This is ludicrous. My present round of auditions is showing me that there are big leaps in performance to be had by moving up to the £400-£500 price bracket. The Marantz seems to have been lauded as some kind of giant killer and yet, to my ears, it isn't even a clear winner at its own price point. Granted, it might suit SOME music and SOME ears extremely well and it certainly represents very good physical value for money. It does sound very much like a budget amp though and I can't help agreeing with HFC's review which suggested that it can sound a bit dead and shut-in unless you really crank it up. For similar money the about-to-be replaced NAD C325BEE is a much greater all-rounder IMO. I'd also say, despite the fact that I'm not a fan of its presentation, that the CA Azur 540A offers better overall sound across the frequency range.
If you move up to the £500 region, even though I didn't get on with it as a permanent house partner in the end, the Cambridge Azur 740A is a significantly better amp than the Marantz. Its much better balanced and more flexible across a wide range of music. Marantz's own PM7001, particularly in KI-Sig mode, represents a significant step up as does the Arcam A18, the Audiolab 8000S, and Denon PMA1500AE. I'm quite sure there are other examples that I haven't yet heard.