One receiver for both ht and 2 channel (diff speakers)

My Marantz 8805 has a button, "Pure Direct", which shuts down a bunch of the electronically noisy video functions when playing 2 channel audio.  It's a very noticeable difference in sound quality, though I have no comparison with that to a dedicated 2 channel audio amp.  Food for thought if you prefer a single box solution.

Well, the 8805 is just an AV preamp so the best thing would be to do an in-home demo of a good dedicated stereo preamp (that preferably has an HT Bypass input) to see how it compares.  There are definitely stereo pres out there that will far surpass the 8805 in performance, and preamps matter big time so very worth exploring IMHO.  What’s in the rest of your system BTW?

For the time being I am using a Denon x4200 receiver which has a pure direct button, although it still powers my subs. Thought I would like the pure direct with my turntable, a old Sanyo TP 825D, but I seem to enjoy the all channel stereo mode more. I have some Def Tech dipole towers with built in subs for my fronts.

if you considered av separates there would be no conflicts

In my home theater setup I use an anthem avm90 and my front stage is powered by krell 300 trio xd. I understand this type of setup may be more costly than you may like but the concept is sound and can be done with cheaper gear just as well

If I was to use this for 2 channel listening (which i do sometimes even though i have a dedicated 2 channel space) it sounds very good.. No special 2 channel amp. no pre outs. no confusion or complexities

"For the time being I am using a Denon x4200 receiver which has a pure direct button, although it still powers my subs. Thought I would like the pure direct with my turntable, a old Sanyo TP 825D, but I seem to enjoy the all channel stereo mode more. I have some Def Tech dipole towers with built in subs for my fronts"

I had tried something similar in the past with the yamaha a3080. This also has pure direct mode. In my experience, the sound quality for 2 channel was lackluster but if your coming from no dedicated 2 channel system it may be good enough. I tried using a parasound halo a21+ with this setup and it was an improvement, but still very suboptimal to what i would consider as hifi, but my friends thought it was amazing. Perspective is key