Do you mean the McIntosh C200 from the mid-2000s? If so, it was on the warm side of neutral but generally uncolored so it should be relatively transparent. That's what a good preamp should be.
But I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to achieve here. How did you end up with a $7000+ stereo preamp and a $1,000 5-channel amp? It doesn't make any sense in terms of balance, especially considering that your speakers are also at the bottom of the B&W range.
The McIntosh should have good resale value. If you want to build a home theater system that also does 2-channel stereo very well -- without the complication of bypassing the HT receiver or pre -- you'd be better off in terms of balance to:
(1) Sell the C200
(2) Take the proceeds and and invest in the RMB1095 amp you like along with any good Rotel pre/processor. Late model 5.1 used ones sell for as little as $300 on Audiogon.
(3) Sell your front two B&W channels and invest in something a little higher up the range or use them instead for rear channels.
At the end of the day, you'll probably have money left over and you'll have a nice, relatively simple and balanced system for music and movies -- especially since Rotel and B&W get along quite well.
But I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to achieve here. How did you end up with a $7000+ stereo preamp and a $1,000 5-channel amp? It doesn't make any sense in terms of balance, especially considering that your speakers are also at the bottom of the B&W range.
The McIntosh should have good resale value. If you want to build a home theater system that also does 2-channel stereo very well -- without the complication of bypassing the HT receiver or pre -- you'd be better off in terms of balance to:
(1) Sell the C200
(2) Take the proceeds and and invest in the RMB1095 amp you like along with any good Rotel pre/processor. Late model 5.1 used ones sell for as little as $300 on Audiogon.
(3) Sell your front two B&W channels and invest in something a little higher up the range or use them instead for rear channels.
At the end of the day, you'll probably have money left over and you'll have a nice, relatively simple and balanced system for music and movies -- especially since Rotel and B&W get along quite well.