Decisions, Decisions.... Mcintosh, Devialet and B&W Advice Needed

Hi all,
First time poster here but a long time audio and music lover :-)I wanted to ask for advice from people who have been in similar shoes or been using the same gear that I am.
I have recently made a change to my setup and found myself a little bit "stuck" in terms of what to do next.

Up until 3 weeks ago, my setup for 2-channel listening and 5.1 surround, was:
B&W 802D1 main speakersB&W HTM2D1 centerPre-amp: Marantz 8802A - for home theater useMain amps + DAC: Devialet Expert 400 monoblocks - for stereo listeningSurround amp: Emotiva XPA-3 (Center + 2 surround speakers).

I decided to change direction and switch to Mcintosh and replaced my pre and amps with a brand new MC452 (for the 2 main speakers) and an MX122 processor to control both surround and 2-channel listening. The rest remained the same.

My impressions so far (very short break-in period) are very positive when I watch movies (multi-channel).However, 2-channel listening sounds just OK. It's good but it's nowhere near the sound quality I had with the Devialet. I assume it is mainly due to the superior DAC the Devialet has compared to the MX122, which is understandable as the MX122 is a surround processor-first.

When I listen to music on the Deialet it was almost jaw-dropping. The soundstage was open and accurate but I felt that I wanted more power, this is why I switched to the MC452, hoping it would open up the sound further.Now, with the current setup, the way I hear it, the sound lacks definition, it's not accurate, it's very different.

So, to make along story short, those are my questions:

1. I was thinking of replacing the MC452 with 2x MC601 amps to try and drive the 802's with more power.

2. Adding a c52 pre-amp specifically for 2-channel listening but I have no idea how it compares to the Devialet DAC and what it would sound like.
I will cost me the same to upgrade the amps or get the C52, but I can only afford one of them.

3. If I add a C52 (in addition to the MX122), how do I connect it to the MX122 and configure it to only be used for 2-channels, while also needing to use the two front speakers for multi-channel when watching movies?

Thank you all in advance, really appreciate getting feedback from more experienced people than me on this forum.
Gurt.