I finally decided to pull the plug and get a dedicated stereo preamp with HT bypass. I will be able to AB them and see if stereo preamps really have a significant edge over HT processors. I do believe that a dedicated preamp may be better as a blanket statement but some HT processors are very good as well. Let's see how the Rotel RC1570 stack against the Marantz AV8801. Feedback will be available soon