Bel 200.4/similar quality preamp.Feasible upgrade?

I've been using a low end Sony ES HT reciever for 10 years now, am very much enamored of the different "soundfields" and such, and use this with two JBL-L65s as mains and two smallish mid 90's vintage Advents as surrounds. I'm on a comparative shoe string budget compared to many so I don't want to run into the problems of the proverbial retail sales manager who scrimps and saves for years to buy a used Ferrari only to find that maintenance costs are far beyond his means. That being said, The Bel 200.4 amp and Bel $2500-ish preamp have caught my eye as something I might consider upgrading to when the Sony wears out. Unfortunately I'm not close to where I can readily audition these and the available data on the net doesn't answer a few questions that I have:

1. Would this set up give me the same sort of soundfields, straight out of the box, that I have with the Sony HT reciever?

2. Does the Bel preamp come with a built in mm phono input or would I need to buy a seperate phono stage?(Just purchased a Music Hall MMF-5 with stock cartridge which I'm crazy about and expect to be using more than digital sources for the forseeable future!)

3. Does this setup seem like a "match made in Heaven" for the L-65s or more like....."well, yeah, it'll sound pretty good but..."? (I can't bring myself to part with these speakers but might consider moving them to surrounds at some point.)

Any thoughts?