Building HT, 2 channel audio guy needs help

Yeah,I'm with the others who said it's highly unlikely you'll find a prepro that will not be a letdown from your CJ preamp, and any one that might will likely be on the expensive side. Sounds like 2-channel is your greater priority, so why sink $$$ into processing center/surround channels just to get decent stereo performance out of a prepro?

I'd explore a decent AVR (Onkyo/Integra, Marantz, NAD, etc.) and let that do the HT processing and power the center/rear channels (or maybe use the Threshold for the center channel) while keeping your PV5 in service for stereo listening. You could get a good AVR for under $1000 and have money left over to put into other the other things you need. As stated earlier, you just hook the front L/R outputs of the AVR to unused inputs on the CJ, set a reference volume level on the CJ (I used 12:00 because it's easy) that you set it to for home theater duty and you're done. Best of luck in whatever route you choose.

Notwithstanding Audiooracle's opinion to the contrary, IME, if you're using a subwoofer (or subwoofers) when you listen to music, you are FAR better off ditching any tube pre-amp (specifically including your CJ) for a pre-pro. Seamless subwoofer to main speaker integration is a snap with the modern bass management software found in any good pre-pro and (again IME) next to impossible without it. This delta will - as far as I'm concerned - swamp any other benefits of a good tube pre vs a good pre-pro. OTOH....

Your particular circumstance is complicated by your (apparently) exclusive use of analog source material (which would see both ADC and DAC in the pre-pro), as you have no CD player listed in your system. Also, while your 1.7s provide good bass performance without a sub, you already have a subwoofer. Given that fact, I gather that you prefer to use a sub with your 1.7s for music. If true, I suspect that you'll be happily surprised by how much better the system sounds when you switch out the CJ for a pre-pro, even for 2 channel listening.

In any case, you've assembled a quirky hybrid arrangement - an all analog rig that begs for audiophile style treatment (including tubes) and a multi-channel rig (including a subwoofer) that begs for a more high tech pre-pro with bass management. Personally, I'd use a pre-pro every time were I in your shoes, but I also understand how weird that might seem with for a vinyl centric listener.

Marty

Wow – thanks for all the responses and I must admit to being very happy to read that opinions about the best set-up are just as varied now as they were when I was in my prime audiophile days – spending virtually every waking moment researching and listening in a never-ending attempt to find the ultimate system.

That said, correct me if I have missed something, but opinions here seem to fall into three basic camps:
1) Keep the PV5, add a home theater processor (pre/pro, receiver or equal) to service video-driven needs. This lets me retain my current audio system in its entirety while allowing me to use the room, my speakers and my power amp as the foundation for a decent theater system.

2) Upgrade to a newer CJ preamp (remote and HT bypass required) and add an inexpensive HT receiver for video. Frankly had not given this much thought and as I have (obviously) been out of the market for some time, have not kept up with the more recent CJ preamp options. Though I do know the preamps that immediately succeeded the PV5 were said to be sub-par. Is there a consensus choice of a recent model for me to pick up (as a demo or used) were I to go this route? I would think that staying within my overall budget would mean a preamp upgrade to be $2k-$2.5k (net of the resale value of my unmodified PV5) with the remaining $500-$1,000 to spend on a decent used HT receiver or pre/pro.

3) Ditch the PV5 and go entirely to the pre/pro option (e.g. Marantz 8801 or similar). This stays within the budget, but requires the leap to pure SS, which entails overcoming the emotional resistance to giving up tubes entirely. Is my hearing still good enough to know the difference? Who knows, but there is no denying my brain believing I still can colors my point of view.

For the record, while I know there are better examples of great tube preamps, I have always enjoyed the sound of the PV5-2200 combination. Tube preamp and SS amp (but “tube sounding” according to many) just seem perfect to me. While I do have a CD player in my system, my default preference is analog. As for the comments about my use of a sub in an audio-only system, my personal belief is that the low- to mid-base of the Maggies is lacking. I love their product and still pine for the Tympani 1Ds I owned in my younger years. Even then, I used a sub - owing to a prior attachment to a pair of Klipsch Cornwalls that forever shaped my sense of what a good low-end sounded like.

Again, I appreciate the suggestions and opinions and apologize if this discussion is taking more space than the situation warrants. I may just have to get back into my old shopping mode again and audition a few different set ups.

Jim

Any of you have any experience with the Met-1? Could be perfect for me - don't need anything more than 5.1 HT. Would I still need a HT processor? If so, how would I go about wiring this up in my system?

I have no experience with the Met-1 but, from what I know, it is a multichannel analog preamp, similar to the Audio Research MP1 that I have. They cannot do bass management, processing or decoding. You will need to have sources that can do all that before D/A conversion and analog output to the Met-1.