Used Pre-amp with HT pass-thru

Adcom 750 - active and passive with HT bypass and remote.

Sonic Frontiers Line 1 has all you need plus it has tubes which add their unique twist to your music (very nice). Good remote and built like a tank all for around $1k or less.

I second Comsmic void's suggestion about a tube preamp. I have a the Audio Research LS 16 as part of my HT set up and love what it does for my stereo music listening. A used LS 16 is in the $1,500-range but I'm sure other Audiogon'ers can recommend more tube preamps w/pass through for your consideration.

i love my Sonic Frontiers Line1.

I used the BAT VK-3i for a short period of time. It has a "unity gain" stage which effectively nulls the effect of the volume control. EXCELLENT sonics for music, and performed very well for HT as well. These can be had for $1000- $1300 here and on other classified sites. Just keep in mind that you're adding more interconnects to what should be a minimal circuit.