After having done a considerable amount of research, I'm at the buying stage now and am trying to decide upon my best option.
I'm looking to run two speakers (Vandersteen 2ce Signatures) with a subwoofer (SVS SB12-Plus, sealed and powered) and McCormack DNA 0.5 amp (100 WPC) for stereo and home theater. I currently have a passive pre (Promitheus), but I don't even know if I can run TV sound to a passive pre and, also, I'd like to run HDMI from my new TV (Samsung 4K UHD).
Since I want to keep using the McCormack amp, I'm looking at either an AV pre-pro or an AV receiver with pre-outs. I'm never going to run 5.1 or 7.1. I might run 3.1 some day, but for now, I'm okay with my setup.
Before I started researching, I thought all I needed was an AVR with a pre-out. Now I'm discovering that there are upsides and downsides to some brands and models (I guess I thought I could get away with anything because I love my passive pre and it doesn't do much more than volume control).
At my price range (under $600, preferably under $500), my best choices in pre/pros seem to be Outlaw 975 or the new Emotiva BasX MC-700. Or I can buy a refurbished AVR at A4L (although I'm not sure which one). Any thoughts on this? Will the Outlaw or Emotiva give me better sound than a $500 (A4L price) AVR? Are there any upsides or downsides to either one? Any recommendations?
Thanks for your help,
Dave
