Upgrade for Thiel 1.6 - Or a waste of $$

Good input from all of you...
Bob - I've got a pair or REL R series subs already. They don't relieve the Thiels or the Rotel but they add plenty.

Czbbcl - You almost nailed it....

Maybe some of you thought, "Why isn't this guy talking about preamps and why doesn't he want to know about integrated amps."

Okay. Fine, I'll tell you.

I go both ways (home theater and 2-channel).

Wait, it gets worse.

My "preamp" is a Rotel RSX-1067 which also powers my center and surrounds.

Now on a whim I connected my Benchmark DAC1 directly to the Rotel amp -- so I know what my current "preamp" is up to.

Replacing it, however, would require some real money.

A better 5.1 pre/pro or a modern-ish pre that accepts 5.1 analog (way over 1k???) AND a 3 channel amp to run the other 3 channels (around $500???)

Now I've got no complaints about my home theater set up -- besides the lousy movies on HBO and Showtime.

But I know my 2-channel experience could be better -- just wondering how.

Your thoughts? Now that you know the rest of the story....

You know, there are three multichannels amps i've HEARD good things about: Butler, Outlaw, and AKI.

Their power ratings, their weight, and the selling price, all are quite good. They may not be prestige brands -- but maybe they may do the job well... ASAIK, you can buy as many channels as you need.

So, how did the Benchmark compare to the RSX-1067? If it was an improvement, then seek out a 2-ch pre-amp with HT bypass. That way you can keep your current setup and use the new pre-amp for just 2-channel listening. This is the best way to optimize your system for 2-channel. HT pre/pros (and receiveers) aren't great performers for 2-channel unless you get into some very high end components. I think CJ, Rouge, Sonic Frontiers and others have the HT bypass feature.

Perose - You're on the right track. The RSX-1067 offers a full analog bypass mode (which I use) but I'm sure it's not the ideal path.

I've read up on Arcam's AV8 @ AV9 but not the others you mentioned.

Wish there was a good integrated that allowed for dual use...Is there such an animal?