FWIW, my main rig is in a dedicated listening room with only one chair. I have a 7.2.4 Atmos setup, but my AV pre/pro’s LR outputs feed the HT bypass inputs on my separate stereo preamp. I sacrifice nothing with my stereo listening this way. Since I only have one chair in there, I don’t necessarily need a center channel speaker, but I decided to keep it nevertheless. My stereo speakers are 4ft into the room and the center image is so good, so holographic, that it seems to float on its own detached from the screen. Technically, the phantom center sounds better, but I prefer the dialogue to seem more like it comes from the actors’ mouths on screen. Without the Center speaker, it sounds like the actors are a few feet in front of the TV in my room with me.
Now, I have a second system in the family room where there is also TV. I had the opportunity to use an older AVR there and set up surround sound. I chose not to and, like you’re considering, purchased a nice stereo integrated instead. I don’t regret it at all. To me, it’s better to do stereo well than mediocre surround, even for movies and TV. I find that a good full range set up with adequate subwoofers is really what “wows” me when watching movies. So I focused on getting good full range stereo in that room.
Now, I have a second system in the family room where there is also TV. I had the opportunity to use an older AVR there and set up surround sound. I chose not to and, like you’re considering, purchased a nice stereo integrated instead. I don’t regret it at all. To me, it’s better to do stereo well than mediocre surround, even for movies and TV. I find that a good full range set up with adequate subwoofers is really what “wows” me when watching movies. So I focused on getting good full range stereo in that room.