Thanks Eric, that's kinda what I'm thinking. May go for a good used preamp like the Modwright 9.0 or 36.5, or the Dodd or Red Wine. Aesthetix has gotten great reviews, but seen on several boards a problem with noise, etc. I would love to hear more opinions though. Anyone...?
Was hoping I'd get a decent amount of responses, but the various boards I'm on, avs, agon, htguide, seem slow these days (at least for my questions,lol).
One other point for Kal's earlier response: rather than get the D2 with ARC, why not spend less money and get an outboard audessey or tact room correction system, and then go for a great preamp/amp? Regardless how good the room correction is, I'm still supposedly limited by the analogue section of the pre/pro (subscribing to the theory that pre/pros can't compete with dedicated 2 channel preamps).