what their answer is. In the meantime, my unit stays in Eco off.

Rick