Advice on AV Receiver versus Separates


Starting from scratch here guys on my first Home Theater. Any advice would be appreciated.

I picked up a Marantz AV7005 pre-amp receiver from Best Buy for $705 (open box). I can also probably pick up the MM7055 for about $800.

Is this combo a good option for a 5.1 setup?

Should I rather go for a receiver instead?

I have heard great things about the AV7005, but not as much about the MM7055. Are there other separate combinations I should be considering?

I would like to spend around $1.5k for the receiver / amp&preamp so I have enough left over for speakers, etc.

Thank you.
aman4kr4
Ok. Got it. So what are the benefits of biamping?

Seems like I should just go for the combo MM7055 + AV7005 setup.
Ok. Got it. So what are the benefits of biamping?
IMHO, nothing but that opinion is not shared universally.
To the OP-

Couldn't help myself from asking; what is the origin of your username? Sounds almost like you are "creeping" on Kal...
One further note on bi amping. IMHO:

Bi amping has benefits. Without doubt, it certainly has theoretical benefits - an active x-over ahead of the power amps will generally produce better distortion and phase performance. Further, offloading deep bass to a subwoofer will likely increase any system's max clean SPL capability, but....

You're already bi amping this system when you add subwoofers. By bi amping the mains, you're effectively tri amping the system. While there may well be additional benefits to this approach, I'd agree that this is a low return on incremental spending.
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