I use an avr for both my tt and surround but it does have a phono stage. With many modern avrs they leave out the phono stage necessitating you having a separate one to use a normal line level input with. The upper end offerings from the major avr manufacturers still have phono stages, tho if you have particular needs then maybe you'd prefer a separate one which gives you more options. I have a couple avrs with the phono stage option and think they all function fine with the mm cartridges I use, if it was mc then I'd look for a separate unit (altho I do have an old 2ch pre-amp that has some options even for mc).
Not particularly familiar with your speakers...are they particularly low impedance or sensitivity?
