Better idea for the money 2 or multi ch pre-amp?

Hyadstoya, Anthem TLP will sound just as good as the avm20 but with less crap and much simpler to operate, all for several hundred less. That's the closest comparison you can get.

F.Y.I. I meant Soundstage not soundstream in my intial thread.

You have hit on one of the unknown bargains in used audio today: pre/pros with yesterday's surround decoding schemes. You can pick up an Outlaw 950 for peanuts. They're two generations old and can be picked up for around $250 now.

I own one, and it has a really good line level preamp. In fact, I think its analog line level is of higher quality than its digital surround decoding. It also has a subwoofer output and available bass management in the analog domain. And an AM/FM tuner, and remote control. I've listened to it extensively side-by-side and sequentially against a VSP Labs Straightwire II preamp, and I can't really hear or otherwise sense any drop in speed, detail, or musicality compared to the Straightwire.

As you said, there are Anthems and other surround pre/pros built to a very high standard, and their wonderful line stages are languishing on the used gear shelves because they don't have 7.1 channels and/or Dolby Digital ES, TrueHD, or DTS HD Master Audio.

Also, since they were built for decoding DVDs, they usually have 24/96 DACs and (many) can upconvert CD digital input to 24/48 or 24/96. That castoff pre/pro may come with a better DAC than the one in your CD player.

I know of only one downside to this approach: the 5- and 7-channel pre/pros are much larger physically than a modern 2-channel line stage--maybe 2-3" higher and 6" deeper. They'll usually still fit on a standard rack; you just won't have as much room to reach around in the back when changing connections.