Hazyj,
I'm kind of late to this thread and don't want to dissuade you from getting a good 2-ch preamp. However, I have a suggestion that worked for me and may work for you.
I'd urge you to consider purchasing an Oppo-105 Bluray player for about $1,100. I bought one of these and I've been thrilled with its performance. Here are some advantages of the Oppo in your situation:
1. It has a built-in 7.1 surround processor that is very good and would lessen your need for your UMC-200.
2. It can double as a surprisingly good 2-ch music preamp. I actually no longer use my VTL 2.5 preamp for 2-ch music or my older Parasound surround processor for ht since installing the Oppo.
3. It can also be utilized as a very good stand alone dac if you ever decide to incorporate hi-rez computer audio into your system.
4. You also gain a highly reviewed and respected source for a wide variety of optical discs for both music and ht (cd, sacd, dvd, cd-rom and bluray).
Just something a bit different to consider,
Tim
I'm kind of late to this thread and don't want to dissuade you from getting a good 2-ch preamp. However, I have a suggestion that worked for me and may work for you.
I'd urge you to consider purchasing an Oppo-105 Bluray player for about $1,100. I bought one of these and I've been thrilled with its performance. Here are some advantages of the Oppo in your situation:
1. It has a built-in 7.1 surround processor that is very good and would lessen your need for your UMC-200.
2. It can double as a surprisingly good 2-ch music preamp. I actually no longer use my VTL 2.5 preamp for 2-ch music or my older Parasound surround processor for ht since installing the Oppo.
3. It can also be utilized as a very good stand alone dac if you ever decide to incorporate hi-rez computer audio into your system.
4. You also gain a highly reviewed and respected source for a wide variety of optical discs for both music and ht (cd, sacd, dvd, cd-rom and bluray).
Just something a bit different to consider,
Tim