Looking for advice on amp/pre amps...

Driver is 100% correct. Here are some suggestions for your consideration:
-Prepro and amp for under 2K is difficult to do
-Try getting a good prepro (Audio Refinement Pre2-DSP or NAD T197 are good options)
-Mate it with a good 2ch amp until you can afford to expand your system (Parasound is a great bang for the buck even new, which does give you a warranty)
-By only buying equipment that you can continue to use and buid up from you will not be disappointed by buying everything all at once on a limited budget.

The NAD T163 (notT197) retails for 1,499. It gives you lots of flexability which you may need plus all of the latest and greatest.
The Parasound A52 retails for 2,000 and is a beefy 5ch amp.
The Parasound A23 retails for 850 and is a 2ch amp almost identical to the A52 but just a little better (higher amperage output, 2ch share one power supply rather than 5ch).
The combination of the above three units for 4k would be a standard discount from a retailer. The 10 year Parasound warranty has given me great peace of mind though I have never needed to use it.
Also Lexicon has a bare bones version of the MC-8 called the MC-4 for 4,500 retail.
Good luck.