I planning to buy a new AV Preamp/Processor very soon. I have been waiting for the new Outlaw 997. In the meanwhile I was looking at the new Marantz AV8003 Networking unit. I have been comparing features to the 997 (also using the Sherwood AV R-972). I like the AV8003 network capabilities.
Right now I can buy Marantz @25% discount. It has a lot of features and is available Now!

Since I am a novice and want to maximize features, etc. which would be best to buy? How does the 997 compare to the 8003 for quality,features, etc?
I would appreciate your input.

I currently own Outlaw equipment.

I would expect that the 997 will compare very favorably with the Marantz AV8003 considering the Marantz is at least $1000 more. I am sure the outlaws included the AV8003 in their targeted group for the 997 to compete in.

The Marantz 8003 is a little low on processing horsepower. For example: when dealing with the hi-rez codecs, it can either decode them or add processing to them, but not both.

So if you send it a TrueHD or DTS-MA signal, you can decode it to PCM but can't apply PLIIx to expand 5.1 to 7.1. IF you need PLIIx or EX/ES functionality, then the signal needs to be decoded to PCM in the player before transmitting.

Same problem with newly released Cary Audio 11a pre-pro. Hopefully, the Outlaw 997 won't be saddled with this limitation.

That is very strange - that Marantz and Cary did not think about this - has to be a power issue.... Even stranger since my lowly Onkyo 705 has been capable of doing all three (HD decoding, post procesing and Room EQ) for the past 1+ years.

For DSP, the Cary uses a single core CS49700 chip(and probably uses a separate chip for Room EQ). Wonder what DSP chip/s the Marantz uses...

Emotiva is planning to use two dual-core CS49700s for decoding, post processing and Room EQ. Hopefully, those will have enough power...

Seems I spoke too soon about the Cary, which just got a firmware upgrade that allows the new codecs to be decoded AND processed. It's still either/or for the Marantz.

Just saw that about the Cary, too. And to be nit-picky... the Cary uses a single dual-core 49700 (I don't think there's such a thing as a single core version). I'm a little skeptical as to how they're allowing post processing. Emotiva commented that the reason they went to the dual chip solution was so they could do full post-processing at native (i.e up to 192/24) resolutions vs. truncating down to 96/24, which I suspect is what is happening with the Cary. Now, if anyone can actually hear the difference between 192k vs 96k (especially from speakers BEHIND you) is a whole different discussion.

I was thinking seriously about the 8003 until I read the review in Home Theater mag. Interface is too complex and klunky. I hope the 997 will be as straight forward and easy to use as the 950.