My current system is two channel combined with surround sound via my preamp’s HT bypass. I use a Jeff Rowland Corus preamp for my 2-channel and Trinnov Altitude 16 AV preamp. Out of curiosity I took the Corus out and only used the Trinnov. The soundstage shrunk, less detail, and I thought I lost some musicality. Not night and day differences, but enough differences that I could never use the Trinnov as my 2-channel preamp. Some believe the preamp is the heart of a system.
Moving to separates
Does anyone have an experience they'd like to share about going from just an AVR or integrated to using external amp(s)? My Integra AVR has 100 W per channel (class AB), all channels driven, and sounds very good, so it is not clear to me that there is any advantage to connecting its preouts to a separate amp. Might be a total waste of money. Please mention your specific equipment. Thanks!