New audio setup?

Great point about the 2 Vidars. They definitely won't do well below 8 Ohms. Besides, there's other alternatives out there if you really want mono blocks. Which are great, but not necessary really. Kind of a bonus. You could also look for a true dual mono stereo power amp. That's a great way to get almost mono block sound, but not use up as much room, or money. 

A preamp, and a phono preamp are two different things. They have different amounts of gain (phono has more, because the output of a turntable is lower then other sources, like a cassette deck, tuner, or DAC), and the way a phonograph works is that records aren't recorded like a cassette is. In order for it to play the music it needs an EQ, and a phono preamp has what's called an RIAA EQ built in. Basically without the EQ, it doesn't sound right, even if you had the extra gain. This has to do with how the records are made I think. Sorry, I'm a digital guy, and hopefully somebody, besides myself, can explain it better to you. But that's the gist of it. You could just buy a Little Bear tube phono preamp at Amazon too. They're very reasonable, like under $100. Good luck. BTW I agree with the Vidar idea. That will make a great setup.