*Would a phono pre-amp running through the built in Marantz phono pre-amp cancel out the impact of a good, dedicated phono pre-amp?*
If you want to use a MC cartridge you could certainly run a step up transformer into the built-in phono section of your receiver, and it would work very well. If your Marantz's phono section is like the one in my Marantz 2230, it's at least the equivalent of the MM side of the MF LPSV3 (a stereophile B-rated phono stage). You could also use a very nice MM cartridge instead of messing with SUTs and additional cables, at least initially.
As nice as the built-in phono section of my 2230 is, I'm using a Wright WPP 100 tube phono stage with it (running it through the tape input). I have a couple of SUTs that I use with a SoundSmith rebuilt DL103, and a small number of vintage MMs. But I do hate leaving the nice phono section in the Marantz unused.
For speakers you might also look in the direction of ACI. The Sapphire models are stand-mounted, easy to drive, have gotten great reviews for over a decade, and have often been compared to speakers at 3-4X the price. New ones are about $1700 from ACI; used ones pop up from time to time in here but usually don't last long when they're priced right.
Jim
If you want to use a MC cartridge you could certainly run a step up transformer into the built-in phono section of your receiver, and it would work very well. If your Marantz's phono section is like the one in my Marantz 2230, it's at least the equivalent of the MM side of the MF LPSV3 (a stereophile B-rated phono stage). You could also use a very nice MM cartridge instead of messing with SUTs and additional cables, at least initially.
As nice as the built-in phono section of my 2230 is, I'm using a Wright WPP 100 tube phono stage with it (running it through the tape input). I have a couple of SUTs that I use with a SoundSmith rebuilt DL103, and a small number of vintage MMs. But I do hate leaving the nice phono section in the Marantz unused.
For speakers you might also look in the direction of ACI. The Sapphire models are stand-mounted, easy to drive, have gotten great reviews for over a decade, and have often been compared to speakers at 3-4X the price. New ones are about $1700 from ACI; used ones pop up from time to time in here but usually don't last long when they're priced right.
Jim