Need help in picking a good preamp/processor

You don't indicate your budget, but if you can afford one of the best pre/pros on the market, I strongly recommend the Bryston SP-1.7 (retail price is $4800, but can be purchased used for around $3200). I have the original SP1, and have been extremely pleased with it. The SP-1.7 has gotten a lot of good comments here on Audiogon, which you can access in the archives.

classe ssp-75 would be a good pick. if you don't need component inputs, there ssp-25 and ssp-30 units are also very nice. mcintosh mx-13x series are also very nice. Mcintosh also carries the mht series integrated 2 channel/ht amps. if you need more power, you can always use seperate amps to power your speakers. IMO, most of the pre/pros out there give up 2 channel performance for dd/dts capability. I feed my ht equipment into my 2 channel preamp. when i listen to music, i only use my 2 channel gear, when i watch movies, i feed the output of the ht processor/amp to the l/r channels into my audio gear and the center and surround speakers are driven from my ht gear. works well. good luck.

Listen to the Rotel RSP-1098.