pre-amps for home theatre....whats your preference?

None. Just get a big AVR and be happy with mediocre sound.
Emotiva gave me a T shirt.

Sad to say that's actually good advice. There are no HT anything that are good for music. Your best bet is to return all but two speakers and build a good stereo. Best possible sound for music and movies. Either that or... enjoy the T shirt.

Immersive  Receiver : Audio Control
https://www.audiocontrol.com/home-audio/immersive-av-receivers/

Immersive Processor : Acurus Muse
http://www.acurusav.com/muse/

Surround  Processor : Bryston SP3
https://bryston.com/preamps/sp3/
    
Surround Processor : Krell Foundation 4K
https://www.krellhifi.com/products/foundation-4k-processor/product-overview/

I have had three theater rooms in the last 10 years.  My current room includes custom designed in wall Tekton Double Impact 5.2.2 system In this theater room I am powering them with an all in one unit  - Integra DVX 11 channel.  PLenty of power and dont need separates which saves money.  I have a separate high end two channel system in another room.  

Shure it will.

For sound quality, Anthem and Arcam.

For features, and knowing they are serious about HT products, Anthem.

The reason I say this is that Arcam seems to get in and out of the HT market while Anthem has been dead serious about it forever and continuously improved their room correction software.

Having said this, I don’t know why you’d buy an Anthem processor instead of a receiver, except for the balanced outputs, since the receiver is usually a grand or more less expensive. This gives you the option of adding as few or as many external amplifiers as you want. 

Would help greatly to know which speakers you bought, if you’re using a subwoofer, and your budget.  Also, is 2-channel music important to you at all or is this strictly a multichannel system?

sure..i just bought this setup:

Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-8060FA towers
Klipsch Ref Premiere RP-504C W center channel 
Klipsch Ref Premiere RP-502S W surround
Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-600M rear surround
Klipsch Ref Premiere RP-500SA - rear atmos
Klipsch SPL-150 x 2 subs

It sounds by your "all Klipsch" shopping list that you are probably not looking at the top end of budget.

Eric proposed Anthem as a possible suggestion.  This is a great suggestion if you're budget limited.  However, there are better sounding processors.  One thing here.  If you are really locked into the concept of getting into height/ceiling speakers for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, you are probably going to be locked into lower end processors such as Anthem AVM 60 or AVM 70.

If you can let go of the ceiling/height concept and are willing to live with 7.1 channels, then you can potentially jump into a better sounding processor.  There were two suggestions above.

Bryston SP3 uses their discrete Class A analog output stages.  This is a critical part of the sound quality.  I will say that Bryston SP3 had just about the strongest bass output I've ever tested on any processor.  The combination of their massive power supply with the high-bias Class A audio circuits provides this result.  However, the upper mids are just a tad too laid back for my tastes in home theater.  Music was very pleasant however.  The Bryston also has fully discrete Class A input stages for all analog inputs.  It actually has 8 separate discrete stages for the 7.1 input and also a fully-balanced 2-channel input stage (if you have XLR sources).  Internally, the balanced input is converted to single-ended for processing/volume.  This puts the SP3 at the top end preamp arena.  If you have analog sources, the SP3 will perform just as good as many other dedicated 2-channel preamps.

Krell Foundation 4K is the alternative if you want better resolution with faster attach and impact on the sound.  This is critical for HT movies and such.  The Foundation does not have discrete audio circuits, but it's probably about the best you are going to get at this level.

Both support 4K and the latest bluray standards, but neither of these support Atmos.  I like the fact that both SP4 and Foundation have all linear power supplies (including the power supplies for digital).  Most processors may have linear power supply for analog, but still have a switching power supply for digital sections.

But like I said, if you really want all those extra Atmos ceiling/height speakers, then Anthem is the way to go.  I am of the opinion that I would rather have a totally awsome and realistic 5.1 system than an average 13 channel system.  You'll have to buy amplifier channels for all those extra speakers as well.

Your speakers are very easy to drive so not much power needed.  Yamaha AVRs are very good for both music and movies, and they’re one of the most reliable brands on the market.  Go to Accessories4less.com and get the RX-A780, which is from Yamaha’s upscale Aventage line and is on deep discount at $499.  You won’t be disappointed.  Best of luck. 

As always when people ask for help, defining a budget is useful.
I am very happy with my two Anthem MX-520 /AVRs in my 2 HT systems.  Certainly they were an upgrade of the AVRs that preceded them for music.
As for the hyperbolic statement that one can't get good musical results with an AVR, it's just nonsense, particularly with multichannel recordings.  If you have good speakers and the room itself is amenable (many HT are in basements or garages that just don't lend themselves to good sound reproduction) then there is no reason that you can't get a good outcome

millercarbon has forever been on a crusade to kill multi-channel home theater.  It's pretty much like a broken record.

my 2 channel credentials are tip top. i’m as dedicated a 2 channel/analog guy as there is. yet.......i’ve just jumped up from the ’nice’ Anthem AVM60 7.1.4 processor in my separate Home Theater, to the big boy very serious Trinnov Altitude 16 dsp processor and 9.3.6 speaker set-up.

https://www.trinnov.com/altitude-16/

the Trinnov is incoming, the Anthem is still here.

my agenda is to discover just how close ’all-in’ multichannel immersive audio can get to my ’all-in’ dedicated 2 channel room.

i can make a case for the lower level receiver approach, and the more robust Anthem AVM60 approach. ask me in a few months about the balls to the wall Trinnov approach.

the new immersive audio tracks on 4k movies can be very enjoyable, and quality sound does make a difference. but how important is it to you? that’s a personal question only you can answer. how involving do you want your movies to be?

there are awesome immersive Dolby Atmos music mixes coming out now all the time; even streaming on Tidal. Netflix now requires Dolby Atmos on their new productions. so this is right now a deal getting to be a big deal. the quality of the sound matters especially without a picture.

note; i will be selling my ’mint’ Anthem AVM60 very reasonably next week.

I prefer to use a preamp with by-pass capability with a processor. Use the preamp for stereo music and for the front two channels of surround. I’ve used a Parasound JC-2 BP with a Bryston SP3 and now an Ayre KX-5 Twenty with the SP3. But that may be overkill if you’re sure your interest is movies not music.  Maybe an AVR would satisfy you needs.  A preamp and/or processor implies amps, a more complex and likely more expensive solution.

db

Get a good denon avr x something for movies and a killer integrated with ht bypass for your stereo listening time. All you really need.

millercarbon has forever been on a crusade to kill multi-channel home theater. It's pretty much like a broken record.

And everyone else is on a crusade to buy buy buy more more more. Strangely enough when one after another says the answer is more and more stuff no one ever complains and insults them. Which is what that is. An insult. Not an argument. No intellectual content whatsoever. Just like its author.

Millercarbon, your position on surround sound is ludicrous, especially if more than one person is watching.

The center channel is essential to lock the dialog to the screen for all viewers in the room.


2 channel will never provide surround effects or more complex sound fields that exist in modern multichannel surround.


I would have previously recommended Anthem, but unless they make a good step up in their new receivers, I don't see them as a leader any more. Their internal DACs are not class leading, and other have caught up on amplification.  New release Denon units will keep up at similar money (or less).

If you have the budget get a Trinnov Altitude.