Do you use a preamp in your HT system to improve sound?

emergingsoul, much of HT is two channel, so by using the Ayre preamp I get the benefit of its superb sound. I use the Bryston SP3 more as an HDMI receptacle than surround processor -- I often set it to stereo for cable. I use KEF Reference 1s for front LR, KEF Reference 204/2C center, and LS50s for side and rear surrounds. Sources for HT are Cox Cable and an Ayre DX-5 DSD disc player, for music Roon via Ethernet to an Ayre QX-5 Twenty streamer and the disc player.

@emergingsoul 

What components do you have in your system now? What is HT and what is 2-channel?

I don't currently have an HT system. However, several times in the past I had combined HT/2-channel systems and they worked well. If configured correctly, the HT setup has zero effect on 2-channel sound quality and actually the HT components don't even need to be turned-on when playing 2-channel music.

If I were looking to do a combo HT/2-Channel system today, I would have to look at the Backert Labs Rhumba 1.3 pre-amp. It is a tube-based pre-amp. One feature I really like about it is that it has HT bypass that is activated when the pre-amp is powered off. So, no tube wear when listening to HT.

emergingsoul,

I may have had a similar path as you.

I've used a solid state preamp in my HT chain (EMM Labs Switchman).

A friend suggested I try tubes, so I swapped with a Don Allen tube preamp I had lying around.  I liked the change in sound.

Last year, I decided to upgrade to something which has a remote control.  I use a Linear Tube Audio MZ3 as a preamp, and is more transparent, with better bass/treble than the initial Don Allen preamp.