Marantz pm8006 vs Denon PMA-1700NE for combined home theatre and music room

The cost is actually surprising, that Rotel 6 channel amp costs $500-$600 on the used market, its less than the receiver! 

@stringreen 

Did you ever watch a movie before that had a soundtrack? You know, like Jurassic park, Star Wars, JAMES BOND? I agree YOU can't combine home theater and music, but for the rest of us its not a problem. LOL.

Yes, something like that. When you play two channel stereo its fine to have your center channel connected. Your Denon receiver will play back in stereo to just your L-R speakers when selected. What speakers are you using for L-C-R channels?

Your front 3 speakers should all have the same amp to match as perfectly as possible. If you are using pre-outs to a separate amp use them for all 3 speakers (L-C-R). If you get a 3 channel amp you can use pre-outs for L-C-R. If you can biamp L-R speakers you can get a 5 channel amp which would be stellar and not a lot of money if you go with second hand.

Now, when you have speakers in a second room I would pivot and use a whole house audio system, it gives you more flexibility AND it can be run wireless.
I would connect the ceiling speakers in the second room to a Martin Logan Forte wireless amp (which also has ARC room correction.) It has a streamer built in so you can run it independently of your main system. If you want to have the same music in both room get a Martin Logan Unison preamp/streamer for your main system.
They are on sale at 50% off:

https://www.martinlogan.com/en/category/wireless-systems

@soix

In my setup I use a Sony Signature DAC/pre for my two channel setup while using the exact same speaker/amp configuration for L-C-R channels. When you use an immersive format you need that center to match seemlessly. I agree with using a dedicated pre-amp for stereo but not a different amp.

OP, I do agree with Soix about keeping the two channel separate from the receiver. Once you get the Rotel installed and the other room setup you will be able to get a dedicaated preamp with HT bypass. When you listen to stereo the preamp with be able to use that same rotel amp, here is an example of the type of pre I am referring to:

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-y4lHat37gwF/p_313P6B/Parasound-Halo-P-6-Black.html?cnxclid=16806364556292155308910080301008005

The Fyne speakers are great, you CAN biamp them with 90db sensitivity that rotel should be "fine" to biamp. So:

Denon L-C-R pre outs to Rotel amp. Use a Y connector for L-R channels to biamp.

Denon amp driving the rest of the surrounds.

I would recommend the Martin Logan Forte amp for the speakers in the other room. No need to connect a source like the WIIM, it is also a streamer.

Before adding a dedicated dac/pre for two channel in your HT I would get all of the above sorted out first. Later you can do as Soix suggested, get a dedicated dac/pre amp for your two channel. I run mine that way and it works fine. But it gets confusing if you do everything at once. Get the amp sorted first. I think there are advantages using the rotel for biamping. I would not use different amps for your center, terrible idea. You want a seemless match for your front 3 channels.
This is the amp/streamer I recommend for the other room:

https://www.martinlogan.com/en/product/forte

I guess we have had different experience. In a movie the center is the MOST important speaker, to cripple it with the lowest performing amp would not be something I would do. The OP is looking at a 6 channel amp and the Fyne speakers are biampable. The used prices for that amp and are under $1K so it won’t bust the budget. He would have dedicated channels for both low and high frequencies of each speaker (4 channels total) and the F500 channel for the center is also biampable. So, all 6 channels are biamping the front 3 speakers, it will be able to squeeze every bit of performance from those speakers. He also gets the benefits of separates when he adds a dedicated two channel pre with HT bypass in the future, right?

but I think bi-amping is unnecessary 

You are telling the OP to get an integrated amp by Yamaha, even Yamaha says you should bi-amp:

THE PHYSICS BEHIND IT

When an electrical current (i.e., audio signal) flows through a speaker wire, a small magnetic field is generated. Conversely, when a magnetic field is passed through a wire, an electrical current is generated.

Low frequencies such as the sound of a bass drum need large amounts of current to move the woofer in the speaker and push air across the room (thus producing sound waves we can hear). The signals that are sent to the tweeters in speakers (such as, for example, the “ting” of a triangle) require much less electrical current to make the small dome of the tweeter move. Nonetheless, both cause magnetic fields to be generated in the wire.

The problem is this: If that thud of a bass drum and the ting of a triangle are sent down the same wire at the same time, there is potential for audio degradation of the sound of the triangle. That’s because high frequency signals (with their relatively low currents of electricity) are susceptible to being unduly influenced by the higher-current low frequency signals (and their associated magnetic fields) simultaneously being sent through the same wire.

The solution is to separate the two signals via bi-amping — something that greatly reduces interactions between the two signals. The internal crossover network in the speaker restricts low frequencies from traveling through the high-frequency wire, thus smoothing out the signal path for the tweeter. It’s like driving on a newly paved road versus a dirt road. You’ll get there either way, but traveling on the paved road will get you there in better shape.

By the way, you may think that bi-amping seems like a good way to make your speakers louder. After all, two 100-watt amplifiers powering a speaker should make it sound twice as loud, right? Wrong. Thanks to the laws of physics (which state that there’s an exponential relationship between power and loudness), in order to hear something “sound” twice as loud, a speaker needs to receive ten times the power. Simply the doubling the power only produces a small increase in level, so bi-amping really doesn’t make the sound any louder … but it definitely makes it better, with cleaner, solid bass and more detailed highs.

https://hub.yamaha.com/audio/a-how-to/how-and-why-to-bi-amp-your-speakers/

OP, your Denon is a fine receiver, there is no need for you to spend $2799 unless you want to, you certainly don’t need to. You would be much better off using that $$ for other upgrades. That Denon receiver just got rave reviews last fall and it is fine. If you want to upgrade get the calibrated mic and the new Audyssey MultQ-X upgrade for the Denon.:

https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/denon-avc-x3800h

The upgrade for DIRAC was also just released if you want to go that way:

https://www.audioholics.com/editorials/dirac-road-map-denon-marantz-2022

@balooo2

I use a Marantz processor with Audyssey (the upgraded version with the calibrated mic) and my streamer uses ARC. I also have two amps that power my rear surround channels and rear height channels that use ARC. You can see the graphs of both in my profile.

Audyssey does a MUCH better job of integrating the subs with the speakers and overall bass management. It also does a much better job with channel separation and the soundstage. I have a very well treated room so DSP changes are readily apparent. This is something I experienced, not read in a review. Your post is extremely shallow you have obviously 0 experience with the upgraded version of Audyssey.

Well, since you never "experienced" it at least you can read the review 🙄:

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/audyssey-multeq-x-room-eq-software-review

@balooo2

You are asking someone to shell out $$$$ for another receiver when they already own a perfectly good one. I don’t see the need that’s all. Better to squeeze the max performance from your current gear IMO.

I use my streamer with ARC using the digital out to my Sony Signature DAC/preamp. I use the Sony as a preamp in my two channel setup bypassing my Marantz processor. The ARC in my streamer enables me to still have room correction in two channel only mode. 

@balooo2 +1 🤟