Do you use a Subwoofer when listening to stereo?

Having had some exposure to only marginally integrated subs, leaves me to keep my wishes clear of any subs rocking my guts. (I'm not into 'thunder and lighting' AV shows either.) So, 'Horses for courses' I'd say.

@justmetoo — I’d say you’d do well to go hear a system with well integrated subs as you’re completely missing (and mis-categorizing) the benefits they can provide.  And subs could also actually help alleviate the slight bass overload issue you’re experiencing.  Keep an open mind on this and you might be rewarded greatly. 

No, and I never will. Now I do use one in home theater and that's where it stays. I'm not into the boom boom boom when listening intently to my stereo.

You might want to open your mind a bit on this.  Properly integrated subs can positively transform a 2-channel system.  Companies like Wilson, Vandersteen, etc. don’t offer subs just to add “boom boom boom.”  IME, once you’ve heard a system with good and well-integrated subs you don’t want to listen without them anymore.  They add much, much more than “boom boom.”

when you transfer signal path to stereo amp, does the tv continue to display?  Very important to watch vote tallies for next 12 weeks while listening to fine music.

Yes.  You’ll connect the Chord into the stereo preamp (as God intended) to play 2-channel, so you’re free to do whatever you want with the Marantz and the TV independent of the music. 

i likely will get a stereo preamp and need to explore the process of switching back and forth between stereo and ht, ie. How many steps involved.

Not much to explore fortunately. If you get a preamp with a HT bypass feature you just push one button to switch between HT and stereo and that’s it, and when in stereo the Marantz is completely out of the signal path. I did this for years before I got a dedicated listening room and it works beautifully — best of both worlds really.

So, very quickly on how this works so you see how how absurdly simple this is — you just need one pair of interconnects and run them from the front L/R preamp outs from the Marantz into the HT bypass input on the stereo preamp and hook the line outs from the stereo preamp to the inputs on the Mac and you’re done. That’s it. Literally takes two minutes, and you won’t believe how much your 2-channel performance will improve — the preamp sections of most AVRs are just crap, relatively speaking.

BTW, this also works fine if the stereo pre doesn’t have a HT bypass and still involves the same hookup and pushing one button and adjusting volume on the pre to a predetermined level for watching movies/TV (can go into more detail if you might go this route) and that’s it. Start shopping for a good stereo preamp — it’ll be one of the most significant upgrades you’ll ever make. Hope this helps, and best of luck.

My Stereo listening is done by streaming thru a nucleus connected via usb to a chord Hugo tt2 and then to a marantz 5014 via coaxial, then to a McIntosh mc255 and then off to speakers referred to above

So, you’re running a $5500 DAC into a $1000 AVR??? to an $8000 amp and $10,000 speakers? Dude, preamps matter for stereo listening!!! Forget worrying about subs and start researching decent stereo preamps pronto. The Marantz is absolutely killing your 2-channel performance.