What Pre/Pro do you recommend?

in your price range i'm familiar with the integra 80.3; the marantz 8801 also gets raves, though i haven't heard it. to be frank, however, i'd only buy used--these pre/pros depreciate very steeply very quickly as the latest-and-greatest codecs and such rapidly become obsolete.

Have you considered using an Oppo 105 as processor and bass manager along with a high quality analog preamp? Analog preamps tend to be stable, whereas, as the previous post suggests, processors become outdated with technical developments. I'd put my money into an analog preamp and economize on the processor. I've had good experience buying used equipment, mostly from Audiogon listings. If you go the Oppo route, be sure to use the analog stereo output; you can pass that through a preamp for source control. I use a Parasound JC-2 BP preamp. I think you might find both a used JC-2 and 105 within your expense limit.

db

How important is music vs ht?