Word is the Yamaha offers better performance for audio in general, which has always been a strength for Yamaha's digital products, and many prefer the Yamaha auto tuning over Audessey. Also, all of the advanced controls are available to anyone willing to take it on, whereas the Marantz limits some controls to custom installers. I am sure there's a hack for nerds like us to get to those controls, but out of the box Yamaha has no restrictions. Yamaha also gets high marks for their dynamic range features, though I would probably never use them.
But, why any preamp over another when most of the features are functionally similar? I am just reporting what many have claimed. I've never actually touched, heard, or experienced either.
I would like to see a pre/pro with all the digital features, but far fewer analog input options. The sheer size of these things is insane when you only utilize 8% of the jacks on the back.
