Just to be clear, you’d still be using the Marantz for HT (and multichannel music) duties, it just wouldn’t be involved in critical 2-channel music duties.
Well, I’ll weigh in with my own personal experience, which is why I responded to this post in the first place. First, especially among people newer to the audio sickness, the stereo preamp is possibly the most under-appreciated component as to how much it contributes to a 2-channel system’s ultimate performance. A while back I was using my Rotel RSP-980 prepro (not a bad piece in its day either) in the same way you’re planning to possibly use your Marantz, and it worked well with my McCormack DNA-0.5 Rev A stereo amp (pretty much comparable to a Bryston 3BSST BTW). But the first time I substituted a good stereo preamp for the Rotel for 2-channel listening there was absolutely no going back. Feeding a very good stereo amp with the stereo preamp section of a $1500 prepro is most likely going to cause a significant bottleneck in your 2-channel sound. Think about it -- you just can’t economically put high-quality (or properly shielded) parts into the stereo preamp section of a $1500 prepro, not to mention that the fragile, low-level source signal is going to be routed through a noise-polluting electronic obstacle course with all the additional electronics involved in the various functions of a prepro. Believe me, I get it how nice it would be to use the prepro to do it all. Been there done that. Audiophiles who want to do that spend many thousands more on their prepros to get a truly good stereo preamp section (think Krell, Anthem, Theta, Classe, etc.). A $1500 prepro? Sorry, just doesn’t add up. Please take it from someone who’s been there. Now, if you get a good stereo amp now with the intention of adding a good stereo preamp later, that could be a very good plan as well. But it will take longer, be considerably more expensive, and add yet another box to your system. This is why I thought a good stereo integrated was such a nice fit for your particular situation. One and done on the relative cheap. OK, I’m done. That’s all I got. Best of luck in whatever you decide.
Well, I’ll weigh in with my own personal experience, which is why I responded to this post in the first place. First, especially among people newer to the audio sickness, the stereo preamp is possibly the most under-appreciated component as to how much it contributes to a 2-channel system’s ultimate performance. A while back I was using my Rotel RSP-980 prepro (not a bad piece in its day either) in the same way you’re planning to possibly use your Marantz, and it worked well with my McCormack DNA-0.5 Rev A stereo amp (pretty much comparable to a Bryston 3BSST BTW). But the first time I substituted a good stereo preamp for the Rotel for 2-channel listening there was absolutely no going back. Feeding a very good stereo amp with the stereo preamp section of a $1500 prepro is most likely going to cause a significant bottleneck in your 2-channel sound. Think about it -- you just can’t economically put high-quality (or properly shielded) parts into the stereo preamp section of a $1500 prepro, not to mention that the fragile, low-level source signal is going to be routed through a noise-polluting electronic obstacle course with all the additional electronics involved in the various functions of a prepro. Believe me, I get it how nice it would be to use the prepro to do it all. Been there done that. Audiophiles who want to do that spend many thousands more on their prepros to get a truly good stereo preamp section (think Krell, Anthem, Theta, Classe, etc.). A $1500 prepro? Sorry, just doesn’t add up. Please take it from someone who’s been there. Now, if you get a good stereo amp now with the intention of adding a good stereo preamp later, that could be a very good plan as well. But it will take longer, be considerably more expensive, and add yet another box to your system. This is why I thought a good stereo integrated was such a nice fit for your particular situation. One and done on the relative cheap. OK, I’m done. That’s all I got. Best of luck in whatever you decide.