Preamp vs Av receiver preouts

Good to know I'll keep an eye out on the used market there. Definitely need a smaller height for my space but I think that could work. 

Don't make your gear fit your space.  Make your space fit your gear.

I recommend adding the preamp if you have room. I run a Parasound P6. Pre outs from a Denon 4700 receiver to the bypass input on the P6. And the AVR sub out to the sub bypass on the P6. All stereo inputs go straight into the P6. If I need HT input, just flip the P6 input to Bypass. I do a lot of TV viewing on mute with stereo running.

This configuration works great, assuming you have the available real estate.

@sgoods555 My Home Theater and 2 channel occupy the same space.  Getting a separate Pre will elevate your 2 channel music listening.  I have Anthem’s 1140 receiver, before that Marantz top tier receiver, neither cheap but adding a separate Pre made a big difference.  A pre with HT bypass is a great convenient feature but if you go with a Tube Pre you’ll likely have to have the Pre on when using your HT set up,  you’ll be burning hours on your tubes.  A better solution is a high quality switch box that will allow you to switch between the 2, keeps things separate.  Plenty of options on what you can snag for a Pre.  
 

Good Luck! 

Another vote for dedicated preamps making a world of difference. Like you, I have a great receiver (Arcam AV40) but adding a Pass XP22 was a game changer. I have it hooked up to the preamp HT bypass, it works great.