Need advice on media player and or dacs

First, concentrate on getting your HT properly set up, including acoustical treatments for your room. The LCR speakers should all be matched, and setup using the onboard PEQ. The top (Atmos) and surround speakers should also be voiced similarly, although they don't need to be identical in brand to your mains. Once you have that set up and have a reliable reference, the go ahead with building on the dedicated 2-Ch system, with its own source and amplification.

Remember this: in statistics there is the concept of 'measurable, not meaningful'. Doubling your power gives you 3dB more peak level. Unless you play at peak levels, 3dB is exactly that, a measurable improvement but not very meaningful. Like wearing insulated shoes that reduce chances of lightning strike by 50%. Measurable, but not terribly meaningful.

What pre amp would pair well with my paradigm founder 100f’s and my anthem mca325 without breaking the bank. 2-3k range....?

Really depends on what improvements and sound characteristics you’re looking for. Also, what’s your budget and are you looking for new or used?

And do i understand it correctly that a stereo preamp can have a bypass to isolate from my speakers from the avr, but when im watching movies i can switch my L/R channels back to my avr?

Yes. You can toggle between stereo and HT by just pressing one button, and it’s really a best of both worlds thing because it’s like having two separate systems in one. It’s a beautiful thing. I did it this way for a couple years before we moved and got a dedicated listening room in the basement for 2-channel and it was great.

Not all AVR's are created equal.  Anthems, for instance, are quite good musically. Their amps are very good as you know.  ARC seems to work better than the other auto-eq systems. Speakers and room are way more important than the electronics. 

Differences in DACs and streamers?  Yes, but compared to speakers, rooms and even amps, the differences are very small.  Larger than cables probably, but small.  I am not sure how far up the line one has to go before the differences are audible without direct A/B listening. I have not gotten  there yet. Probably above all the commodity CHI-Fi chip products. Chord? HOLO? 

Personally, something to tame down the top end of those Paradigms and B&W would be first on my list.  It is a matter of taste, but I am way over to the Sonas Faber, Revel balanced  response speakers. 

If you are more into music than movie special effects, you might consider looking at the Schiit SYN idea. Gets away from all the DSP  If I did not already have the rear speakers in my guest/HT room, I would run 3.1. 

If you are more into music than movie special effects, you might consider looking at the Schiit SYN idea.

@tvrgeek , Great suggestion on the Schiit SYN....

@sandrodg73 , For upmixing music from stereo to multichannel (surround music) and involving a Hifi streamer/DAC in the chain, you should perhaps look into an all-analog 'simpler' surround processor like the SYN (400 USD). It has analog inputs, i.e. your can connect a 2 channel HIFI Streamer/DAC analog out --> SYN surround processor/preamp --> upto 5 channels of amplification ---> front/center/surround speakers

Watch this review from Seltzertronics...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HhJeOSN1bY&t=1611s

@deep_333    Ouch