I agree (well, partially), because the other part is that it's also about the music the gear reproduces.
Some people like Yamaha, some like Marantz, some like Sansui, some like Pioneer, then there is the McIntosh crowd and then there even are Technics afficionados. I'm sure that each pair of ears loves the sound their favorite brand of gear makes.
My post was as much tongue-in-cheek as anything else. But hey!, I'm also a fan of Marantz. So I suppose I'm also defending my flag.
But I get it... this is a Yamaha forum, so naturally the OP question should be assumed to be rhetorical. Yamaha rules ! It sounds great to all the people who own Yamaha gear.
My view is that each audio manufacturer made gear with a particular sound signature. Does Marantz sound better than Yamaha? To my ears it does. It sounds warm, and full and romantic, and urbane, and cool. It puts me in a mood and makes me feel good when I listen to my music with a drink in my hand.
Is it clean and faithful? Heck, no! But do I care? No..., I don't want clean and faithful (or clinical, tiresome, boring, shrill, etc). I want it to sound cool, warm, liquid, feminine (like she wants to snuggle not tell me to go clean up after dinner).
IMHO these debates, Yamaha vs Marantz or Gear A vs. Gear B are no different than CDs vs. Vinyl, or Analogue vs. Digital. There is no universal answer, there is only endless debate. But if we're going to ask such questions then we should expect all kinds of answers.
But hey! Sorry if the Yamaha Team got offended.
Lastly, I notice
Brutal that you seem to like JBL speakers as much as you like Yamaha gear. Some say that JBL speakers color the sound. So it's entirely possible that the sound you get out of your natural sounding Yamaha gear through your JBL speakers is what I get out of my Marantz gear through my Bozaks
(...there I go again, sticking my tongue in my other cheek :nono